Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest consumer of camel milk, with per capita consumption of approximately 33 litres per year — and for visitors, tasting it is one of the Kingdom’s most distinctive culinary experiences. Whether sipped fresh from a desert bowl, blended into lavender-infused gelato, or paired with traditional camel-meat kabsa, camel products offer a genuine window into Saudi food culture that stretches back millennia. This guide covers everything you need to know as part of your wider Saudi Arabia food and dining itinerary: where to find camel milk, what it tastes like, the best camel-meat dishes to order, and which camel-product souvenirs are worth bringing home.

What Does Camel Milk Taste Like?

If you have never tried camel milk, expect a thinner consistency than cow’s milk with a slightly salty, clean finish. The flavour varies depending on what the camels have been eating — desert-grazed camels produce milk with a mild herbaceous note, while grain-fed camels yield a smoother, more neutral taste. Fresh camel milk served straight from the animal (as you might experience on a desert safari) has a warm, almost savoury quality that surprises most first-time tasters.

Flavoured varieties available in Saudi cafes and supermarkets — chocolate, cardamom, lavender, and dark chocolate with orange — are a gentler introduction. Camel milk naturally contains less lactose than cow’s milk, and research suggests that many people with mild lactose intolerance can drink it without symptoms.

Where to Buy and Try Camel Milk

Noug: Saudi Arabia’s First Camel Milk Brand

The easiest entry point for tourists is Noug, the Kingdom’s first dedicated camel milk brand. Owned by Sawani Co., a Public Investment Fund (PIF) subsidiary, Noug operates dedicated cafes and retail outlets across the country. Their flagship cafe in Riyadh’s Al Malqa district (Anas bin Malik Road, open daily 5 pm to midnight) features camel milk vending machines, artisan coffees made with camel milk, gelato in seven flavours, and a range of camel milk cheeses and butters.

Additional Noug branches operate in AlUla, Jeddah, and Makkah, with food trucks in Al Khobar. Their products — fresh milk, flavoured milk (cardamom, lavender, dark chocolate with orange), yoghurt, laban, cream, and gelato — are also available in select supermarkets nationwide. The Noug mobile app allows delivery ordering in major cities.

Supermarkets

Packaged camel milk is stocked in the dairy aisle of every major Saudi supermarket chain, including Tamimi Markets, Carrefour, Danube, and Lulu Hypermarket. Look for these brands:

• Noug — fresh pasteurised camel milk in plain and flavoured varieties (Saudi-produced)
• Camelicious — UAE-based brand offering fresh, UHT, flavoured (dates, chocolate, strawberry), and powdered camel milk. Their 20 g powder sachets are excellent travel souvenirs with a 6–12 month shelf life
• Al Ain Farms — pasteurised full-cream and low-fat camel milk

Expect to pay roughly three to five times the price of cow’s milk — camel milk is a premium product even domestically. Online platforms including Nana, HungerStation, and Amazon.sa also stock camel milk for delivery.

Pink Camel Cafe

Founded in 2012 on Abdulmaksoud Khoja Street in Jeddah, Pink Camel has expanded to AlUla (open 8 am–8 pm daily in the AlUla Oasis) and Riyadh. Originally a macaron specialty cafe, it now serves a full camel-themed menu and is a popular stop for visitors exploring AlUla’s archaeological sites.

Camel Meat: Traditional Saudi Dishes to Try

Camel meat — locally called hashi (specifically referring to young camel, considered the most tender) — has been a staple of Arabian Peninsula cuisine for centuries. It is leaner than beef, slightly sweet, and remarkably tender when slow-cooked. If you are exploring Saudi Arabia’s kabsa tradition, ordering the camel version is one of the most authentic choices you can make.

