Liwa Desert Tours & 4×4 Training
Liwa Desert adventures in the real Empty Quarter. Small groups. Veteran guides. Big smiles.
Visit Liwa
Liwa is a stunning and beautiful desert, a vast and almost barren desert region located south west of Abu Dhabi on the edge of the great Empty Quarter desert (Rub Al Khali) the largest continuous sand dune desert in the world..in fact it’s just 330 km from Dubai and 220 km from Abu Dhabi.
History
Liwa was known in the early days as Bu Fallah desert. It took its name from the Bu Fallah tribe, which was one of the most influential tribes in the region. To understand this better, it’s important to remember how strongly the tribes shaped life in the area.
Furthermore, the region consisted of around 50 permanent settlements, known locally as “Mahdar”. With names such as Mezairaa, Al Mariyah, Shah, Nafeer, Hameem, Arada, Therwaneeyah, Malqata, Bateen and so on. These well-established Mahader were not only large, but each had plenty of water wells and farms.
During summer, most of the local inhabitants left their homes in the desert and headed to Abu Dhabi… At that time people used simple, strong materials, building their homes from palm trees and their tents from goat and camel hair.
Modern times
The first signs of modern life began in the late 50s with oil exploration. Trucks and jeeps arrived and jeeps where introduced and the country started its rapid development. Consequently, modern houses, roads, hospitals and schools appeared everywhere. As a result, Liwa transformed from isolated settlements into a connected part of the nation. Thanks to the great effort undertaken by the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan (ruler of Abu Dhabi from 1966-2002) that all his people enjoyed the fruits of this fast development
We will guide you in Liwa
Our expert guide Karim affectionately nicknamed by his clients ‘The Sand God’, has more than 35 years of experience in the desert of the UAE. Therefore, it is no coincidence that Liwa became synonymous among his guests with his name!
What we offer
Our guests have the choice of joining either our Full day or the overnight Camping. We will also organize the two way transfers from Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Additionally, we customize the experience to match the interests and comfort level of every guest.
A word of advise
A visit to Liwa would not be complete without camping under the canopy of 1001 stars. The two-day overnight camping experience should be your first choice. However, those visitors on a tight schedule may still book our full day trip to meet their schedule.