The UAE's adventure emirate — Jebel Jais peaks, the world's longest zip-line, and a coastline without the crowds of Dubai
Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) is the northernmost of the UAE's seven emirates, stretching from the Persian Gulf coast into the Hajar Mountains — whose highest point, Jebel Jais (1,934m), is the UAE's highest peak and home to the Jebel Jais Flight, the world's longest zip-line (2.8km, reaching speeds of 150 km/h). Unlike Dubai and Abu Dhabi, RAK has developed its adventure and eco-tourism credentials rather than luxury retail, attracting visitors for mountain hiking, off-road driving through wadis and mountain villages, kayaking in the Al Rams mangroves, and exploring the Musandam Peninsula border area…
Ras Al Khaimah was historically one of the most powerful ports on the Gulf, known to the British Empire as 'Trucial Coast' — the sheikhdom controlled significant pearl-diving fleets before the 1930s oil era. The Qawasim tribe (the ruling dynasty of RAK) were labelled 'pirates' by the British East India Company in the 18th-19th centuries and subjected to naval attacks in 1809 and 1820; revisionist histories suggest the Qawasim were legitimate maritime traders resisting British monopoly. The emirate joined the UAE federation last (in 1972), and its relative independence of character from Dubai…