The winter in Hajar Mountains in the United Arab Emirates is currently at its peak. All plants and trees around Jebel Yanas spread their beautiful flowers and the colour of the grass is so green like never at any time of the year. As the summer is slowly approaching this region it might be the last chance to relax in the mountains before it gets too hot.
ALWAYS HAVE PLAN B!
I packed my backpack and headed to Wadi Naqab. I found the police car at the entrance of valley and the police officer explaining that Wadi Naqab is not gonna be accessible for the next two months as they are shooting a movie. Luckily I thought about plan B and I headed to top of Jebel Yanas.
HIKING MADE EASY
The hiking trail in Jebel Yanas starts here: 25°43’57.2″N 56°06’46.3″E.
You will need 4×4 car to reach to this point, however if you do not have one, you can leave the car earlier on the road while driving to the top of the mountain and hike to the starting point.
The trail nowadays is well marked with orange spray on the stones, so it is easy to follow. It is not very challenging – mostly going forward it’s gonna be down and on the way back – the opposite. It is advised to avoid hiking at the time of midday to avoid heat exhaustion, as the trail is mostly directly exposed to the sunlight.
HIDDEN MOUNTAIN GEMS
After around 1 hour of hiking you will reach first viewpoint on villages, which is gonna be around here: 25°43’59.4″N 56°07’49.1″E. You will be amazed by the spectacular view of high and cold mountains and tiny villages at the tops. This landscape truly reminds me of scenes from Lord of the Rings.
From this point proceed to the left direction and you will reach green fields and a lively village. This village can be actually also accessed by 4×4 car from the other side with this road: 25°44’18.6″N 56°08’11.0″E in Wadi Bih. I do not recommend to take this off-road trail if you are a beginner or during the period after rain. The road is very steep and tends to get damaged after rainfall. Additionally, water brings all small stones and leaves it on the road which makes it even more difficult to drive up.
You may choose to continue on the orange tail to hike up on the mountains and reach a flat place where I put my tent overnight(25°44’02.4″N 56°08’14.1”E) overviewing the village.
PERFECT CAMPING SPOT
The route that I took was about 13 km, however you can find a lot of variations around Jebel Yanas – shorter and longer. Quite a few routes are connecting the villages in the mountains. I would suggest you to check the satellite view on Google Maps as you can see most of the routes there.
On weekends you may meet some people on the trail – both tourists or locals visiting their heritage houses. I took this path in the middle of the week and I did not meet anyone. Next morning when I was packing to head back there were friendly farmers walking towards another village.
Probably it will make it easier for you if you see the video from my last backpacking trip that I will place below. If you are looking for alternative locations to hike in this area, you may check my other articles: THE SECRETS OF WADI NAQAB, ASTONISHING WILDERNESS OF WADI SHAWKA or SERENITY HEIGHTS – HAYANEH CAMPING SITE
UAE OFF-ROADER GUIDE
If you are looking for more off-road trails to discover about United Arab Emirates, I can recommend this ultimate guide that is packed with many routes, giving very detailed information and answering all questions you could have.
You can get it from Amazon: https://amzn.to/2UrKZdo
