Hatta – 2 days of fun and action

Beforehand: Hatta really has it in him! But everything nicely one after the other.

Hatta is located only 90 minutes from Dubai, which at first glance does not seem very far and invites a day trip. Nevertheless, we recommend to stretch the visit in time. Consciously we had decided to stay two days to be able to enjoy this peculiar nature extensively. From our point of view, it is even possible to draw a halfway parallel with Switzerland, which is known to be embedded in green.

Although the world of plants in Hatta – apart from the many palm trees – limped in a direct comparison, the barren landscape had fascinated us very much and reminded us at the edge of our “green” place of residence in Switzerland.

Al Madam – a ghost village in the middle of the desert

Before reaching Hatta, we made a quick stop in Al Madam, which is right on the way between Dubai and Hatta. The main question here is what is hiding in this ghost town.

There are many legends surrounding Al Madam in Sharjah. Some claim that ghosts and invisible beings drove the inhabitants away. Others see the main reasons for migration as poor infrastructure and the associated poor prospects for a better life. Regardless of the causes, we wanted to explore the abandoned village near Al Madam in more detail.

Although the legends surrounding the “sunken village” are uncertain, records indicate that the Sha’bi housing project – built around 1970 – was intended to provide a permanent settlement for the Bedouin population. The main tribe involved was the Al Ketbi tribe. As already mentioned, however, the project was anything but successful. Around 1990, the residents left this once very busy, popular place. Thus, the mysterious village lost its luster and slowly sank into the desert sand.

Allegedly, djinns, supernatural beings, have haunted the place, respectively its inhabitants. Locals tend to support the theory that mysterious events – such as sand entering the houses – allowed the inhabitants only one choice, escape. Another claim, in turn, sees the harsh living environment as the beginning of the end. Strong winds and a lack of infrastructure made life in the desert difficult. As nearby cities like Dubai and Sharjah grew, residents left their homes to find better prospects elsewhere.

Despite the extremely hot sand, this stopover was worth it for us. However, we would not recommend the visit of Al Madam without reservation, because almost all the houses are only rudimentary. Only in a mosque, which is probably being renovated, can even ceiling paintings be found.

The wild camels in the desert

After this short stop, a herd of wild camels suddenly came running towards us as we continued our journey. For us it was a very special, fortunately harmless experience. To meet wild camels out in nature is a highlight in itself. The camels were very tame and we could even pet them.

From Al Madam, it took only another 45 minutes to reach Hatta. Short distances is something we particularly appreciate in the United Arab Emirates. To put it casually, an additional vacation in a vacation destination is not uncommon.

Hatta – the outdoor entertainment village

We reached Hatta in the late afternoon. We had deliberately chosen a camper to be directly in nature. The camper was huge. Ayleen even had a separate room with four beds! After getting roughly settled, we visited the center of the Wadi Hub. There it has numerous attractions such as trampoline, ziplining, and water slides, but also a climbing park with a climbing wall is of course not missing. The prices are very fair, for example, the climbing park cost only 8 euros.

If you want to learn more about our activities and the camper, you can see it in our YouTube channel .

Evening was falling and we were thinking of having a barbecue at the Wadi Hub. However, since we didn’t know what to bring for this and what was already available, we decided to eat off-site. Many different food trucks offer delicious food. We opted for pizza and fresh watermelon juice. Important to know:

If you want to drink beer, you have to bring it yourself. The nearest liquor store is 20 minutes away by car. And please never forget that the UAE has a 0.0 blood alcohol limit. You can find everything you need to know about this in our blog article “Alcohol in Dubai“.

At night time outside in front of the camper a glass of wine under the fascinating starry sky becomes a special treat.

For parents with young children, as we all know, the day starts very early. This is an advantage in that Hatta offers a lot in every respect.

Hatta Dam – an experience by boat on the reservoir

Our first destination was the famous Hatta Dam, a reservoir where boats and kayaks can be rented. The sky was unfortunately slightly cloudy, but the atmosphere was nevertheless fantastic. We opted for a donut boat because we didn’t feel like rowing or pedaling. For this 60 minute boat ride we paid 70 euros. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to make a stop during this trip, as a short walk along the shore seemed appealing. Finally, the sun came out from behind the clouds and everything became even more magnificent. We also made a short video about this – check it out on YouTube!

Since we had our own car with us, it was easy for us to move from place to place. Surprisingly, we didn’t see any cabs, so we can’t judge how public transportation is. Most tourists come either in groups or with their own rental car. By the way, the distances are too great to cover on foot.

After all, Ayleen really wanted to ride. Just below the dam there is a riding stable. Various horseback rides can be booked there. Be it just a few rounds in the indoor arena or be it a bigger ride. Unfortunately, no one was present, which disappointed our daughter very much. Fortunately, she was able to catch up on her riding lesson later that evening at Wadi Hub, which also covered her wish list.

We made a quick stop at Heritage Village. To our disappointment, this small village clustered around a fort (built in 1896) was closed. It shows how the inhabitants of Hatta used to live. So we continue our trip to the bee farm, and this proved to be a hit! We were able to participate in a very interesting guided tour. We learned a lot about bees.

Experience a bee farm up close

Do you know how honey is made? The bees collect flower nectar in their honey stomach. Back in the hive, they regurgitate the stomach contents and pass them to the other worker bees, which in turn fill their honey stomachs with them. We even got to hold a hive in full beekeeping gear and watch the bees work. This tour is definitely also an impressive one for children and lasts about half an hour.

As always, time passes far too quickly. After a quick shower in the camper, we were tempted to visit the JA Hotel. There it has a restaurant, but also a bar with pub food. We decided to go to the restaurant. The menu was very varied, which for us always becomes a pleasant agony of choice, as so often. A Szechuan beef was one delicious Indian shrimp the other choice. A glass of rosé from South Africa rounded off the fine meal.

Filled with experiences, we went to bed at 10 p.m. and reflected on the two wonderful days in the United Arab Emirates.

The next destination is Ras al Khaimah. We will report on this exciting stopover in the next blog.

Your Ines

Follow us on ines_loves_dubai & CusTours_Dubaito learn more about Dubai