Archive : sharjah

Exploring Mleiha Archeological Centre and it’s surrounding

Today we are going back in history and see what Mleiha Archeological Centre has to offer. Located in the Emirates of Sharjah, an hour drive away from Dubai, it is a small museum that house the fossils found in the surrounding area. There are lots of information on the life of the region and great for those who loves history.

There is a small entry fee if you wish to visit the museum.

You could visit their website for most updated information of the entrance fees: https://www.discovermleiha.ae/activities-adventures/

Opening hours

For us who is not so into history, we actually preferred to walk around the area. We did visited their museum but was not impress, it was smaller than we expected but I must say the cafe there looks pretty good and has outdoor seatings as well. There are a couple of archaeological sites near the museum that I would say worth checking out.

We went to one of the sites called The Wadi Caves and enjoy the trail. It was not long but definitely have lots of caves and interesting rock formation.

One of my favourite shot during the trip was taken at The Wadi Caves.

Loving this shot taken at The Wadi Caves.

We spend some time exploring the trails at wadi caves and you can do an off track hiking if you are up to it. As it was near sunset, we left the place and head to over to a sand dunes nearby to play with the sands before it gets dark.

This is the coordinates for the sand dunes:

25°06’46.3″N 55°49’40.7″E
https://goo.gl/maps/xQ3iyPJyugF9DJsv5

It is accessible by sedan car but be very careful and do not go further in as the sands are more soft. Stop at where most people park and you should be fine.

In case your car get stuck and you are stranded, you could try getting help with this Rescue apps. Tried and tested!

https://apps.apple.com/ae/app/إنقاذ-اﻹمارات/id1455614366

We had lots of fun at the dunes, kids could not get tired from climbing the sand dunes and slide down. Works best if you have a sand boarding board. Otherwise just be creative and play!

There are many families setting up tables and have picnic or barbecue so that could be an option as well.

Manage to climb to the top of the sand dunes before the sun sets fully.

I would definitely recommend The Wadi Caves plus the sand dunes, great for a half day out in the open. For those who love history, then definitely go for the museum as well!

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First hike in UAE @ Al Rabi

Excited to start our hike

Hiking is not something that we did much in the past and we definitely did not expect the kids to love it. We used to do a short hike in the past when we visited other countries such as Lake District in UK but the kids was not very excited and would always wanted to go back to our hotel/accommodation rather than doing a couple of hours of hiking.

We did our first proper hike in November 2020 with a couple of friends and their family. The weather is still warm in the daytime in November so we decided to leave Dubai early and head to Al Rabi in Khorfakkan which is an hour and a half away. We met up at McDonalds to grab some breakfast to eat on our way there.

To reach the parking spot for the hike, just search Al Rabi Hiking Trail or Al Rabi Tower on google map. When you reach there, park at the long term parking area which is below the Al Rabi tower. You might risk getting a fine if you park at the short term parking area and go for a full hike. Short term parking are reserved for those who wanted to visit Al Rabi Tower.

Long term parking area

The hardest part (IMHO) is actually climbing the steep slope to go up to the Al Rabi Tower from the long term parking area. It definitely takes up lots of our energy and strength.

The killer slope from long term car park to the Al Rabi Tower
Start of the trail , just next to the Al Rabi Tower

TIPS: There are no washroom available at Al Rabi Tower so do visit nearby petrol station before heading for the hike. There are also no stalls selling food so do bring your own food and water. I would recommend getting 1L of water per adult if you plan to do the full hike which is about 7.5km, around 3.5 hours hike with rest.

The trail is well marked with many good spot for photo taking. It overlooks the city and port so you get both city and sea view. The pros of this trail is that it is not a loop so you could hike until a point that you are comfortable with and then double back on the same trail. It is well marked so it is good for beginner and it is not easy to get lost in this well marked trail.

However, it gets quite crowded over the weekend as it is very easy to reach plus it has a great view and easy to moderate trail. Definitely worth a try if you wanted to try hiking for the first time.

Very nice view along the hike
Loving this shot of a lone tree amidst the scenic backdrop
Some shots along the hike
We made it to the top

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