Qattara is one of the old oases of Al Ain, a cluster of palm gardens that once fed a handful of mudbrick houses and towers. The area has been inhabited for thousands of years, and the whole group of oases is recognised by UNESCO for the way people have managed water in a place where it hardly rains. At Qattara you can still see the old layout: shaded lanes between walls, small farm plots under the palms, and a fort that was built to protect the wells and the people who relied on them.
The fort was restored and today holds a small arts centre and craft displays, and the market nearby sells dates, spices and local goods in a quieter way than the big city souqs. It is a place to walk slowly. The air inside the gardens is noticeably cooler than outside, and the sound of water in the falaj, a bubbling thread of irrigation, is a better soundtrack than most.
Jebel Hafit is the other half of the story, rising on the near horizon. It is the highest peak in the emirate of Abu Dhabi at over twelve hundred metres, a long ridge of folded limestone with fossils in its sides, and the road to the top is a rider's treat. It twists up in a long series of hairpins and bends for about a dozen kilometres, with fine tarmac, good barriers and views over the plain that get bigger with every turn. At the top there is a hotel with a terrace, and on a clear evening you can watch the lights of two countries come on. Beehive-shaped tombs of the Hafit period, some five thousand years old, dot the lower slopes, and you can see them from the road.
Go early, because the summer sun makes the plain unbearable and the wind at the summit can be gusty. Weekends bring cars and sightseers, and on a Friday evening the top road gets busy, so try for a weekday. Water is essential, and fuel is easy in Al Buraymi and Al Ain, both only a few kilometres away. In winter the weather is wonderful, and desert nights get a chill that surprises first-time visitors.