Jebel Mleiha top to Fossil rock hike-Sharjah UAE
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 4.09 mi
- Elevation gain
- 869 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Moderate
- Elevation loss
- 869 ft
- Max elevation
- 1,235 ft
- TrailRank
-
70
4.2
- Min elevation
- 495 ft
- Trail type
- Loop
- Moving time
- 2 hours 22 minutes
- Time
- 5 hours 21 minutes
- Coordinates
- 1964
- Uploaded
- April 26, 2020
- Recorded
- April 2020
near Adh Dhayd, Sharjah (United Arab Emirates)
Viewed 39966 times, downloaded 1266 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
A hike to the top of the mount Mleiha towards to the Fossil rock with beautiful backdrops of Al Fayah mountain. The difficulty of the hike can be rated as moderate as it involves a part where you have to climb vertical rock of around 2 to 3 meters high. Climbing can be avoided by taking the route recorded here (pointed out in steps nr8 and 9). It is a fairly short hike and you can make it to the top in an hour (depending on your fitness level and the weather conditions-not advisable during the hot day as there is no shade). Way down took us 50min.
Parking: UPDATE: drive past the Sheikh's portrait, there will be a place to park immediately behind the mountain, from where you can start your hike and save yourself around 1km of walking on the highway.
OLD PARKING: You have to park your car before reaching the mountain, there is a turn to Khatam Exit 1. And then walk around 1km following the highway until you reach the other side of the mountain. There will be a fence that you can cross. Please check the descriptions in each Point of interest to see the comments.
Safety while climbing: watch out for the fossil rocks- their structure is very thin at some places, thus look for the more thick surfaces before stepping on them. Stay away from edges on the top of the mountain, the vertical drop down is like 30 meters high or so.
Weather Note: we did this hike end of April starting 2pm in the afternoon, and to be honest it was not a good idea- the heat is notorious, so leave this hike either for very early morning or late evening if you are fast enough to climb up and return before the darkness.
https://www.theroadreel.com/mleiha-travel-guide/
Waypoints
Photo
553 ft
Starting point behind the fence
UPDATE: drive past the Sheikh's portrait, there will be a place to park immediately behind the mountain, from where you can start your hike and save yourself around 1km of walking on the highway. This is where actual hike starts, you have to cross the fence first and head towards the right-hand side where you will reach a small steep hill. It looks scary but it is actually easy to descend from the very right side. See the picture where I marked the spot. Be careful of loose rocks when descending. Scroll through pictures illustrating notes bellow: Getting to the starting point: Park you car at Khatam Exit 1 just before the jebel Mleiha. And then walk towards the mountain following thw side of thw higjway for around 1km, hike startsbehind this mountain. You havr to cross the fence as mention before.
Photo
569 ft
Point 5- approaching the tough part
Pace your self after this point we will start proper hike, crossing the rocky path which is not clearly marked, but it is a straight way toward the mountain
Photo
782 ft
Point 6
Here you are already climbing up the hill, watch out for the unstable rocks under your feel, try to follow small paths to make it easier
Photo
862 ft
Point 7
You will start noticing cairns left by other hikers, try to spot them as they are a good indicator which side to keep. I have added a photo where I marked the spot you should be aiming to- it look like a wall that is quite high but it is only a couple of meters high and quite easily claimable if you are have a little bit of climbing experience (no need to be pro mountain climber just have normal strength, the grip of the rock is good).
Photo
934 ft
Point 8- skip this and aim for point 9 instead
We took a wrong turn- we went towards the left and when we climbed higher, it appeared to be another mountain, not the one we are aiming to reach. See the photos from that spot- if you are there means you have to come back down (we took a scree slop down back into the narrow split of two mountains)
Photo
981 ft
Point 9 -back on track
From here you will have to find the way up that you feel comfortable with. Mountain looks steep but climb up is not difficult.
Photo
1,042 ft
Point 10- reaching the top
This is where you are aiming to climbing the steepest part of the trail. It is not hard, just be careful and go at your own pace.
Photo
1,060 ft
Point 11- first picture stop
You will further walk on the plain top of the mountain, be careful and stay away from the edges as they might not be stable.
Photo
1,164 ft
Point 12- end of the mountain
Here you will reach end of the Jebel Mleiha with marvelous views with Fossil rock and Faya mountains. You can either turn back and return same way or, as other hikers do, descent down the mountain (we skipped that as it looked quite dangerous).
