In my previous post, I've shared the amazing story of FOX.AE's 136-kilometer hiking trail in Ras Al Khaimah. The 7-day hike starting from Wadi Ghalilah up to Wadi Naqab is a traverse hiking trail linked together by FOX.AE, an outdoor group based in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE. Curious about the in-depth trail route? Here's the RAKTRAV2020 hiking trail route for your reference. Let's go!
Disclaimer: The trail is not an official through-hike trail but only linked together by FOX.AE. If you must do this hike, please do it at your own risk. Prepare accordingly and be sure to let your family and friends know your current location in case of emergency.
RAKTRAV 2020 Hiking Trail Sections:
Separated into seven sections, each section is equivalent to each hiking day during the event.
1. Wadi Litibah - Bil Ays - Jebel Jais
From Wadi Ghalilah Dam, members of FOX.AE along with limited guests from other outdoor groups hiked the established trail of Wadi Litibah (the RIGHT BANK they usually call). Passing by other hikers, the team reached the summit for lunch and a short break.
The team then continued to reach the summit of Jebel Bil Ays (technically on the Oman side according to Google Maps). After reaching the summit of Jebel Bil Ays, the hikers started their descent carefully avoiding the Military area as well as what appears to be a private house of the Sheikh.
Upon reaching a paved road, the team continued their descent towards the hiking post located at the South Summit of Jebel Jais. From this hiking post, the team continued on the paved road as a shortcut to reach the first camp site near the highway rest area/viewing deck.
2. Jebel Jais - Hidden Oasis - Wadi of Giants
Hiking Guide here -> Hidden Oasis Trail (between Jebel Jais & Wadi of Giants)
From the campsite, the team started the hike by following a set of stairs. The trail is an easy walk with a panoramic view of Jebel Jais from a different angle. Passing by the zipline stations, the team met a few hikers along the way and even a goat shepherd midway.
Eventually, the team reached the small plateau with few stone houses as well as a cemetery. Just a few meters down the plateau the steps of stairs and some not-so-scary cliffs with fences. Not long after, a hidden oasis is already within reach, a good spot for lunch.
After lunch and a short rest in the hidden oasis (different than the other Hidden Oasis Trail), the team hiked to Wadi of Giants up to the jump-off. From the jump-off, the team walked on the main road for around 200 meters to reach the then Ferrata camp which is now the Bear Grylls Explorers Camp as the campsite for the night.
NOTE (as of April 2021): Bear Grylls Explorers Camp is a private property. Camping is NOT allowed further than the gate. The team camped near the roadside only.
3. Wadi Al Far
Hiking Guide here -> Wadi Al Far Loop Trail
Coming from the campsite, the team set off to hike Wadi Al Far from the Ferrata side instead of doing it from the stairs on the other side.
A short section of small boulders with shallow pools and a chill breeze in the wadi welcomed the team. While the ascent is not steep, not long after is the established trail yet covered in scree.
A small plateau with irregularly shaped stone blocks awaits after the scree portion with Jebel Yabanah at the background.
From here, the team resumed the traverse passing by the ridge towards the Wadi Al Far Plateau. We kept up our pace to reach the stairs ahead of the boulders and start our descent.
Following the goat's poop and the trail, the boulders section is finally over. What's left is the narrow steep yet super short stairs and eventually the main road. From the main road, the team walked back to the same campsite as the other night.
4. Hidden Oasis - Wadi Shah Ridge - Bilal Trail
Starting from the same campsite, the team started from the main road of Jebel Jais to reach the jump off of Hidden Oasis Trail. An easy and established trail with few boulders, steps of stairs, then a few houses (private property of course), and the last stretch of boulders, finally the Hidden Oasis is in sight.
A challenging assault in the wadi awaits the team after the Hidden Oasis. This section has an ample amount of scree or loose rocks. But upon reaching the Wadi Shah Ridge, an amazing view is waiting for you!
From the ridge, it is now time to descend. The team followed the ridge and even passed by a section full of pink rocks. Then the almost 45-degree slope awaits and challenges the knees of the hikers up to the bottom of the slope. A tree with its huge cover is a good spot to rest along the wadi and you cannot miss this tree, you will spot it from afar.
