Tribe, UAE winters is the time to take your outdoor dose for your better health and wellness. We all need to get outside more and create great memories with friends and family by exploring some outdoor activities and adventures. If you combine your outdoor activities with some adventure, it’s even better, seek adventure that opens your mind. Until you step into the unknown, you don’t know what you are made of. And so I would like to share my adventure list with you, which helped me not just connect with Nature but also to connect with myself more.
Here is our exclusive list of Tribe’s top outdoor adventures in the UAE.
Cycling
Cycling can be a great weekend activity if not daily. There are some good cycle tracks around the city but the best ones are the Al Quadra cycle path & Nad Al Sheba cycle park. You can also cycle in some of the public parks like Mushrif Park, Al Barsha pond park, or Jumeira cycling track. If you don’t have your own bike then you can also rent cycles especially in areas like Dubai Marina, Down Town Dubai, JBR, Jumeira. You can hire from BYKY station a sports bike or more leisurely bike cart to take kids with you. When Ruhaan was younger, I preferred this second option.
Make sure to stay hydrated so carry your reusable bottle and if you are renting better to keep your Emirates-id with you. We generally like to combine a picnic after our cycling, which makes a great family outing.
Horse Riding
While you call the Arabian peninsula your second home, why not take this opportunity and spend time with world-famous Arabian horses? I personally love horses and I love horse-back riding whenever I get an opportunity, be it in Dubai or on travels like Iceland. We even celebrated my son’s first birthday with a farm theme with real horses at Al Dhabi Dubai City Stable.
With the availability of world-class horse racing facilities, it’s not difficult to find a horse riding class for you or your kids. In Dubai, you can go to City Stable, Emirates equestrian center or Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club, etc. In Abu Dhabi, Abud Dhabi equestrian club, Dhabian equestrian Club, etc.
Mangrove Kayaking
UAE’s coast is blessed with many mangroves and marshes, you can read a full list of khors of UAE. One of the best activities is kayaking and seeing this mangrove system up close. We generally don’t see much from distance but mangroves are the most bio-diversity rich ecosystems in UAE and breeding ground for a lot of wildlife. I was fortunate to take part in a mangrove planting experience once I learned so much valuable information just by being there so close to mangroves.
I will say this is more of calm & tranquil activity than an adventurous one. You can kayak in Abu Dhabi’s Mangrove national park or in Kalba’s mangroves on the east coast and even in the mangroves of Ras Al Khaima and Sharjah.
Aventura Park
If cycling, horseback riding, and kayaking are not enough thrilling for you then try rope climbing, tree surfing, and zip lines at Aventura Park inside Mushrif Park surrounded by Ghaf forest.
It can be a great family day out as they offer circuits for all age-group with different levels from easy to hard challenges with dedicated kids-friendly circuits. You don’t even need to pack a picnic, there is Chris Cafe inside Aventura.
Camping
If you are in the UAE and have never experienced camping in the UAE’s great outdoors then you have missed something big. There are many great spots for camping across almost all Emirates. You can select your spots at different eco-systems from desert sand dunes to beaches and mountains to wadies. For an overnight camping trip, you need to first prepare. You need to carry tents, sleeping bags, barbeque sets, some ready to eat food, a lot of water for drinking & cleaning, and insect repellant. For beginners, I will highly recommend trying beach camping first, it’s much easier and if you have kids with you, then they are happier playing in the water or on the beach.
For desert camping, you need to have a 4×4 car and also need to know driving in sand dunes. Plus desert is vast, the Empty Quarter starts from UAE, so you need to be much more experienced, knowledgeable. Better to take a group with you whenever going desert camping. For every camping, checking the weather in advance is a must to avoid any inconveniences later and for your own safety. Mountains, wadies, dry rivers, or streams can be dangerous in case of rains and sudden flash floods.
Al quadra lakes, beaches in Dibba, Fujairah & Umm al Quwain, and the beautiful sand dunes in Liwa, Abu Dhabi are some of the popular spots for camping.
Mountains & Wadies
When in the UAE, you are so used to staying on plains with roads stretching straight without any natural slopes. People almost forget that there mountains in UAE too. Winter is a great time to explore the mountains and wadies of UAE mainly located on the east coast. You can either hike in mountains and wadies or take your 4×4 to explore and have a picnic; in any case, be careful as the rocks in the mountain area are loose. You can either visit Jebel Jais, the highest place in UAE which is in Ras Al Khaima, or you can visit many wadis in Fujairah and don’t forget to visit Masafi’s Friday Market on the way. Read our guide to wadis in UAE, some of our wadi exploration experience, and some important tips.
Hiking Trails
Al Hajar mountain range on the east coast of the UAE offers some great hiking trails for all levels of hikers. Popular emirates for hiking are Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, and part of Sharjah on the east coast including Khorfakkan, Kalba. You can either join some hiking groups or hiking tours or you can also go there with the family.
Here are some of the popular hikes. Wadi Showka in Ras Al Khaimah is the most popular hike that offers some water fun, canyoning activity, around 3km lasts 3 hours. Wadi Helo in Sharjah is nominated to get included in UNESCO World Heritage sites and offers the most scenic views. If you want to go for easier hikes with family and kids Wadi Munay in Ras Al Khaimah or Al Rabi Tower in Khorfakkan or even Hatta Hike and Jabel Hafeet in Al Ain are great options. However one of the most beautiful trails is Wadi Ghalila to Jabel Jais which is known as one of the tallest mountain peaks in the UAE.
Jebel Jais Flight, World’s Longest Zip Line
As our list of UAE’s outdoor adventures is building up, we are now talking about more adrenaline-pumping activities. How about flying from the mountain’s edge at the speed of 150 kilometers per hour on the world’s longest zipline for almost 3kms, suspended 1,680 meters above sea level. Toroverde’s Jebel Jais Flight zipline in Ras Al Khaima is certified by Guinness World Records.
Watch my experience in this video, it was fab, felt like I am a falcon flying over Hajar mountains.
Skydive Dubai
Yes, guilty as charged, this is not an environmentally friendly adventure activity, so ideally, Sustainability Tribe should not recommend it. But I experienced a tandem fall in my quest of ‘experiences over the materials’ and to tickmark, my bucket list item. This was my first big item on the list and I am glad I could tick off a few more like watching northern lights in Iceland. However, skydiving was the most adventurous experience in my life by far. But then when you love height and speed, you are more likely to enjoy skydiving right? I am definitely not a water-person, which explains why we haven’t listed other water activities in UAE like snorkeling, scuba diving in my recommended list.
In skydiving, just to jump out of the plane, we waste fuel and increase carbon emission simply for pleasure. It is a highly polluting sport. I might have easily offset my carbon footprint of one tandem skydive because of my sustainable lifestyle, but I am not justifying it at all. I went ahead to take the jump from 13,000 ft. at breathtaking Palm Dropzone because I wanted to experience it once in my lifetime. The Earth you can see from up there and the feeling of being free can be experienced during the free-fall were so unique, cherishable and adventure element is undeniable. So I loved this experience. But will I do it again? I don’t think so, it’s bad for the planet and pocket!
If you are looking for some weekend gateways and some adventures closer to UAE, I will highly recommend traveling to neighboring Oman. At just a few hour’s drive, you can hike on Jebel shams and camp there or you can visit Musandam and camp on the beach.
