Hili 2 and Wadi Wurayah

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 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 Faya Palaeolandscape.

2. 2. Faya Palaeolandscape

   Sharjah's interior is a world of red dunes, gravel plains and jagged limestone ridges, and in the middle of it, near the town of Mleiha, the hill of Jebel Faya holds one of the most important records of early human presence outside Africa. Excavations in rock shelters at the foot of the mountain have revealed stone tools spanning many tens of thousands of years, suggesting that early modern humans were present in Arabia far earlier than once thought, during periods when the climate was wetter and the desert greener. The Faya Palaeolandscape was inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2025, recognising its significance for understanding human dispersal out of Africa.

   Read the complete Faya Palaeolandscape write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Faya Palaeolandscape comes up about 105 km into the recorded legs. Next is Wadi Wurayah.

3. 3. Wadi Wurayah

   Wadi Wurayah lies in the Hajar mountains on the east coast of the Emirates, in the narrow strip of Fujairah that reaches the Gulf of Oman, and it is one of the few places in the country where water stays on the surface all year. A stream runs through the gorge, feeding pools and small falls beneath tall, folded cliffs of limestone and ophiolite, rock that was once part of the ocean floor and was pushed up onto the land when plates collided. It was the first mountain protected area in the Emirates and is now a national park. Fish live in the pools, and the rarer animals include the Arabian tahr, a shy mountain goat that few visitors ever see.

   Read the complete Wadi Wurayah write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 231 km into the recorded legs you reach Wadi Wurayah. Next is back through Faya Palaeolandscape.

4. 4. back through Faya Palaeolandscape

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Faya Palaeolandscape write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Faya Palaeolandscape, late in the day. Next is Hili 2.

5. 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.