If you are in the United Arab Emirates for active adventure, there's one place you must visit. It's Ras Al Khaimah, the country's adventure hub and the go-to destination for outdoor activities in the UAE.

What can you do in the emirate? A lot, but below are some of the top things you can look forward to in Ras Al Khaimah:

Mountain Activities

Go with a guide or get a packaged tour, board a motor vehicle or a powerful motorcycle, and go up the twisting mountain roads to the top of the Hajar Mountains. The sharp bends and the hairpin turns are an exhilarating part of the drive up, and the views of the moonscape terrain you'll discover as you climb progressively higher are breathtaking.

Cycling

In truth, the roads are so well-maintained you can go up on a bicycle. That would, of course, take a certain kind of strength, effort and stamina. Is it worth it, though? Absolutely! Indeed, if you can, you should.

Sightseeing

Visit the Jais Viewing Deck Park, where you can appreciate the majesty of Ras Al Khaimah's mountains, desert, plains, coast, and sea. The Park has seven viewing decks, each offering a unique perspective. One will give you a commanding view of the zigzagging road you took. Another will let you gaze upon Ras Al Khaimah's villages, date farms, and the Arabian Gulf beyond.

Ziplining

Ras Al Khaimah is home to Jais Flight, the world's longest zipline. For this activity, you'll go to the Jais Flight platform, approximately 1,680 m above sea level. Once you're properly equipped and harnessed, you'll be launched off to zip through the wire over rugged moonscapes at 120 to 160 kilometers per hour.

Jais Sky Tour is another ziplining activity you can try. Completing the tour means taking on seven platforms and six ziplines between 337 m and over 1 km long. The entire activity takes approximately two hours.

Hiking

Jais Via Ferrata, which translates to Jais Iron Path, is an extreme hiking, mountain climbing, and rock climbing activity. It will take you through three mountain hiking paths, each one connected through zip lines. At the end of the activity, you will have climbed more than 30 stories high (470 m).

Dining

How about a meal at the highest restaurant in the UAE? Visit 1484 by Puro. Dine on a Thai beef salad, a vegetarian poke bowl, some braised beef ribs, or a pizza diavola while taking in the grand mountain views.

Note: 1484 by Puro is a reservation-only restaurant, so make sure to book ahead before you go.

Desert Safari

A desert safari in Ras Al Khaimah can be your gateway to the UAE's tribal Bedouin heritage and a key to grasping the resilience and ingenuity that buttress the Emirati spirit. Follow in the footsteps of a nomadic people who wandered the desert and the plains, ventured into the mountains, fished the Gulf, and shaped the land for their sustenance and survival.

The ever-shifting sand dunes are a sight to behold, especially as the setting sun paints the terracotta landscape a fiery golden hue. That should be reason enough to want to get on a 4x4 for some dune bashing or on the back of a camel for a leisurely ride across the stark, windswept desert.

For convenience, you can stay at a desert hotel or accommodation. One of the Ras Al Khaimah resorts, The Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Wadi Desert, is located at the Al Wadi Nature Reserve and offers various desert activities.

Archeological Tour

Ras Al Khaimah's history of human settlement extends beyond 7,000 years. It was home to a bustling seaport, a center of pearling, pearl fishing, and traditional dhow building, and a major source of dhow captains and sailors in the region. The famed Arab navigator and cartographer Ahmad ibn Majid was a product of ancient Ras Al Khaimah.

Fishing and seafaring ran in the Ras Al Khaimah people's blood. This is not surprising, given Ras Al Khaimah's unique features—coastal plains and lagoons—and a strategic location along the Indian Ocean and Arabian Gulf trade routes. The sea is also teeming with marine life. Ras Al Khaimah has a 64-kilometer coastline, a diverse coral community and, today, approximately 400 hectares of mangrove cover.

Feel the connection of the Ras Al Khaimah people to the sea by visiting the well-preserved heritage village of Al Jazeera Al Hamra. Here, you'll get a sense of how the inhabitants of Ras Al Khaimah's old fishing villages thrived and lived. Pay special attention to the coral stones in the structures' walls.

You can also wander the halls of the National Museum of Ras Al Khaimah. Check out its traditional dhows, pottery, and the rest of its archaeological and ethnological artifacts.