Al `Ayn Things to Do

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JEBEL is the Arabic word for "Mount".

"Jebel Hafeet" mountain proudly rises 1,240 metres (4,068 feet) above Al Ain, providing spectacular views across the UAE / Omani border. It is often incorrectly named as the UAE's highest mountain because it's so well-known, but this honour actually belongs to Jabal Yibir.

A modern 3-lane highway snakes up the mountain and has been dubbed as "one of the best driving roads in the world" stretching over 15 kilometres with 60 fantastic curves & twists. (if Jeremy Clarkson of BBC's Top Gear liked this road, it's gotta be good!) Many car manufacturers love testing their newest models here (Mercedes, Mini Cooper, etc.)
The road scales the mountain and ends at a parking lot with a viewing platform, a hotel and a ruling family's palace.

And when you're done with driving...

TIP 1) Al Ain is known as the Garden City of the UAE and has many public parks. Located at the foot of Jebel Hafeet, the Green Mubazzarah Garden provides recreational activities such as sand skiing, abseiling, rope climbing, camping and hiking on special trails. There are also bowling, snooker and billiard centres. Free sheds with benches & barbeque stands are provided.

2) Situated around a lake created by underground springs at the foot of Jebel Hafeet Mountain and surrounded by jagged cliffs, the Ain Al Faydah picnic resort offers everything from ten-pin bowling to swimming pools. Especially on the weekends (Fridays) you'll see local families enjoying this spot with their children.
Besides enjoying a boat ride on the lake, you can spread a blanket and sit in the beautifully manicured gardens or pitch a ball in the playground.

Jebel Hafeet is one the highest mountains in UAE, standing about 1340 meters high above sea level. Breathtaking view to the surrounding areas like deserts, wadis (dried river path), and Al Ain city when the day is clear (no dust/fog).

There's an excellent 13 km winding road to go to the top where there is very spacious area for car park and a restaurant/cafetaria. You can have picnic there as well if you will.

Note: commonly mistaken by people, Jebel Hafeet is not the highest peak in UAE, although it is the highest that reachable by car. The highest peak is Jabal Yibir at 1527 meters above sea level, located in Northern UAE near Oman border. (Thanks to JessH for correction)

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My fiance loves planes, so when I heard about the Al Ain Aerobatics show we decided to "make a day of it" and headed south to this green little emirate. After visiting the zoo in the morning (see my separate tip) we arrive at the Al Ain International airport and were really pleased with the friendly staff and good organisation & layout of the event.
The Air Show lasts for 4 days and is an annual event. More than 110 aircraft, including vintage and fighter jets and solo and team pilots participated from 40 different countries in the show that entertained more than 130,000 visitors in the oasis city.

The flying displays were well explained by a commentator on loud-speaker, and the acrobatic flying manoeuvres and judging is recognized as an international competitive event.

After the competition, the acrobats and daredevil wing-walkers took to the air.

Outside the display arena, numerous stands by the military, car racing clubs and also heritage organisations were very interested. John was thrilled to be able to hold a gorgeous Pakistani falcon at one of the heritage stands. (You can see more photos in my separate travelogue.)

There were also plenty of food & beverage facilities as well as large play areas for children.

If you're in the United Arab Emirates during the month of February and have an interest in aircrafts, I would definitely recommend visiting Al Ain. We really enjoyed our time here, and 40 Dirhams entrance fee (per adult) is truly a bargain for such a great day's activities!

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This fort was built in 1889 by Sh. Zayad ben Khalifa. It is one of the bigger forts and it has some what a unique design.

One of its corners has a 4 towers encircling each other. on the other corner there is a smaller for within the fort. When I got to the fort there was not even a security guard and I had the place for my self. I don’t think there is an admission fee

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It is a park where families can spend some time. It also contains the remains of a a settelment dating back to 3000 BC. The remains include graves, Houses and a Falij.

The Falij is a water way that is dug underground wich channels water channeld to reach to farms. Parts of the Falij will be usually above the grounf. This is the oldest know falij in the world

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This is a nice place to visit to learn about the history of the city. There evidence of human settlement dating as back as 3000 BC. The UAE and Oman during that Period of time was known as Majan or Mazon.

It is obvious from the excavation here and else where in Oman that this area was big in Copper production. In addition to that commodity it also traded in Murr and Insist which are grown locally. The major trading partners where Iraq and the Indian Subcontinent. In this museum you'll see some of that and you can also walk around the fort that has a nice collection of old pictures

This is a nice public garden right in the middle of Al Ain town. Nice place to bring your family for a nice stroll or a picnic under a palm tree on a cool evening. Very well-maintained with nice flowers, fountains and palm trees. From here, you would also have a nice view of the Jahli Fort which is located at one corner of the park.

Entrance: Dh1
This is supposedly the site of the Hilli tombs – an archaeological discovery site. But overall, the sights are not very interesting (except maybe to hardcore archaeologist). It is more of a family playground – a place for you to bring your children in the evenings to enjoy the swings or seesaws. The amenities are quite rundown. And when I visited, summer has just ended so there were no beautiful flowers to cheer up the place. Not really worth the visit.