ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)
In parallel with its rapid urban development, the UAE has preserved its breathtaking desert that remains an integral part of Emirati heritage and serves as a main tourist attraction.
Spanning approximately three quarters of the UAE’s total area, the vast desert offers an array of experiences, presenting a haven for adventure seekers and nature lovers.
Al Dhafra region in Abu Dhabi is one such key desert tourism destination that attracts domestic and international visitors, especially during the winter season in line with the “World’s Coolest Winter” campaign.
Launched under the slogan “Unforgettable Stories”, the fourth season of the “World’s Coolest Winter” aims to promote the UAE as a diverse holiday destination that leaves travellers in the country, across the region and all around the world with memorable experiences.
Global Destination
Al Dhafra region is home to nature reserves, culture and heritage festivals and world-class desert resorts.
Al Marzoom Hunting Reserve, located in the heart of Al Dhafra, is the first in the world in the field of sustainable hunting, which combines traditional hunting of falcons and salukis with desert physiognomy and various aspects of the desert Bedouin heritage. It plays a big role in maintaining the UAE’s biodiversity and protecting endangered species.
Al Marzoom is the first and largest reserve in the UAE, dedicated to the traditional practices of falconry and hunting with Arabian greyhounds, also known as salukis. The nature reserve offers a unique cultural and tourist experience of conventional hunting while promoting falconry awareness and environment and heritage conservation.
Covering an area of about 923 square kilometres, the reserve is open to falconers, hunting enthusiasts and visitors during the hunting season daily, seven days a week, with trips running twice daily, in the morning and afternoon.
The reserve offers visitors the chance to enjoy the natural picturesque environment in addition to sustainably practising traditional recreational hunting.
Since its inauguration in 2015, Al Marzoom Hunting Reserve has drawn over 10,000 guests including Arab and international falconry enthusiasts, tourists, traditional hunters, and desert tourism visitors.
The reserve enables falconers to pursue their passion for hunting in accordance with the sustainable hunting laws in Abu Dhabi that aim to preserve the surrounding natural environment and its inhabitants, as well as support the rehabilitation of endangered wildlife. The reserve also offers the opportunity for scientists and researchers to conduct field studies.
Nature Reserves
Next to Al Marzoom Hunting Reserve lie several nature reserves that are home to lush green areas and wildlife.
Al Ramlah Reserve is considered one of the largest protected areas in Abu Dhabi, covering 544 km² in Al Dhafra Region.
Qasr Al Sarab Protected Area is considered one of Abu Dhabi’s most important protected areas for ecotourism, as it is one of the areas in which the Arabian oryx roams free within the Empty Quarter desert. Comprising 308 km² of natural sand dunes and coastal salt flats, Qasr Al Sarab is home to more than 30 bird species, 13 reptile species and 10 mammal species, including the majestic Arabian Oryx, which was reintroduced into the wild from the verge of extinction.
Yaw Al Dibsa Protected Area is known for being the best representation and last refuge for native flora in Al Dhafra region covering an area of 212 km², while Al Houbara Protected Area is home to one of the most significant Houbara reintroduction programmes in the region and is also the location where the sand cat was recorded after a long interruption.
Badaa Hazza Protected Area comprises forest cover accounting for more than 75% of its total land area spanning 77 km², while Barqa Al Suqoor Protected Area presents a critical breeding zone for the Houbara bustard and features a thriving vegetation cover.
Al Tawi Protected Area, which spans more than 46 km², is another critical breeding zone for the Houbara bustard.
Culture and Heritage Festivals
The heritage and culture festivals consolidate Al Dhafra’s prominent standing as a key touristic destination in the UAE, highlighting the country’s authentic customs and spurring economic activity.
In Madinat Zayed at the edge of the Empty Quarter desert, surrounded by towering sand dunes, Al Dhafra Festival has been a much-loved event for heritage and desert travellers from the region and around the world.
The festival seeks to support heritage preservation projects, promote, and develop heritage festivals, enable camel owners to sustain the practice of breeding and caring for camels, and support falconry and purebred Arabian horses contests and other heritage competitions.
It also aims to preserve the purebred camel breeds, boost camel trade, and contribute to the development of domestic and Gulf tourism. These efforts have transformed Abu Dhabi into a unique model in the field of heritage festivals organisation.
The ongoing 17th edition of Al Dhafra Festival, launched on October 21, 2023 and set to continue until February 8, 2024, is the largest since its inception in 2008.