Liwa

Liwa covers an area of 50 km in length and maybe just 2-3 km in width. It comprises of at least 50 independent oasis. Liwa is located about 240 km south-west of Abu Dhabi City and is the place of origin of the tribes who later became the leaders of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Over hundreds of years the inhabitants of Liwa just lived from the dates you can find all the way along the streets. Only in the winter months the men went to the coasts for pearl diving.

Even today the region is famous for their dates. But due to improvements in irrigation you will find nowadays all kind of fruits and vegetables here and sometimes you have the feeling to be in the Netherlands with all the greenhouses around.

The best on Liwa is really the location. It is only a 2 hours drive from Abu Dhabi, but when you reach Liwa you feel to be in another part of the world. Here at the edge of the Rub al Khali desert (also know as the "Empty Quarter") you can already imagine that this is the biggest sand desert in the world. Most of the eastern part of Saudi Arabia, the south of the UAE and the western part of Oman are just covered by sand with some dry salt seas in the middle (and sometimes an oasis).

But that is exactly what the stressed weekend tourist from Abu Dhabi is looking for, when he is driving with the 4-wheel-drive and some friends into the desert. You should always be aware that it is quite difficult to drive in the sand and therefore you should hire an experienced guide who will drive in his own car in front of you and can help you to guide you through the dunes. We did it that way and it was the right decision, otherwise we would be still there and were trying to bring our car out of the sand.

It is a real challenge to drive in the sand. Sometimes the surface is quite compact and after the next dune it is so loose and slippery that you cannot drive there. You will definitely spend approximately the same time digging your own car or another car out of the sand then what you are effectively driving.

But in the evening when you have built a small camp with your tents and you are sitting around the campfire, then you don't think anymore about the digging. From here you have a fantastic view towards the stars and it is a great experience to spend a night outside the big city far away from every civilization.