Apparently Sweihan is quite a technical playground for off-roaders and not part of the most easy tracks. First timers may find it difficult at some point, but our friend that drove for the first time found it okay! She did get stuck and the rescue was hard (see video) with a few attempts, but we made it out anyway.
Once we arrive on campsite, usually we set up our tents and set up before going to do some dune bashing. This time we were way too over excited and went right away. Ended up having one car that needed a tire change. The boys pulled the hard task of doing it on the soft sands, while the girls we were snacking on smoked cheese and saucisson, haha typical. We then jumped back in the cars to head to Naqrah, the sand dune located deep in the Sweihan desert, the perfect Liwa practice dune!
We were luck to see a lot of gazelles. With luck, you can see oryxes, gazelles and Emiratis with their falcons here.
Drive time: (from Dubai) I hr 15 mins
Location: Abu Dhabi/Sweihan/Al Hayer road, Abu Dhabi
Where to camp: We saw some campers on the bottom of Naqrah, but we found our camping spot by trying to follow a track a friend showed us. Since then, we just followed our trails back to the same usual camping spot in Sweihan.
Meeting Point:
We always meet at the ADNOC Petrol station in Sweihan. Note that they don’t have the camping essentials like wood, ice, etc, so get prepared!
- Google map link: https://goo.gl/maps/sZdnU
Where to deflate: After you have passed the gate, roll 500 meters further where you can find trees to go under the shadow to deflate without a sunburn. You can see a lot of camels around you as there are few farms.
Inflate: If you don’t have a compressor, you will have to return to the same petrol station. Don’t forget to go on the side of the road, putting your flashing lights and go slow to not damage your tires. It can be around 6km rolling with low pressure in your tires …
Have you ever been off-roading by yourself? If yes, whereabouts? Do tell us how you find Sweihan if you decide to go soon. Happy camping & dune bashing!