Photo
931 ft
Point 13- vertical climb down
We took same route back. Please note descending is always more challenging and you have to be careful. It will look high but it is totally doable. I marked the point which we were supposed to take on the our way to the mountain which is this vertical climb rock- it is not very high but you have to have some minimal climbing skills and be brave, watch where you put your foot and always have a grip at to the wall. Better to turn around when descending. This is the trickiest part of the hike.
Comments (47)
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Did you get any issues with police for hiking?
It was just two of us hiking that day. Since Ramadan already started and it was extremely hot, there was no one around on the trail. Didn't have any issues.
Good to know. Did you park on the main road?
I parked next to highway, just before Maleiha mountain, there is a sign that says Khatam, you have to turn right there, park your car, and then walk towards the start. But walk itself feels like 1km, at leats it did that day in the heat :) Please check my comments for the starting point :)
Great. Thanks for the information 😊
You are most welcome :)
Great Experience, Thanks for the trail :)
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Great Experience, Thanks for the trail :)
@Irfad glad you liked it, hope it wasn't too hot
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Very useful and detailed info, thanks
@Andre you are most welcome :)
Wow... A good hike... Thanks Ausra for the information!!
Nikhil, glad you enjoyed it. Please check my blog at theroadreel.com for more trails in the use you might also like:)
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Update : you can now park your car in front of the gate where the trail begins, after the exit, continue straight, pass the sheik portrait and you'll find the parking right after the mountain.
Trail is difficult to follow, no marks/signs at all, lots of rocks and 1 section with sand. There's also 2 segments that required to be climbed and are quite steep.
Very little shade on this hike, we started it at 10h30 and came back at 15h45 to the car. Temperature was much better from 14h30, consider going early morning or mid afternoon. Count at least 2L of water/person.
The view from the top is UNREAL!! Our efforts paid off 👌👌👌
Hi Emilie,
thanks for the update, I'll put a note that it's possible to park closer. Yes, the trail has no markings, but it is quite straightforward to climb up (except the steeper part which we actually hiked around on our way up). And there is nowhere to get lost. I can't remember the sandy section though, it's all rocks or scree slope, unless you wander out to the desert...
And yes no shade at all, and also very hot during the day, so morning or evening is always a better option.
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Thanks Ausra we did this yesterday , first time users of this app. Really enjoyed it.
Hey Rohan, glad you enjoyed the trail!
Thank you for amazing logs.
I’ll try this route tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed
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Ausra explained the entire trail in the best way it could be. I’ve completed this trail by folllowing pics and instructions.
Definitely worths to see
Thanks a lot Ausra!
Hey Ozy, I am really glad my notes were helpful :)
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Hi...we completed this trail yesterday...was a bit challenging going up the 1st peak as there were loose stones and coming down the incline was tricky but took our own time and was good...thanks for the directions.
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Thank you Ausra for the trail.
Parking - can park in front of the fence.
Shoes - Would suggest shoes with good grip or else our steps would be faltering in the scree on the slop.
Wikiloc - on the top my app abruptly shut off and all my tries went futile to restart it.
Over all - worth it 👍🏻
Your trails are well informed and easy to follow
Hi Samad, glad you enjoyed your the trail. Yes wikiloc has surprises sometimes...
Are dogs allowed here?!
Please let me know asap as I would like to do this trail tomorrow😍
Hi Madalina, there is no sign saying dogs aren't allowed. As long as dogs can climb it...
Hey !! I'm not seeing your blog link for this hike. How can I get it??
Hi Ashvin,
I haven't posted about this hike on my blog yet. Will do soon with more exciting things to do in Maleha :)
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Great half day hike with amazing views from the top
Anyone going for a hike to this place this weekend ? Like Tom 🙈
Thanks for your pointers. We deviated quite a bit from the peak but manages to get back using your route. Return hike was quite challenging literally abseiling off some rock walls. Home safe and sound now so feeling good !
Anyone going this Saturday morning??? Is there any restrictions? Any permit or police clearance required??
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Thank you for the detailed trail.
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Thanks fot details
This trail is closed now for publlic, fortunately i did twice last year.
When did you do it last time? I did it this year and noting was closed
Am going tomorrow
@ashikponnus007 please let us know if it is opnen
It is open
yay! amazing
Good climate also. Enjoy it ☺️
How did you get through the two fences
Hi ! Just did the trek, it’s now closed as there are 2 lines of fences. However, there’s an opening 200m after the parking in the desert and you can cross the fences. Walk in the desert for 30 minutes and start the trekking from the canyon.
Anyone going today?
Yes we are going today
Just hiked this last week. Definitely worth it.
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Thanks for the trail
has anyone done this trail recently? there are 2 layers of fences at the beginning