Jebel Jais and the Wadis of Ras Al Khaimah

Overview

An hour and a half north of Dubai the Hajar Mountains rise out of the gravel plain like a broken wall, and new tarmac climbs to a viewing deck at 1,680 metres in switchbacks that would embarrass an Alpine pass. At the top you can be strapped face down into the longest zipline in the world and fired 2.8 kilometres across the wadi at motorway speed. That is the theme-park half. The other half is older: the waymarked loop in Wadi Shawka past falaj channels and rock pools, the abandoned pearling town of Al Jazirah Al Hamra crumbling in the salt air, and, for anyone properly fit, the Stairway to Heaven above Wadi Ghalilah - some 1,300 metres of exposed goat path up the escarpment that needs a guide and a pre-dawn start. Come between November and March; by April the wadis are in the high thirties and the mountain walks turn dangerous. Hire a car at Dubai or Ras Al Khaimah airport, because nothing here is reachable otherwise, and book the zipline online: weekend slots sell out and the ride is cancelled in strong wind, which is the thing most likely to derail a short trip. Five days with hotel, car and mountain activities is about £850.

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Prefilled for 1 November 2026 — the next best-season window. Search on partner sites — opens in a new tab.