No longer the hidden gem of the UAE, Ras Al Khaimah is experiencing a tourist boom thanks in part to its fast growing reputation as an adventure sports hotspot.
March was a record month for the tourism authority, with occupancy rates in RAK hotels at 87.5 per cent.
In a crowded travel market, RAK offers something different – but that comes at a price, with safety a major factor in adventure sports tourism.
In November, ten hikers were rescued after losing their way in the RAK mountains.
Police deployed foot patrols and a helicopter after the alarm was raised, and all hikers were rescued safely, but exhausted.
It was a stark reminder of the dangers of enjoying the great outdoors, and steps are underway to make the region safer with more signposted routes for hikers and bikers.
“Adventure tourism will always carry an element of risk,” said Haitham Mattar, CEO of the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, speaking at this week's Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.
“The challenges we’ve had with people disappearing is when they go off route and want to explore without following the signs put up for hikers.
“We have increased the levels of signage and the new routes will be colour coded to show level of difficulty and we will be providing maps with GPS points to help them get back safely.”
Tourism revenue is growing at 10 per cent year on year. More than 5,000 adrenaline seekers have visited the emirate to take on the Toroverde zipline, officially the longest in the world at 2.83km, since opening in February.
Due to its popularity, it will double in size with two extra lines to be built in July.
The extensions will allow four people at a time to ride from the zipline, 1,680 metres above sea level from Jebel Jais.
Mountain biking and new hiking routes are also being extended to cover 81 kilometers, with a 30km route due to open by the end of the year.
Routes will have three different starting points and eventually take in a new luxury wilderness camp with 36 units, including family rooms, royal suites, spa and outdoor gym.
There will be adventure activities for children also, set in the mountains and will be open by the end of 2020.
“The great outdoors is what has been missing from the UAE, particularly in the summer, but that is beginning to change with what we are building in RAK,” said Mr Mattar.
“The temperature can be 10 degrees lower in the mountains than in the rest of the country, there is very little humidity even in summer.”
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Read more:
Record-breaking zipline opens in Ras al Khaimah
Ten 'exhausted' hikers rescued after losing way in RAK mountains
Two men trapped overnight on Sharjah mountain rescued
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Rubbish strewn around popular beauty spots and trails has blighted many visits to the mountains, but that is also beginning to change since fines for littering in the area doubled from Dh500 to Dh1000.
Waste management has also increased in the mountains, to help keep them looking their best whilst protecting the environment and the wildlife living there.
“We have created our own identity, by giving people more things to do in RAK we are seeing an increase in the average length of stay,” said Mr Mattar.
“The terrain is beautiful, and natural with wildlife like oryx or desert foxes. You don’t get to see this elsewhere in the UAE.
“The municipality, public works and police are working with us to make a visit here as safe as possible.
“Hiking is becoming more popular here and we are acting quickly to provide the right services so they can enjoy their adventure.
“We have seen big improvements, not just because more effort is being made to clean up the area but people’s behaviour is also changing and they are taking more responsibility.”
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More on animal trafficking
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
RESULT
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3
Chelsea: Willian (40'), Batshuayi (42', 49')
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
THE BIO
Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist
Age: 78
Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”
Hobbies: his work - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”
Other hobbies: football
Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