Essential Camel Dishes

Dish	Description	Where to Find It
Kabsa Hashi	The iconic Saudi rice dish made with young camel meat, slow-cooked in aromatic spices. The gold standard of camel cuisine.	Najd Village (Riyadh, multiple branches), Kabsa Hashi (Mecca)
Hashi Mandi	Camel meat cooked mandi-style in a tandoor pit, smoked over charcoal, served on fragrant rice.	Hashi Basha (Riyadh), traditional restaurants in Buraydah
Harees	A wheat-and-camel-meat porridge traditional to the Najd region — smooth, comforting, and served during Ramadan and celebrations.	Heritage restaurants across central Saudi Arabia
Faqaar	Camel back ribs, a premium cut typically slow-roasted or grilled. Rich and flavourful.	Specialty camel restaurants in Riyadh
Camel Burger	A modern innovation — ground camel meat in a burger format. Leaner than beef with a distinctive mild sweetness.	Various modern restaurants in Riyadh and Jeddah

Tip: Najd Village in Riyadh is the most tourist-friendly option for trying camel meat. The restaurant recreates a traditional Najd village setting with stone walls, hanging lanterns, and floor seating. Their Hashi Kabsa is the signature dish. Multiple branches operate across Riyadh — the original atmosphere is worth seeking out.



Camel Milk Ice Cream, Chocolate, and Novelty Products

Camel milk’s slightly salty creaminess makes it an unexpectedly good base for desserts and confections. Several products are available across Saudi Arabia that make ideal gifts or souvenirs to take home from your Saudi shopping trip.

Gelato and Ice Cream

Noug produces camel milk gelato in seven flavours, available at their cafes and in select supermarkets. The texture is lighter than traditional gelato with a distinctive clean finish. Camelicious also produces camel milk ice cream that is stocked in major supermarkets.



Chocolate

Al Nassma is the world’s first camel milk chocolate brand, originally from Dubai and widely available in Saudi Arabia. Their range includes whole milk, 70% dark cocoa with nuts, Arabia (cardamom and cinnamon spiced), macadamia orange, and date-flavoured bars. The chocolate has a distinctive salty creaminess that sets it apart from conventional chocolate. Al Nassma bars (70 g) make lightweight, easy-to-pack souvenirs.

Skincare and Beauty

Camel milk contains naturally occurring lactic acid, alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs), and vitamins A, C, and E — compounds valued in skincare. The Camel Soap Factory produces soaps, lip balms (sweet orange, peppermint, and strawberry), and moisturisers using camel milk, frankincense, and essential oils. These products are available at specialty shops in Riyadh and Jeddah, and make distinctive souvenirs alongside traditional Saudi perfumes and oud.

Camel Leather

Camel leather is two to three millimetres thick and up to ten times stronger than cowhide. Traditional handmade camel leather slippers are a classic Saudi souvenir, available at Al-Masmak Souq (near Masmak Fort) and Souk Al Zal in Riyadh. Modern Saudi brands including Tamashee (Arabic sandals) and Ibil (clothing, bags, and shoes using camel wool and hides) are bringing camel products into contemporary fashion.

Camel Farm Visits and Desert Experiences

Near Riyadh

Several operators offer camel farm visits in the desert northeast of Riyadh. The standard experience includes a “keshta-style” desert setup with Arabic coffee, dates, storytelling, and the opportunity to milk and feed camels in a traditional tent setting. Bookable through Visit Saudi’s official platform or GetYourGuide. Allow half a day for the round trip.

AlUla

Camel riding at sunset through AlUla’s sandstone landscapes is one of the most photogenic experiences in Saudi Arabia. Sessions run 45–60 minutes and typically cost SAR 150–300 (USD 40–80) per person, including Arabic coffee and dates at a Bedouin tent. The Daimumah farm experience in the AlUla Oasis offers farm-to-table dining and animal encounters. Book through ExperienceAlUla.com — the October to March winter season offers the best weather.

Buraidah Camel Market

The world’s largest camel market operates every morning from 6 am in Buraydah, Al Qassim region, roughly four hours’ drive from Riyadh. Thousands of camels are traded daily alongside goats and sheep in a working market that welcomes visitors. The atmosphere is electric — auctioneers call prices, herders lead camels through the dusty lanes, and the scent of livestock mixes with the morning air. October to March is the best season; combine it with the nearby Buraidah Date Festival (mid-August to mid-September) if your timing allows.



