The UAE never ceases to amaze me with the variety of natural beauty spots it has to offer. Far more than the big city and rolling sand dunes most people think about it. Yesterday a group of us drove up to Hatta for a day trip. After a relaxed start to the day we stopped off at the Hatta Fort hotel for some lunch. Whilst the food was nothing to write home about we enjoyed the deliciously kitsch seventies decor of the restaurant and splendid scenery afforded by Hajar mountains.
After thirty minutes of completely failing to follow the very detailed instructions on how to get to the Hatta rock pools we finally got on the right track and the Hummer again proved it is really at home on the trails transporting our party in relative comfort over the rough road. At one point just before a steep descent there was a spectacular vista which begged to be photographed:
We parked up alongside numerous 4×4′s and even some regular saloon cars – however I am sure that their undercarriage would have taken some knocks. We grabbed our gear and took the short hike down to the pools. When we first went down I could only see some very shallow pools and was initially a little disappointed:
However on climbing down a little more there was a sort of “rocky beach” which was the entrance to the Hatta Pools proper. A couple of regulars to visit here were surprised by the number of people visiting that day – it certainly had a beach holiday feel to it:
We all took the plunge and swam the length of the pools which were quite deep at times. It was really invigorating and made a pleasurable change to be in water that was not salty and not full of chlorine. The Hatta pools are more of a “Hatta Channel” and it was very picturesque:
We took a little walk along the wadi above the pools when Matt decided he wanted to take a leap across what can only be described as a chasm. It was a little scary for both of us as on his first jump it was a little further than he expected and when I heard a cry of “S@$!” I could only respond with another expletive! He made it though…definitely not one for those who have not spent most of their lives bouncing across rocks like human spring.
Below gives you an idea of the chasm Matt leapt across:
It was a really fun day and definitely a must do to anyone who has the time to get out of Dubai and see a little more of what the rugged UAE countryside has to offer. I am looking forward to taking my next slew of visitors there.
Hi Aaron,
Sounds like fun…can u post the directions to the Hatta pools..
Thank you
By: Anonymous on April 9, 2007
at 1:42 pm
“I am looking forward to taking my next slew of visitors there”
Sign me up baby !
Also wondering exaclty what you would have done to extract Matt from the chasm had he failed to execute on his urban running. Que , Michael Burke, 999
By: Marsh on April 9, 2007
at 3:07 pm
Nice one Aaron. its always so educational reading your blog. I never knew that there were places like that in the desert there
BTW, whats the name of the track that you put on the film clip of the guy jumping the “Grand Canyon” there? funky little ditty.
By: Keith on April 9, 2007
at 4:22 pm
Hi Mr Anonymous – the best bet is to get a copy of the UAE Off Road Explorer -
http://www.the-explorer.com/
It has extremely detailed satellite imagery and directions.
Mr Marsh – as soon as you are ready. If Matt had fallen I would have been running around like a maniac and flapping a lot – but there is a police station close by.
Hi Keith – glad you liked the blog. The UAE really has an amazingly diverse amount of countryside. The track was by a band called K7 “Come baby come”
By: Aaron on April 9, 2007
at 4:41 pm
[...] Dubai treats including Wild Wadi, Souk Madinat, Friday Brunches and even an excursion out to the Hatta Pools. However on top of all these fun things they were fortunate enough to coincide their holiday with [...]
By: Tears Stream, Down my Face « An Englishman in Dubai on June 13, 2008
at 7:57 am
Hi,
Just wanted to know if a 2 wheel drive, like my honda accord can reach there comfortably with 5 pax?
let m know as u already mentioned of spotting some saloon cars.
Sandeep
By: sandeep on January 7, 2009
at 1:28 am
Hi Sandeep – I really couldn’t recommend taking such a heavily loaded saloon car to this area. While the gravel road is regularly graded there are still some steep ascents/decents to make. Also the road to get close to the pools is heavily rutted and I could see the underside of the saloon car getting damaged if you went on that part.
By: Aaron on January 7, 2009
at 7:48 am
hey aaron..
Thanks for the info. I doubt if we can take a 4WD rent a car and the Terms and cond. allows us to take it off-road.
Also, if u can suggest some two wheel drive camping locations where even other people visits.. like beaches, etc.
By: sandeep on January 7, 2009
at 4:43 pm
Best would be to grab a copy of the UAE off road explorer. It has plenty of tips on where you can take a saloon car camping.
By: Aaron on January 7, 2009
at 7:35 pm