Why this ride
From Al Buraymī it runs 93 km to Al Buraymī; allow about 1 h 58 of riding. On the way it passes Bidaa Bint Saud, Jebel Hafit North Tombs and back through Bidaa Bint Saud. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Hili 2 and Jebel Hafit North Tombs
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 93 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 58
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Hili 2
Jebel Hafit rises out of the flat desert like a wall of grey limestone, and at its foot lie some of the oldest tombs in the Arabian Peninsula. Hili 2 is part of the archaeological park on the edge of Al Ain, in Abu Dhabi emirate, where beehive-shaped stone tombs were built around five thousand years ago, in what archaeologists call the Umm an-Nar period. The round towers of neatly cut stone, some with carved animals and human figures on the doorways, held collective burials, and the place is also home to remains of a Bronze Age settlement and ancient irrigation channels called falaj. The tombs, together with the oases and the hill, are part of the UNESCO listing of the cultural sites of Al Ain, inscribed in 2011.
Read the complete Hili 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hili 2 is where the day begins. Next is Bidaa Bint Saud.
2. Bidaa Bint Saud
Jebel Hafit rises out of the flat gravel desert near Al Ain like a lizard's back, a bare, folded limestone ridge about twelve hundred metres high that marks the border between the United Arab Emirates and Oman. It is the best-known landmark in the area, and the scatter of ancient sites around it tells the story of the people who lived here. On the lower slopes are about five thousand years old beehive-shaped stone tombs, the first examples of a type of grave that is now named after the mountain, and the Hafit period is a recognised phase of Bronze Age archaeology in south-east Arabia.
Read the complete Bidaa Bint Saud write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bidaa Bint Saud comes up about 18 km into the recorded legs. Next is Jebel Hafit North Tombs.
3. Jebel Hafit North Tombs
Jebel Hafit is the lone mountain that rises out of the desert at the edge of Al Ain, in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and it is the highest point in the emirate at about 1,250 metres. It stands almost alone, a long, whale-backed ridge of pale limestone, with the Omani border running along its southern flank, and from the summit you can look out over a wide plain of sand, date plantations and the white buildings of the city. The geology is old and visibly folded, with fossils of shells and corals in the rock.
Read the complete Jebel Hafit North Tombs write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 46 km into the recorded legs you reach Jebel Hafit North Tombs. Next is back through Bidaa Bint Saud.
4. back through Bidaa Bint Saud
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bidaa Bint Saud write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Bidaa Bint Saud, late in the day. Next is Hili 2.
5. Hili 2
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hili 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Hili 2. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Hili 2 to Bidaa Bint Saud
Hili 2 → Bidaa Bint Saud is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Bidaa Bint Saud to Jebel Hafit North Tombs
Bidaa Bint Saud → Jebel Hafit North Tombs is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Jebel Hafit North Tombs to back through Bidaa Bint Saud
Jebel Hafit North Tombs → back through Bidaa Bint Saud is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Bidaa Bint Saud to Hili 2
back through Bidaa Bint Saud → Hili 2 is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.