Wadi Al Helo- The Sweet Valley of UAE
I hope you all are doing great. Recently, I had been to one of the hidden secrets of UAE know as “wadi Al Helo” for hiking and there is no better way to experience the wild beauty of the emirate than on foot. We were bunch of people for this adventurous hiking tour plus we also had two guides with us all the time showing the way and helping us throughout the trek. Before going ahead with my experience let me introduce this place to you all.
Wadi al Helo (‘sweet valley’ in Arabic) is home to an important archaeological site and a restored Islamic watchtower. Nestling in the Hajar mountains, between Kalba and Sharjah, Wadi Al Helo is touted as the Grand Canyon of the UAE, due to its rugged natural beauty. It has been declared a protected area, due to its bountiful birds, reptiles, rodents and freshwater fish. This place is 1 hr away from Dubai and recommended to opt for guide if you are new in town or for hiking. Also this place is more beautiful during rains and popular for full moon night view.
So are you all set for the hike? 😉 Let’s get started-
We reached the place at 10:00 Am where we meet our handsome guides. We have been given the list of things to carry with us during hiking which includes comfortable cloths, sport shoes, sunglasses, water bottle, snacks, sunblock lotion and cap and we were all set with our stuff. They gave us the brief of area, hiking tour and track.
We started our trek with the 1st mountain which was smaller and less steep than another one. When I looked at it, I thought it was easy and I can do it but as we started oh my gosh, it made me realized that its not going to be that easy. Some how I reached half of the way and my heart started pounding so fast which made me feel that it would soon jump out of my mouth. I took a break of 10 mins and then I continued again and some how managed to reach at the top. If you are lover of raw beauty like me then you surely will be amazed by the stunning view which I loved watching from top of the mountain. The View was just marvellous. Likewise, we started our hike for 2nd mountain.
2nd mountain was bit easy than first, to climb but while getting down it was too sharp as there were higher chances of slipping down due to wobbly sand and stone. We all were very careful while getting down plus helping each other to get down safe. Though few of them fell down and got hurt but again its an hike and we need to be more alert managing ourself. Every time the view was fabulous and different from another. I was damn mesmerised with the view. My heart was so overwhelmed that I kept on clicking the picture as I just wanted to cover each bit of the view in my little cam. We took a lunch break for half an hour which was arranged by them and then we resumed our tour for 3rd mountain. Out of 7 we just covered 3 mountains as it was getting difficult for everyone to hike and also thanks to the sun for making trek bit difficult with its harsh rays.
As we were moving ahead towards our 3rd mountain hike we enjoyed few archeologically site like watch tower, well, fort etc. The last hike was too difficult as it was too steep to climb because of narrow paths. Somehow, we all made it and reached at the top. Oh my gosh I swear to god I went crazy with the view. It was superbly spectacular. Beautiful mountains, paths, farms simply incredible. As all say, “If you want to enjoy the view, be at that top and look behind to see how far you have come.” We all were there for 30 mins, chit- chatting and enjoying the view. We started getting down and again it was little tricky ‘coz of sheer slopes. We all were so happy that we made it through these 3 big mountains as every mountain was difficult and tricky from one another.
We gathered at our assembly point had few fruits and water and then left for our place. Before leaving we, all shared our hiking experiences with each other and their best moment. In this entire trip, I was just thinking about how I managed my self to get through all of these mountains.
If seen otherwise it also teaches us the lesson that, we have to manage ourself in such a way that we should be capable of overcoming all kinds of obstacles which are thrown in front of us, getting through it, looking up at our goals and pushing ourself hard to reach there. And once we reach there all we get is gorgeous and stunning view which pays-off all our hard work.
I hope you enjoyed this beautiful journey of trekking with me. For videos do check my Instagram account. Love you all, see you soon in my next post till then take care my birdies.