World Amazing Stuff: Jabel Hafeet mountain in Al Ain

Jabel Hafeet mountain in Al Ain

The Jebel Hafeet mountain is a favorite holiday spot owing to its pleasant weather and the panoramic views it offers of the country. Tourists and residents alike flock to the mountain on the outskirts of Al Ain, which straddles part of the border with Oman. An extensive natural cave system winds through Jebel Hafeet. At its foothills lies the Green Mubazarrah famous for its hot water springs. Jebel Hafeet is also home to a wide range of flora and fauna.

The Jabel Hafeet Mountain, the only mountainous area in Abu Dhabi Emirates rises 1300m above MSL and is a part of Hajar Mountains bordering Oman. The mountain range is approximately 17km long and 4km wide and made of predominantly tertiary sedimentary rock – limestone.


It offers an impressive view over Al Ain city from the mountain top. The Jabel Hafeet mountain road extends for 11.7km up to the mountain and is voted as one the ten great mountain roads of the world.

On the north and east front of the mountain there are 317 tombs dating to 3200-2700 BC. Excavations of some these tombs have yielded pottery, stone beads and bits of copper. The pottery was not locally made but imported from Mesopotamia suggesting trade links of the region with Mesopotamia. Circular graves dating to 3000BC are dotted along the eastern slope of Jabel Hafeet. These consist of massive cairns of un-masoned stones piled up around a keyhole-shaped chamber. Jabel Hafeet mountain pictures