Road trip · Ras Al Khaimah & Al Ain, UAE
Jebel Jais & Jebel Hafeet
Ras Al Khaimah → Jebel Jais → Al Ain
The Gulf's two great driving mountains in one weekend: Jais's wide modern sweepers into the Hajar range, then Hafeet's 60 floodlit hairpins rising out of the desert.
210 mi · 2 days · best November–March (20°C on the summits) · $$
The route
Start, finish and every stop, pinned — turn-by-turn in one tap.
Pace & driving
Relaxed pace5h 15m
total driving
2h 38m
driving per day
105
miles per day
Driving times are estimates at a ~40 mph touring pace (stops, photos and traffic add to the clock).
Along the way
- 🚗 20 mi · ~30 min1
Jebel Jais switchbacks
Scenicmile 20The UAE's highest road — engineered curves that feel drawn by a designer, not a surveyor.
- 🚗 2 mi · ~3 min2
Jais Sky Tour
Detourmile 22The world's longest zipline, off the same summit you just drove.
- 🚗 18 mi · ~27 min3
Dhayah Fort
Scenicmile 40A mudbrick fort above the date palms — the last place in the Emirates to fall to the British.
- 🚗 140 mi · ~3h 30m4
Al Ain oasis lunch
Eatmile 180Shade, falaj channels, and Emirati machboos in the UNESCO oasis.
- 🚗 15 mi · ~23 min5
Jebel Hafeet at dusk
Scenicmile 195Sixty hairpins, floodlit at night — drive up for sunset over the dunes.
- 🚗 5 mi · ~8 min6
Green Mubazzarah springs
Staymile 200Hot springs at the mountain's foot; camels graze past at dawn.
🏁 Al Ain
Right vehicle for this drive
Mountain roads are more comfortable and surefooted in an SUV
Make it yours
Ask Arya to pace this drive around your DNA — where to linger, what to skip, and where to sleep.