Visited multiple times since 2007
'ahlaan bik fi al'iimarat!! أهلا بك في الإمارات
Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) are two of the seven emirates that form the United Arab Emirates. Unlike Dubai which is ultra modern with sky scrappers and glits and glamour, the emirates of Fujairah and RAK look more laid back and rustic. They have modern city centres, however has a very large area are covered with mountains, wadis, deserts, beaches, natural springs, orchards and farm lands. Just an hour to two drive away from Dubai, these provide wonderful opportunities for weekend escapes and staycations with family and friends.
We have driven to Fujairah and RAK several times by now, so I will club the experiences from many trips together in this blog.
Fujairah
The Hajar Mountain and its rocky terrains make Fujairah very scenic and best choice for exploring the wilderness and enjoying scenic hikes and camping. The emirate also has vast number of date and mango orchards, wadis, hot springs and pristine beaches.
The Rocky Terrain
We get to see these incredible views of rocky Hajar mountains throughout the trip to Fujairah
The lush green orchards amidst desert
Several private owned orchards all along the road. You can try your luck to seek permission to enter and enjoy some of these, like we did.
Date Palm
The wonder plant of the desert. You will find it everywhere...even on the median of the road :) The fresh dates are sweet and juicy and rich!
Beaches
There are many beaches and beach side resorts in Fujairah. Kalba, Khor Fakan, Dibba etc. Residents and locals, everyone enjoys these beaches...
We later, visited the Friday market of Masafi. These markets sell authentic Arabic potteries, handicrafts, fresh fruits and vegetables etc.You can bargain and get best price for nice vases, rugs, Arabic coffee pots etc.
Picture courtesy - Google
Ras Al Khaima (RAK)
Staycation in a Desert Camp
We chose The Dunes - a desert camp in RAK for a night stay with friends and family. It is about an hour and a half drive from Dubai, which includes almost 5 km off road drive to reach the camp which is beautifully located in the middle of the desert.
We get to see many camels - The Ship of the Desert - wandering in its habitat, and a few Arabian Oryx as well, which is the national animal of the UAE.
The Dunes is a beautiful camp site for enjoying the rustic beauty of Arabian Desert. It has multiple types of camp houses to choose from - Premium tents, tree houses, camp tents etc.
After checking in, we relaxed for a while and then took off to hit the dunes on a 4WD by an expert driver. Dune Bashing is a favourite thrilling desert activity where the driver takes the tourists in a 4WD car and bashes the dunes, drives crazily up and down, shakes and bumps the car for a rush of adrenaline to the first timers definitely. Its impossible to click photos during the crazy drive!
We stopped to enjoy the beautiful sunset amidst the vastness of the Arabian dunes...The lines carved by the winds on the sand dunes say a thousand stories about the magical spell of nature on us and makes us wonder about the immense beauty she has in in every corner of this beautiful planet.
Back in the camp, we enjoyed the dinner with various entertainment programs like Fire dance, Tanura dance, Belly dance etc. Also, got a henna painting done!
We left the camp for home after our breakfast next morning.
Jebal Jais
Jebal means mountain in Arabic. The Jais mountain in RAK is part of the Hajar mountain ranges and the highest peak in the UAE is here. We have made several road trips to Jebal Jais, but featuring here are special ones with friends and family.
A 4WD is recommended for the drive up. The highly curvy, however superbly well built winding roads take you to the summit of the mountain to enjoy incredible views of the surrounding valleys and wadis. The Jebal Jais Zip Line, the longest in the world, is here and winter will be the best time to enjoy the adventure.
We were at the top early morning to enjoy the first rays of sun.
The road was empty, so we took it for our best pictures :) and thoroughly enjoyed those golden rays of the rising sun falling on us from over the mountains.
Some beautiful moments with friends. It was fantastic to view the mountain ranges upside down :)
shukraan!! شكرا
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