United Arab Emirates · Smooth surface · Fast sweepers · Desert
Jebel Hafeet Mountain Road
Al Ain, Abu Dhabi
- Length
- 11.7 km7 miles
- High point
- 1,219 m3,999 ft
- Driving time
- 15 minutes
- Season
- October to April
- Toll
- Free
- Country
- United Arab Emirates
Jebel Hafeet rises alone out of the desert on the border between the UAE and Oman, and the road up it is 11.7 km of flawless tarmac with around 60 corners. It has two lanes going up and one coming down, it is lit at night, and it ends at a car park and a hotel near the 1,219 m summit.
The drive
The climb is a series of fast, constant-radius sweepers and a few tighter hairpins, all with excellent sight lines over bare rock. The second uphill lane means slower cars are never a problem.
It is a dead end, so the descent is part of the drive, on a single lane with less room for error. Al Ain is about 90 minutes from both Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
In your Lotus
The surface is as close to a race track as a public road gets, which makes it one of the few roads where a stiff, track-focused Exige feels entirely at home. Heat is the limiting factor: from May to September the ambient temperature is hard on cooling systems and on the driver of a car with marginal air conditioning. Go at dawn in winter.
Watch out for
- Speed cameras on the mountain and on every approach road.
- Cyclists use the climb at dawn and dusk.
- Extreme heat in summer; carry water.
