Hajar Mountains, The rugged Hajar mountains dominate the Ras Al-Khaimah scenery and create a beautiful area to head out into nature to go cycling, hiking, rock climbing and camping. The surrounding desert has ever changing rust-coloured sand dunes, while in the mountains the awe-inspiring jagged landscapes are the kind of big-sky country that most visitors don't expect to find in the UAE. The Hajar mountains are of tremendous interest to geologists as they have the world's greatest surface exposure of ophiolites (igneous rock from the oceanic crust). The highest point in the mountains (and in the country) is Jabal Yibir (Yiber Mountain) standing at 1,537 m.

The Hajar mountains, are divided by wadis (valleys). The most spectacular in the area is Wadi Bih, which straddles Oman and RAK, also a must see is the Wadi Naqab and the Wadi Haqil this wadi is situated close to the area ofJulfar in northern Ras al-Khaimah. In addition to having surface finds dating to a variety of periods in prehistory, Wadi Haqil's most notable features are the pottery kilns which, for several centuries, probably beginning in the fifteenth century, produced a type of unglazed, painted pottery typical of the settlement at Julfar and other late Islamic sites throughout the UAE The production of pottery by traditional means in the Wadi Haqil did not cease until the early 1970s and indeed it is remarkable how little change in form or decoration can be seen from the earliest period in the production of 'Julfar' ware until the modern era. At Julfar itself (i.e. al-Mataf), Julfar pottery represents some 60-70 per cent of the entire ceramic assemblage and it is found on all of the Jazirat al-Hulayla sites. A good sample of pottery from the Wadi Haqil, including both old and recent Julfar wares, can be seen in the Ras al-Khaimah National Museum.