Luxury hotels in Ras Al Khaimah

Ras Al Khaimah guide

Ras Al Khaimah: Jebel Jais and the world's longest zipline

The UAE's highest peak, mountain roads above the clouds, desert camps and quiet beaches.

Jebel Jais, the highest peak in the United Arab Emirates, is Ras Al Khaimah's most cited sight, reached by a spectacular mountain road and home to the Jais Flight, one of the world's longest ziplines, and a via ferrata. The summit is noticeably cooler than the coast, even in summer.

The emirate's beaches and islands are quiet, its desert camps offer dune dinners, and the ruins of Dhayah Fort and the abandoned pearling village of Al Jazirat Al Hamra show its past. Dubai is about an hour away, and October to April is ideal.

Desert camps and dune dinners

The red dunes of Ras Al Khaimah, a short drive from the coast, are the most cited desert experience in the emirate, quieter than Dubai's desert safaris. Camps offer camel rides, falconry demonstrations and dinners on the sand under the stars.

Some desert resorts are set among the dunes with their own wildlife reserves, where Arabian oryx and gazelles roam. The cooler months, from October to April, are the season, and nights in the desert can be surprisingly cool in winter.

Dhayah Fort and Al Jazirat Al Hamra

Dhayah Fort, a mud-brick fortress on a hilltop overlooking palm groves and the sea, is the only hilltop fort in the UAE and one of the most cited historic sights in Ras Al Khaimah. The climb up its steps is short, and the view at sunset is lovely.

Al Jazirat Al Hamra, a coral-stone pearling village abandoned in the 1960s, is one of the best-preserved traditional towns in the Gulf and is being restored with a heritage trail. The National Museum of Ras Al Khaimah occupies a former royal fort.