From where the tree stands, the trail is now a gentle walk along the wadi. At the entrance of the wadi are a few houses, a goat farm, and some empty-looking houses/structures. The main road is now a stone's throw away from here which is now close to Awafi Trail. Unfortunately, there's a construction going on near Awafi Trail so the team camped on the other side of the road.
5. Awafi Trail & Jebel Qadaah
Breaking the e-camp setup where the team rested during the night, a few guests have re-joined on today's hike. Crossing the main road, the team walked passed the construction and started in the wadi of the Awafi Trail. Scrambling on our way up, the sections became more and more challenging. With sharp ridges and loose rocks, I couldn't take any photos and focused on the trail instead.
The descent on the slope came next until we reached the main road of Jebel Jais. We took a short lunch break and walked to the jump-off of the second trail of the day. Wadi Al Biyah is one of the few ways to enter Jebel Qadaah and we took this trail and entered the wadi.
Back in 2019, Wadi Al Biyah was nothing but full of boulders with little to no trail at all. In 2020, the wadi has an unfinished off-road trail that makes it easier (but not super easy) to make headway for the hike. The loose scree and the short boulders section finally appeared as the sun went down. It continued until we reached the saddle.
From the saddle, we went down the other side of Wadi which is again full of scree and boulders. Afterwards, the terrain became easier and a visible trail was on sight which was easy to follow even at night time. At the bottom of the wadi, a wider road is now in sight. We reached the campsite near the fork where it splits the wadi towards Jebel Qadaah and Wadi Sal.
6. Wadi Sal - Yanas Mountain - Wadi Naqab
After breaking the camp, we started the hike and followed the off-road trail of Wadi Sal. Since it was an off-road trail, we met a couple of trail runners and a few vehicles also passed by.
Halfway along the trail, one of the trails of Jebel Qadaah is visible to the naked eye (and some cameras). It wasn't the same trail that we took yesterday but it was a nice sight to see as I was reminded of our hike from that trail on a different occasion.
Going back to the topic, we reached the top of Wadi Sal which was a small plateau with few houses and lots of hungry goats! A few hikers were found resting on this plateau as well and the good thing was that there are multiple trees that you can use as a good spot to rest. After lunch, we continued with out hiked and walked along ridges and slopes. We are now an hour closer to Yanas Mountain.
Starting from the Yanas Mountain's summit, we chased the beautiful sunset in front of us. The golden hour brought a strong brownish and orangeish color to the mountains as well.
As the sun started fading slowly, we continued on the main road down to the bottom of Yanas Mountain. The bottom is where the security barrier is while the road on the right continues to Wadi Naqab. We walked a few more up to the campsite in Wadi Naqab.
7. Wadi Naqab Loop Trail (Sheri Village, Jebel Yibir, Tala Village & Baqal Village)
Hiking guide here -> Wadi Naqab Loop Trail
The last and longest leg of the RAKTRAV2020 trail route, this trail has a total hiking distance of 33.6 kilometers (this day alone). I wouldn't go into much detail since I've written a separate hiking guide anyway.
As an overview, this trail passes through the regular trail of Wadi Naqab to Sheri Village. After a quick lunch break at Sheri Village, the team pushed ahead to continue hiking higher up to a plateau. We crossed hill after hill and met some Pakistani shepherds from Qanan Village who guided us on how to reach Jebel Yibir.
We struggled to find the trail to Jebel Yibir and we hiked a lot from here to there. Eventually, we still ended at the paved road of Jebel Yibir where the dirt trail leading to Tala village is the next part. From Tala village, we hiked on a wadi with boulders for about an hour to reach Baqal village. This is not the 'new and established' trail from Tala Village but the team somehow overlooked the trail signs and ended up taking the 'old trail'.
From Baqal village, we started our descent towards Wadi Naqab and finally reached the end of the trail at around 6 am on December 4, 2020. And from this point, RAKTRAV2020 is officially part of history!
And that's the RAKTRAV2020 hiking trail route! The second RAKTRAV was held in 2021 and my account was written under #RAKTRAV2021!
