UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
ABU DHABI Ras Al Khaimah
Persian Gulf
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
SAUDI ARABIA
Persian Gulf Ras Al Khaimah
Al Jazeera Al Hamra
Musandam Peninsula Dubai
10 miles
OMAN CAMP 1770
AL WADI NATURE RESERVE
GETTING THERE AND AROUND Emirates flies direct to Dubai from UK hubs including Heathrow, Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle. From there, it’s around an hour and a half’s drive to Ras Al Khaimah along wide highways.
emirates.com Average flight time: 7h. Ras Al Khaimah is a compact emirate; from Ras Al Khaimah city, it takes around 20 minutes to drive to Jebel Jais, Al Jazeera Al Hamra or the Ritz- Carlton Al Wadi. Cars are the main mode of transport to cover even small distances. Rentals are available at Dubai airport; taxis can also be booked through the Careem app.
careem.com
throughout the country, in total covering 60sq miles of Emirati coast. The national government is investing in their conservation — as carbon stores, coastal defences, natural sanctuaries and sources of income. At a time when mangrove forests around the world are being lost to human activity and climate change, in the UAE they’re growing. I explore the local thicket that evening, paddling by the water-level
canopy with a kayak rented from a roadside stall, Al Ras Kayak. Flying fish leap in front of my bow and I follow them inside a channel. I glide slowly, careful not to disturb the wildlife I can’t see but whose song has engulfed me entirely. It’s a soundscape I can’t untangle: there’s chirping, a shrill whistle, a croaking like the plucking of an out-of-tune guitar — the chorus of the mangroves’ birds, including cormorants, western reef herons and greater spotted eagles, which share these waters with turtles, rays and reef sharks. I’m so engrossed, I don’t notice the path narrowing until the mangroves’ breathing roots scratch the side of my kayak. I take a last, lucky glance inside the foliage, spotting an Arabian collared kingfisher. But it’s when I come out of the waterway that I find what I’ve come
looking for: a flamboyance of flamingos walking in the shallows, flicking their hooked beaks this way and that. The setting sun has warmed the sky and flushed their feathers a deep peach. I stop at a distance, bobbing in the calm water and taking in the scene. Then, a bird at one end of the procession spreads its wings. It keeps them splayed, neck straight, legs poised, holding the pose like it’s holding a breath — a prelude, I soon realise, to the show that’s about to play out. When it takes off, the act is so deliberate it seems like a performance.
One after the other, the flamingos follow suit in a chain reaction of fluttering and flapping. And, caught in their excitement, I join the flock — them flying high above, me paddling swiftly below. I heave my kayak with full force, following the straight arrow of their flight, stabbing the water to their regimented wingbeats until I’m right under the leader. When I look up, it looks like it’s hovering. For the few heartbeats I manage to keep up, time once again seems to come to a standstill.
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NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM/TRAVEL
Above: Paddling a kayak around the mangrove forest in a protected creek at the centre of Ras Al Khaimah city, home to a large group of flamingos
WHEN TO GO Weather-wise, the best time to get active in the UAE is winter (December to March), when the mercury hovers at a pleasant 20–25C. The Ras Al Khaimah Art festival runs in February every year. Summers (late-May to August) are sweltering, with highs of 45C and little respite even at night. No matter the season, temperatures in the Hajar Mountains are 10–15C cooler than around the coast and desert.
WHERE TO STAY Bear Grylls Explorers Camp, at the foot of Jebel Jais. Three-person self- catering cabins from AED325 (£70).
beargryllscamp.ae The Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Wadi Desert. From AED1,741 (£378), B&B.
ritzcarlton.com Banan Beach, Ras Al Khaimah city. From AED550 (£120), B&B.
bananbeach.com
MORE INFO
visitrasalkhaimah.com
HOW TO DO IT Kuoni has five nights at the Ritz Carlton Ras Al Khaimah Al Wadi Desert, in an Al Rimal Pool Villa on a B&B basis, including flights, from £2,849 per person.
kuoni.co.uk
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ILLUSTRATION: JOHN PLUMER
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