King Abdulaziz Camel Festival

The annual King Abdulaziz Camel Festival is the world’s largest celebration of camel culture, held at Al-Sayahid village in the al-Dahna Desert, 120 km northeast of Riyadh. The most recent edition (December 2025 to January 2026) attracted over 3,000 international visitors from 50+ countries and featured approximately 38,000 competing camels.

The centrepiece is the camel beauty contest, where prize money runs into millions of Saudi riyals. But the festival is far more than a pageant — it includes camel racing, falconry demonstrations, traditional poetry duels, educational exhibitions on Arabian camel breeds, and hands-on milking and feeding experiences. The festival site spans over 225 square kilometres with temporary markets, food stalls, and cultural exhibits. Tickets are available through webook.com.

Year of the Camel: Saudi Arabia designated 2024 as the Year of the Camel, coinciding with the United Nations International Year of Camelids. The initiative included introducing camel milk to Hajj pilgrims, cultural exhibitions, and educational programmes. The traditional practice of alheda’a — the rhythmic chanting used by Bedouin herders to calm and guide camels — was inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

Health and Nutrition: What the Research Says

Camel milk has attracted scientific interest for its nutritional profile. Compared to cow’s milk, it is lower in saturated fat and cholesterol while being higher in vitamin C, immunoglobulins, and bioactive compounds. Per 100 ml, camel milk contains approximately 3.82 g fat, 3.35 g protein, and 4.46 g lactose.

Peer-reviewed research published in journals including PMC and ScienceDirect has found that camel milk contains insulin-like proteins and may help reduce blood sugar levels — studies on diabetic patients showed improvements in glycaemic control, fasting blood sugar, and lipid profiles. A study of 25 lactose-intolerant individuals found only two experienced mild reactions to approximately 250 ml of camel milk.

These are research findings, not medical advice — but they help explain why camel milk has been valued in Arabian medicine for centuries and why Saudi Arabia remains the world’s largest consumer.

Practical Tips for Visitors

• Start at Noug: The Riyadh cafe (Al Malqa, open 5 pm to midnight) or AlUla branch is the most accessible introduction to camel milk for tourists
• Supermarket hunting: Look in the dairy aisle at Tamimi, Carrefour, Danube, or Lulu. Camel milk sits alongside regular milk — the packaging is usually marked in both Arabic and English
• Flavoured first: If you are uncertain about the taste, start with chocolate or cardamom-flavoured camel milk rather than plain
• Souvenirs to pack: Camelicious powdered milk sachets (long shelf life), Al Nassma chocolate bars, and camel milk soap are all lightweight and travel well
• Desert farm visits: Book through official platforms (Visit Saudi, ExperienceAlUla) and go in the morning when temperatures are cooler. October to March is the best window
• Camel market etiquette: Buraidah’s market is a working commercial space. Be respectful, ask before photographing traders, and wear closed-toe shoes — it is a livestock market
• Delivery apps: Nana, HungerStation, and the Noug app deliver camel milk products in major cities if you want to try them from your hotel
• Getting into the country: All tourist visitors need a valid Saudi e-visa, which can be obtained online in minutes. Check our entry requirements guide for the latest documentation rules

Explore More Saudi Arabia Travel Guides

• Saudi Arabia Food and Dining Guide — The complete guide to eating your way through the Kingdom
• Saudi Kabsa: The National Dish Explained — Everything about Saudi Arabia’s iconic rice dish, including the camel meat version
• Saudi Coffee Culture — From traditional Arabic coffee to Riyadh’s specialty cafe scene
• Saudi Dates: Best Varieties — A guide to the Kingdom’s most famous fruit
• Saudi Arabia Camel Markets — Where to visit working camel markets across the country
• Camel Trekking in Saudi Arabia — Desert camel rides and overnight trekking experiences
• Saudi Arabia Travel Guide 2026 — The complete guide to visiting the Kingdom
• Saudi Arabia Visa Guide — Every visa type explained