Jebel Hafeet: heat-beating retreat

Want to know how to get out of the humidity for a while without leaving the UAE?

Head up a mountain.

The city of Al Ain in the Abu Dhabi emirate is close to the border of Oman, and the Hajjar mountain range which runs spinelike through Oman also invades the Al Ain environs.

The tallest peak on the Al Ain side is called Jebel Hafeet – rising up to 1240m. At the base is an area called the Green Mubazzarah – a popular picnic area with natural hot water springs. The 3-lane, 15km sealed road leading up the mountain is a work of art. It’s well–lit by halogen street lamps at night, and guarded by concrete barriers to stop the cars from driving over the edge and careening down the steep slopes to a less-than-happy fate. Judging by the scrapes and paint marks on the barriers, it appears that their presence has done much to prevent the already too-high UAE road toll from becoming even higher.

Click on the images to enlarge them.

Numerous huge car parking areas have been built along the road. In our trips up the mountain with various overseas visitors in tow, we’ve never seen more than 1 or 2 cars in any of these areas. The top carpark is easily the size of 4 or 5 football fields, and the black tyre marks which criss-cross the cobblestones are evidence that much hooning takes place up there by the resident boy racers.

On a clear day, the views are spectacular. Al Ain city and its environs stretch out at the base of the mountain; the sand and rock interspersed with areas of green which are a testament to the late Sheikh Zayed’s passion and determination to “greenify” the area, and much of the greenery is watered by his Bio-saline agricultural project. The sand dunes to the southwest are awesome, as is the mountain itself. Take binoculars, as viewing the environs through them allows so much more detail to be seen.

There are 2 amazing manmade structures on top of Jebel Hafeet. At the very top sits the palace where once resided Shaikh Zayed. It’s a fantastic engineering feat perched on the very top of the ridge.

Slightly below the palace is the Mercure Hotel. The Mercure is a popular place for weekend getaways from Dubai – and the rates are quite reasonable. There's a wonderful swimming pool and waterslides for kids (of all ages!) to enjoy, as well as a mini golf course, gym, squash and tennis courts, and a play area for the kids.

On the second floor of the hotel and only accessible to the hotel guests is a wonderful viewing deck. The wide concrete railing has a mosaic map of the surrounding vista – pointing out areas of interest, as well as describing the local flora and fauna. Markers also indicate the directions of the world’s major cities in relation to the hotel.

Being elevated, the mountain has its own ecoclimate, is less humid than the lower surrounding countryside and is also colder at night. In Summer, the skin burntime is a lot less than in Dubai - as M found out to her detriment during the July visit!

It’s a great place to base yourself when visiting Al Ain to experience all the attractions of the area. The camel market, zoo*, oases, forts and museums are among the finest in the UAE.

*I included the zoo as one of the finest sites because although it was a bit rundown and lacking in the animal department when we last visited, what is there is amazing to see - and it was only 2 dirhams to get in! The reptile house alone is worth the visit with huge pythons and anacondas, as well as the smaller species of reptiles.

Just recently there's been good news for the zoo. A 15 million dirham refurbishment has added covered walkways, new facilities and revamped animal enclosures.

Plans are also underway to include a day and night safari, as well as build a water park.

Unlike the Dubai zoo, the enclosures are spacious, grassed, and from what we can see, all the animals' sleeping quarters have air-conditioners. Whether the aircon is actually used, I can't say!

I don't understand why they can't relocate some of the poor animals out of the Dubai Zoo to Al Ain until the new Dubai zoo is (ever) ready. It would benefit both establishments, and most of all, benefit the animals.

EDIT: Ahmed wrote to us to say that the palace on top of Jebel Hafeet is actually UAE President Sheikh Khalifa's residence - thanks Ahmed!

This post was also included in Gulf News' Pick of the Week on 7th August which now appears to be a weekly column highlighting posts from the regional bloggers.