Jebel Jais Mountain

Jebel Jais is the highest point in the UAE, rising on the northern edge of Ras Al Khaimah where the Al Hajar range approaches Oman’s Musandam Peninsula. Its summit reaches almost two thousand metres, and the landscape combines deep canyons, rough layers of uplifted rock and steep slopes. The climate is far cooler than on the coast: summer temperatures rarely rise much above 25°C, while winter temperatures often fall below freezing. From the heights, visitors can see date farms, dry wadi beds, old fishing settlements and the waters of the Arabian Gulf. The Al Hajar Mountains are ancient, beginning to form more than 70 million years ago when the Arabian and Eurasian plates collided. For centuries, these mountains served as a natural frontier, shelter and landmark for trade routes crossing the region’s rugged north.

Rare fossils are hidden in the rocks of Jebel Jais, preserving traces of both ancient seas and continental landscapes. In 2023, new plant species found nowhere else on Earth were discovered here. The mountain is also known for its occasional “winters.” Snow is extremely rare, but it has fallen: first recorded in 2004, then in 2009, again in 2017 when the temperature dropped to –5°C, and once more in 2020, when a mixture of snow and hail covered the summit.