Things to do in Ras Al Khaimah

Nature · Hajar mountains, ~1 hour inland

The highest peak in the UAE at around 1,900 metres, reached by a spectacular switchback road, with the world's longest zipline running off it.

Local tip: Go in winter with a jacket — it genuinely gets cold, which is the whole point. The viewing decks near the summit are free and far less crowded than the paid attractions on weekdays.

Neighborhood · Coral-shaped islands off the south coast

Four man-made islets of beach resorts and residences, and the site of the UAE's first integrated casino resort.

Local tip: Worth walking now, while it is still half-built, because it will not look like this again. The public beach stretches are quieter mid-week than anything comparable in Dubai.

Landmark · South of the city, near Al Hamra

An abandoned coastal pearling village of coral-block houses, a mosque and a fort, left largely as it was when its inhabitants departed in the 1960s.

Local tip: One of the last intact pre-oil towns in the Gulf and eerily quiet at dusk. Go in cooler months and give it an hour — it explains more about what the Emirates were than any museum does.

Landmark · North of the city, above the palm plantations

A hilltop fort reached by a steep stair, the last stand of the 1819 campaign, with views over date palms to the sea on one side and the mountains on the other.

Local tip: Climb it late in the afternoon. The fort itself is small; the reason to go is the 360-degree view over the only landscape in the UAE where mountains, palm oasis and sea are all in one frame.

Nature · Mountain interior

Rock pools, hiking trails and the Stairway to Heaven scramble in canyons that cut back into the mountains from the plain.

Local tip: Wadi Shawka is the accessible one and busy at weekends; Ghalilah is serious hiking and needs preparation. Go early, take far more water than you think, and tell someone your route.

Culture · RAK city, by the creek

The Al Qawasim fort turned museum, beside a working creek, a fish market and the remains of the old pearling town.

Local tip: The archaeology section covering the pre-Islamic Julfar settlement is the strongest part, and the fish market on the creek at dawn is the most ordinary and most authentic thing in the emirate.