• The Green Planet has relaunched its Camping in the Rainforest experience, which allows visitors to stay at Dubai's indoor rainforest overnight. All photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National
    The Green Planet has relaunched its Camping in the Rainforest experience, which allows visitors to stay at Dubai's indoor rainforest overnight. All photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Campers sleep among the 3,000 plants and animals that call The Green Planet home.
    Campers sleep among the 3,000 plants and animals that call The Green Planet home.
  • The New Caledonia giant gecko.
    The New Caledonia giant gecko.
  • A Victoria Crowned Pigeon sleeps.
    A Victoria Crowned Pigeon sleeps.
  • Families are invited to explore the facility.
    Families are invited to explore the facility.
  • The Green Planet leads tours to introduce visitors to nocturnal animals.
    The Green Planet leads tours to introduce visitors to nocturnal animals.
  • Games and family activities are also held.
    Games and family activities are also held.
  • A view of the snakes.
    A view of the snakes.
  • Birds sit on the handrail as the sun goes down.
    Birds sit on the handrail as the sun goes down.
  • A view of the biodome at night.
    A view of the biodome at night.
  • Darkness has fallen.
    Darkness has fallen.
  • Birds fly around freely.
    Birds fly around freely.
  • The facility is home to snakes and lizards.
    The facility is home to snakes and lizards.
  • A giant gecko.
    A giant gecko.
  • A young boy walks around the rainforest at night looking at the animals.
    A young boy walks around the rainforest at night looking at the animals.
  • A slow loris.
    A slow loris.
  • Visitors are given head torches.
    Visitors are given head torches.
  • A bearcat at the biodome.
    A bearcat at the biodome.
  • The sloths climb at night.
    The sloths climb at night.

The Green Planet at night: Dubai's indoor rainforest relaunches camping experience


Katy Gillett
  • English
  • Arabic

Dubai's indoor rainforest, The Green Planet, has relaunched its overnight camping experience to the public.

Visitors are able to sleep among the more than 3,000 animals and plants that call the biodome home.

Scroll through the gallery above to see what The Green Planet looks like at night.

Tents are pitched and activities planned, with games and experiences catering to families.

Staff lead rainforest tours, so guests can learn more about the nocturnal animals living there, and movie screenings or story time also take place.

The experience, which is available on Fridays and Saturdays until August 27, begins at 7pm, with dinner being served at the Green Planet Cafe, where breakfast is also given the following morning, when the journey wraps up.

Visitors also get the chance to feed the animals.

The package costs Dh700 for a tent for two guests. A large tent for four is Dh1,200. Prices include access to lockers, bathrooms and shower facilities.

Places need to be booked at least 24 hours in advance and spots are limited.

Meet the creatures inside The Green Planet

  • The Green Planet is in City Walk, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    The Green Planet is in City Walk, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • The indoor biodome rainforest houses hundreds of creatures. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    The indoor biodome rainforest houses hundreds of creatures. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • A two-toed sloth lives at The Green Planet, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    A two-toed sloth lives at The Green Planet, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Fish feeding time at The Green Planet, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Fish feeding time at The Green Planet, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • The Green Planet is also home to 1,000 piranha fish. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    The Green Planet is also home to 1,000 piranha fish. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • A channel billed toucan at The Green Planet, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    A channel billed toucan at The Green Planet, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Visitors at The Green Planet, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Visitors at The Green Planet, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Designed as an enclosed ecosystem, The Green Planet recreates a tropical forest with over 3,000 plants and animals. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Designed as an enclosed ecosystem, The Green Planet recreates a tropical forest with over 3,000 plants and animals. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • See the world’s largest indoor man-made and life-sustaining tree at The Green Planet, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    See the world’s largest indoor man-made and life-sustaining tree at The Green Planet, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Children love it here. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Children love it here. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • The attraction is split into various sections. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    The attraction is split into various sections. Chris Whiteoak / The National

The family-friendly facility is home to a wide range of creatures, including Fluffy the bearcat, a male binturong that's The Green Planet's biggest furry resident, as well as cotton-top tamarin monkey twins that were born at the dome.

In 2019, the team took in an abandoned slow loris that was rescued from Dubai's streets. Lonely Loris, as he is called, was found abandoned in a box and is thought to have been illegally trafficked. The doe-eyed primate is a Sunda slow loris from Java, Indonesia. There are nine species of slow loris, which originate from Asia, and they are at significant risk of extinction in the wild, sharing the same critical status as African elephants, gorillas and orangutans.

A few months later, Amal, a second slow loris, was brought to the facility for breeding purposes.

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Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption. 

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks. 

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes. 

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion. 

8. Pillar 2 implementation 

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations. 

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity. 

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

Know your camel milk:
Flavour: Similar to goat’s milk, although less pungent. Vaguely sweet with a subtle, salty aftertaste.
Texture: Smooth and creamy, with a slightly thinner consistency than cow’s milk.
Use it: In your morning coffee, to add flavour to homemade ice cream and milk-heavy desserts, smoothies, spiced camel-milk hot chocolate.
Goes well with: chocolate and caramel, saffron, cardamom and cloves. Also works well with honey and dates.

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Five hymns the crowds can join in

Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday

Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir

Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium

‘Christ be our Light’ as the entrance song

‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar

‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion

‘Tell out my Soul’ as the final hymn after the blessings from the Pope

The choir will also sing the hymn ‘Legions of Heaven’ in Arabic as ‘Assakiroo Sama’

There are 15 Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the choir that comprises residents from the Philippines, India, France, Italy, America, Netherlands, Armenia and Indonesia

The choir will be accompanied by a brass ensemble and an organ

They will practice for the first time at the stadium on the eve of the public mass on Monday evening 

Updated: June 02, 2022, 4:22 AM