Believed to be more than 400 years old, the Tree of Life in southern Bahrain has survived for centuries despite having no visible water source, a mystery that has long fueled research. (Shannon Renfroe/Stars and Stripes)

The road to the Tree of Life in Bahrain feels like a wrong turn, with one long stretch of the Sakhir Desert folding into another.

When the 32-foot Persian mesquite tree finally appears, about 25 miles south of Manama along the Musakar Highway, its heavy canopy rises out of a barren landscape dotted with oil pumps and rusty pipelines.

Despite its remote desert location, the Shajarat al-Hayat, as it’s known in Arabic, attracts more than 350,000 visitors a year, according to government data. It is more than 400 years old, which is remarkable considering Bahrain barely gets rain.

What draws most people is the mystery of how it survives. One theory suggests its roots extend some 150 feet underground, deep enough to strike some hidden water source. Others believe it has adapted to pull moisture from the sand itself. Some claim the tree once stood in the Garden of Eden, lending a biblical origin to its water source.

The solitary Tree of Life is a major visitor draw in Bahrain. Surrounded by desert, it has managed to survive despite the lack of a visible water source. (Shannon Renfroe/Stars and Stripes)

The Tree of Life in southern Bahrain is estimated to have been planted around 1582, making it older than many of the human settlements in the country. (Shannon Renfroe/Stars and Stripes)

Desert sand surrounds the Tree of Life about 25 miles south of Manama, Bahrain, but the solitary tree now shares its space with a contemporary structure intended for public events and activities. (Shannon Renfroe/Stars and Stripes)

Standing alone on a slight rise south of Jebel Dukhan, the Tree of Life in southern Bahrain is visible from a distance. (Shannon Renfroe/Stars and Stripes)

I first visited the site in 2013, when you could still sit under the tree. I have a photo of myself beneath the umbrella of lush foliage, sunlight slipping through the branches onto my face, my hair in a flurry from the wind.

Today, a human being and a metal fence that wraps halfway around the perimeter combine to act as barriers to keep visitors from getting as close as I once did.

I thought the man standing near the trunk during my recent return visit was another visitor until he waved me off. His job was clear: keep people away from the roots. I understood the need for preservation.

After all, the famed Tree of Tenere in the Sahara Desert was somehow felled by a driver in 1973 despite the fact that it was the only vegetation for over 250 miles. So far be it from me to complain about the precautions taken with this counterpart in isolation.

A platform at the Tree of Life site about 25 miles south of Manama, Bahrain, is designed for cultural events, blending modern architecture with the surrounding desert. (Shannon Renfroe/Stars and Stripes)

Some branches of Bahrain's famed Tree of Life dip so low they resemble new trunks, a sign of how the centuries-old Persian mesquite tree adapts to its harsh desert environment. (Shannon Renfroe/Stars and Stripes)

The Tree of Life stands alone on a slight rise south of Jebel Dukhan, about 25 miles south of Bahrain's capital, Manama. Thousands of visitors a year flock to the solitary Persian mesquite tree. (Shannon Renfroe/Stars and Stripes)

My second experience of the Tree of Life was more meditative. In contrast with my previous visit, I paid attention to the sounds, and wind rushing through the branches ironically evoked crashing ocean waves for me.

Some people say the best time to visit is after dusk, when the tree is lit from below. I can imagine how haunting it must look, but there are no streetlights, and the desert road would be tricky to navigate in the dark. I recommend visiting in the winter to avoid the brutal summer heat.

Even from outside the fence, the tree is overwhelming. Its branches hang low, heavy from age. Some dip so far down that they look like they’re starting to form new trunks.

This Prosopis cineraria, to use the scientific name, was planted around 1582, soil and tree-ring studies conducted in the 1990s indicate. Yet it still looks lush and verdant. People have used its resin for candles and aromatics, and its beans for food and drink.

Archaeologists have uncovered pottery and small artifacts near the tree, evidence that people passed through here long before it became a tourist stop.  

Visitors to the Tree of Life in southern Bahrain used to be able to stand beneath the canopy, but a protective fence was added and the site now has a guard to protect the tree's exposed roots from growing foot traffic. (Shannon Renfroe/Stars and Stripes)

Believed to be more than 400 years old, the Tree of Life has survived in Bahrain’s desert with no visible water source, a mystery that has fueled research for decades. (Shannon Renfroe/Stars and Stripes)

More than 350,000 people visit the Tree of Life in southern Bahrain each year, drawn by the mystery of how a single tree survives in such an unforgiving landscape. (Shannon Renfroe/Stars and Stripes)

Nowadays, visitors are met with a more industrial scene. Semi-trucks buzz by every so often, and newly built structures include a stage that hosts cultural events and an informational shelter with toilets.

When I returned to my car, my shoes were covered in dust, and even my eyes and hair felt coated. The wind was pushing across the desert, and the guard was still standing under the canopy as another van was arriving.

The tourists circled the fence on foot once, snapped a few pictures and left. No one lingered. It’s the kind of place people want to say they saw, even if they don’t quite know what to do once they’re there.

I couldn’t help wondering what they thought, and whether this was the big outing they’d planned for the day.

The tree doesn’t try to impress you. It simply endures.  And maybe that’s the part that stays with you.

Tree of Life

Location: The best way to find the tree is to follow the signs from the Musakar Highway. (Coordinates, 25.9941N 50.5830E)

Hours: Daily, 6 a.m.-10 p.m.   Price: Free

Information: www.atlasobscura.com/places/tree-of-life