What to expect from Trojena, Saudi Arabia’s futuristic ski resort hosting the 2029 Asian Winter Games: the mountainous region of new megacity Neom will have 36km of slopes, a huge lake and a zip line

Jun 3 , 2024

Saudi Arabia is pulling out all the stops to create one of the world’s most environmentally friendly and futuristic ski resorts. Photo: @aedas_architects/Instagram

Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman’s vision for luxury ski resort Trojena is pulling in big guns such as Raffles Hotels, Zaha Hadid Architects and Aedas – the architecture firm behind The Venetian Macau

Trojena is situated in an area cooler than the rest of the region, with sub zero temperatures that allow real snow to sometimes grace the slopes – and there’s a sustainable snow-making system too

If Beijing’s Winter Olympics seemed like a stretch given the lack of precipitation in the northern capital, a ski resort in Saudi Arabia probably sounds even more far-fetched – but, of course, nothing is too outrageous for the wealthy kingdom to pull off these days.

Saudi Arabia’s Trojena resort in Neom. Photo: @touriism__/Instagram

Located in the megacity of Neom that’s been created on the country’s north west coast, the Trojena ski resort is set to be completed in 2026 – oh, and it’s already won the bid to host the Asian Winter Games in 2029.

“When Trojena opens, it’s going to be the one place in the world where you can ski and scuba dive on the same day,” says Neom’s head of tourism Niall Gibbons, per Euronews Travel. So what exactly can snow lovers expect from the epic project? Here’s the lowdown.

Trojena ski resort is just one part of a new megacity in the Saudi Arabian desert

An artist’s rendering of the vast new desert complex known as Neom. Photo: @magazine_mimar/Instagram

In a bid to boost tourism and reduce its dependence on oil, Saudi Arabia’s current crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, reportedly envisioned new megacity Neom as a “model for nature preservation and enhanced human liveability”, per The Guardian. The size of Belgium, it won’t be fully complete until the 2030s, but will consist of several different regions – of which Trojena will be one.

Trojena’s central feature will be its 2.8km man-made lake, according to the project’s marketing lead Clark Williams, and the area is based in the highest mountain range in the country.

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman is trying to revamp the kingdom’s image. Photo: DPA

Will the skiing be any good?

Trojena will eventually feature 36km of ski slopes. Photo: @aedas_architects/Instagram