Tours in Ras Al-Khaimah

Ras Al Khaimah is the northern end of the country and the one emirate with real mountains. The Hajar range starts behind the town. The dunes start in front of it.

Things to do in Ras Al Khaimah split between those two. The city itself is small. Most of the driving here is short.

The mountain

Jebel Jais tops out at 1,934 metres, but the summit is over the border in Oman. The highest ground on the UAE side is 1,892 metres, and a road of switchbacks climbs to it. In January it is genuinely cold up there.

• Jais Flight. The world's longest zipline on the Guinness record, at 2,832 metres. It opened in 2018.
• Jais Sledder. A toboggan run down the mountainside, slower and much longer than the zipline.
• Via ferrata and trails. Fixed cable routes on the rock, plus walking paths off the viewing deck.
• The drive. The road itself is the attraction, and the top runs about ten degrees cooler than the coast.

Down at sea level

The coast is a long, plain beach with hotels along it. Behind it lie the ruins of Julfar, a pearling and trading port that mattered long before Dubai existed. Dhayah Fort stands on a hill nearby.

Dhayah was the last place in the Emirates to hold out against the British, in 1819. The dunes begin a short drive inland. That is closer than anywhere else in the country.

What sells from here

The emirate sells the desert, not the city. Safaris run morning and evening with quad bikes, camel trekking and a barbecue at the end. Prices sit below the Dubai equivalent.

What it has that Dubai barely does is the overnight camp. Tents in the dunes, dinner, stars, breakfast. Private dinners in the sand are sold as their own product.

Practical

• Mountain weather. Check it rather than assume it. The summit has dropped below freezing in winter, while the coast stayed in shirtsleeves.
• Season. November to March at sea level, as everywhere. Summer is above 40C and the desert camps move later into the night.
• Getting here. Dubai airport is a little over an hour by road. Ras Al Khaimah has an airport of its own, but few visitors arrive through it.
• Overnight camps. Basic by design: sand, thin walls, patchy phone signal, and colder after dark than anyone expects.
• What to bring. A fleece for the mountain and the camp, closed shoes for the via ferrata, and more water than feels sensible.
• Taxis. Metered but scarce outside town, and there is nothing like a metro.
• Alcohol. Served in licensed hotels across the emirate.