Discover Liwa Driving Tour

(13 reviews)

Liwa Oasis audio tour: Discover Liwa Driving Tour

This is a 57.1mi driving tour

It takes an average of 90 mins to complete.

Liwa Oasis

The United Arab Emirates

Free

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Reviews

About the Tour

Liwa Oasis is located in the western region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, 220 km southwest of Abu Dhabi Island. It stretches about 120 km in the northern part of the vast Empty Quarter desert and forms a crescent that extends from the southwest to the southeast in the heart of Al Dhafra Region.

You can reach Liwa Oasis in a three-hour drive. Liwa is the largest oasis of its kind in the Arabian Peninsula, and the gateway to the Empty Quarter.

On this driving tour, discover the 52 villages and oases in Liwa, such as Nashash, Mezaira’a, Qutuf, Maryah Al Gharbia, and Khannour. While visiting some of the historic buildings extending on the Liwa crescent, and learn about the history of the area and about the Emirati tribes that lived in these oases protecting themselves by the many forts and watchtowers extending across Liwa.

The driving tour starts at Al Yabbana Fort, located in the far east of Liwa, and will end at the Umm Hisn Tower, located in the far west of Liwa.

Music:

Desert City by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.

Tour Producer

Visit Abu Dhabi

21 tours

With three diverse destinations in just one Emirate, Abu Dhabi is a truly unique destination, where respect for the past informs the present and shapes the future.

This is a diverse emirate with desertscapes, oases, mountain heights, fabulous beaches, warm, clear waters, desert islands, an ancient heritage city and a modern, cosmopolitan capital city. It’s a destination of historic buildings, thrilling headline attractions, engaging tours and a packed calendar of headline events covering the arts, culture, sports, concerts and trade shows.

Abu Dhabi is a destination that will exceed your expectations!

Preview Location

Location 9

Date farming

Continue on this road while we delve more into the date palms.

For those living a nomadic life, utilitarian objects made from woven palm fronds are ideal. They are lightweight and functional; don’t require complicated construction tools; raw materials are easily found; and ... Continue on this road while we delve more into the date palms.

For those living a nomadic life, utilitarian objects made from woven palm fronds are ideal. They are lightweight and functional; don’t require complicated construction tools; raw materials are easily found; and once they fall apart, they re-enter the ecosystem guilt-free.

Palm tree wood is particularly sturdy and perfect for small building construction. Leaves, trunks and rope made from trunk fibres can be used to construct simple enclosures, and when it is hot inside they are definitely much cooler than outside in the desert. Such houses continued to be built well into the 20th century, and in villages such as those in Liwa, the only stone constructions were the forts and defensive towers.

It is the fruit though that is financially the most significant product of the date palm in Liwa. Besides being a very tasty treat, dates have provided generations of Emiratis with an essential part of their diet. The marketing agents for Liwa’s dates describe them as one of the world’s superfoods.

They are good sources of iron and potassium, and also contain calcium, chlorine, copper and magnesium. In addition, dates are a source of 16 amino acids, as well as vitamins A and B.

There are over two hundred types available, and if you look around you today, you may also be able to detect some different palm tree varieties as well. There are variations to be seen in their height, in the shape and size of the crown, and in the textures of the trunk.

You might also see some that have hessian wrapped around their fronds. These are generally newly planted, and are needing a little extra support for a while. By the time the wrapping falls off, the fronds are usually strong enough to manage by themselves.

It is not always possible to see the individual dates growing on the trees, as the farmers will often wrap them in nets once they begin to grow. This protects them from hungry birds, and also stops ripe dates from dropping to the ground prior to harvesting.

Continue driving. We'll shortly reach the centre of Liwa. Read More

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Major Landmarks

Al Yabbana Fort
Al Meel Fort
Mezaira’a Fort
Dhafeer Fort
Qutuf Fort
Mougad Tower
Al Marya al-Gharbia
Fort Umm Hisn Tower

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
23° 3’45.17″N 54° 4’17.56″E - المحاضر الشرقية - محضر الجبانة - أبو ظبي - United Arab Emirates
Total distance

92km
Final location
23.0072169, 53.42455452
Distance back to start location

67km

Directions to Starting Point

Starting point is the parking area in front of the Al Yabbana Fort.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

The various forts and towers along the route.

Best time of day

Best time would be early morning or mid-day to sunset.

Precautions

This route travels along several roads, oases and farms, driving a little slower will give you time to soak in the beauty of it all! Also, it is advised to wear proper walking shoes and hydrate at all times.

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“This app has become my go-to app for audio tours. I pretty much use it for every trip and it works wonderfully. I highly recommend VoiceMap for travelers to truly experience cities.”

App Store Review

“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”

Google Play Store

Questions and Reviews

4.8 / 5

13 Ratings

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Discover Liwa Driving Tour

About the Tour

Tour Producer

Visit Abu Dhabi

Preview Location

Location 9

Date farming

How VoiceMap Works

Major Landmarks

Al Yabbana Fort

Al Meel Fort

Mezaira’a Fort

Dhafeer Fort

Qutuf Fort

Mougad Tower

Al Marya al-Gharbia

Fort Umm Hisn Tower