High above Ras Al Khaimah’s coastline, where the UAE’s desert folds into the first line of mountains, Jebel Jais has reopened for the 2025/26 season, and this year, it feels more intentional than ever.
Long known as the UAE’s highest peak, Jebel Jais has grown into something more profound, a place where modern life slows down, movement finds rhythm, and perspective sharpens against cliffs formed over 70 million years ago.
This season, running through April 2026, is around three pillars, and they are Educate, Energise, Escape.
Educate: Curiosity Meets Altitude
Jebel Jais continues to position itself as a living classroom, not the type taught with worksheets, but the kind carved by wind, sediment, and the passage of time. Guided hikes introduce visitors to the mountain’s geological history while offering a rare stillness far from the city’s noise.
At the Bear Grylls Explorers Camp, the world’s first, survival meets adventure. This season comes with an expanded programme:
– survival techniques
– team-building challenges
– rock climbing and abseiling
– high ropes, air rifle shooting
– stargazing nights from its secluded cabins
It’s nature at its rawest, but with just enough structure to feel safe and an experience families will talk about long after they’ve returned to sea level.
Energise: Movement as a Modern Ritual
As temperatures drop, Jebel Jais becomes the UAE’s unofficial sanctuary for outdoor wellness.
Last year’s PEAK HEAT, the first outdoor hot fitness concept in the UAE, sets the tone for what’s coming: sunrise meditations, guided hikes, yoga sessions, breathwork workshops, and more.
Movement here feels different. Your lungs expand with mountain air; your pulse adjusts to the altitude; your mind quiets beneath an open sky, and then there’s the automotive culture. An iconic part of the mountain’s identity with supercar groups, classic car clubs, and luxury touring communities claiming the winding 28km road as their pilgrimage route.
For adrenaline seekers, Jais Flight which is the world’s longest zipline, and the Jais Sky Tour, offer movement through air rather than pavement, stitching together the mountain’s peaks from a bird’s-eye view.
Escape: Slowing Down Together
To escape to Jebel Jais is not to disappear, but it is to reconnect. Across terraces, viewpoints, and valleys, you see couples sharing silence, families gathering around tables, and friends pausing to admire the horizon. The peak has a way of making time feel wider.
Dining is a key part of this reconnection. 1484 by Puro, the UAE’s highest restaurant, continues to offer its signature balance of elevated comfort food and cinematic mountain views.
This season also welcomes a new arrival: Red Rock BBQ by RIKAS Hospitality Group, a flame-forward, open-air grill celebrating the mountain’s landscape through smoke and fire. Imagine panoramic views, elemental cooking, and design that mirrors the terrain. A perfect sunset hideaway.
As Donald Bremner, CEO of Marjan Lifestyle, notes:
“Jebel Jais has always been a place where life comes together.”
This year, that sentiment feels truer than ever.
Season Highlights: What to Look Out For
The season brings a spectacular calendar of events with a variety of nature, sport, wellness, and culture to experience:
• Red Rock BBQ opens (Nov 2025)
• Porsche Drives to 1484 by Puro
• Elevate Jebel Jais Wellness Series (Nov 30 – Jan 2026)
• Miglia Classic Cars Rally & Christmas Brunch (Dec 2025)
• Ultra Trail Running Competition (Jan 2026)
• Highlander Hiking Festival & UAE Tour (Feb 2026)
• Kickboxing Championships & Night Trail Race (Mar 2026)
• Jais Ride (Apr 2026)
• PEAK HEAT Hot Yoga (Jun–Aug 2026)
Regular offerings continue:
– weekend shuttle bus to/from Al Marjan Island
– weekly yoga and meditation
– weekly guided hikes
– adventure+dining packages
– Bear Grylls camps for families, corporates, and schools
– festive and wellness-focused events throughout winter
A Mountain That Feels Like a Reset
Every year, Jebel Jais remains one of the UAE’s most meaningful escapes, a place where altitude becomes clarity and where movement and nature meet in a way few destinations manage to capture.
The 2025/26 season invites guests to come higher, not just physically, but emotionally. To rise above the everyday, reconnect with what matters, and to feel, in the truest sense, alive.
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