Leopard Canyon and Jungle Book Hike, Jebel Qihwi and Jebel Tafif from Wadi Ghail to Wadi Bih
near Athabāt, Raʼs al Khaymah (United Arab Emirates)
Viewed 3520 times, downloaded 61 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
This route was mostly around getting to the Jungle Book Hike, which has been on my list for many years now, however it has become increasing difficult to access. The documentation on the route is minimal, for a route that was once very well known.
I think this route would be most beneficial if you take it in its sections. These can be used for known access/exit routes, or jigsaw fitted into other routes. The final walk out has the military base at the end and is challenging to get through, and wouldn't plan it into a route. The total moving time for this was about 16 hours.
I have graded the Technically difficulties in the following ways:
T = Trekking
M = Mountaineering
E = Easy
M = Moderate
D = Difficult
VD = Very Difficult
X = Experts Only
T-E = tracks, paths etc.
T-M = rocky terrain, hopping over rocks etc, with lack of obvious path
T-D = asy Scramble Sections, steep sections, with no path
T-VD = Scrambling - Use of hands
T-X or M-E = Scrambling - Hard with exposure
M-M = Climbing - Use of ropes for moving together or descending
M-D = Climbing - Use of ropes, with Belay or abseils which which are a must at 1 or more sections
M-VD: Requires lead climbs on vertical sections
M-X: The scary stuff.
The route was made up of the following key sections:
* Leopard Canyon and along the ridge to Jebel Tafif - a T-E walk in, T-M up, 1 avoidable M-E, a T-E upper section. 11km. 5 hours at a quick pace.
* Jebel Tafif to Jebel Qihwi - a T-E mostly, with T-D scrambles at either end. 8km. 3.5 hours, quick pace + 30 mins to do both peaks.
* Jebel Qihwi northern route, T-E - 4.5km, 1 hour 30 mins, quick pace.
* Jungle Book Hike - M-M (with 1 M-D on the route we did for the top section). 15km, 4 hours 30 mins, regular pace.
* Wadi Bih Central Section - T-E. 6km, 1 hour 30 mins, regular pace.
-------------------------------------------------------
* Leopard Canyon - The section explored was actually a northern shoot off the Leopard Canyon Wadi, which went up onto the Ledge leading into razor. At waypoint 3 the route takes the left wadi (looking up the wadi) and heads up the relatively solid scree. A sharp messy step then marks the top of this tributary, and an exposed M-E scramble on the right hand side of this step in the reverse direction, and leads to the valley sides overlooking Leopard Canyon and wadi ghail generally. A T-M section takes you to the ridge line. We continued along the ridge, which had really good views of both wadis on either side. The peak of Tafif takes some time to get to with a lot of false horizons along the way. However once at the peak I can defiantly say it has the best views of any peak i have been up in the region. It sits central among all the mountain routes I have explored from the UAE side. Going clockwise you have great views of Jebel Qihwi, Dibba, Tawain, RAK, Sal, Qada'ah, Yabanah, Rahbah/Rahabah, Jebel Jais/Bil Ais, Jebel Harim, a load of central wadi bih peaks i don't know the names of, and all of Central Wadi Bih and the peaks around the gateway to Rawdah! The sunset added to the magic. Camping is possible anywhere around here. It is close to freezing at the time of year this route was recorded (January).
* Jebel Tafif to Jebel Qihwi - There is a steep slope on the western side of Tafif, which importantly has step sections in it which would require ropes to drop off. Therefore from Tafif head north or south sufficiently until the sides are not so steep. We followed a small cutting in the side which provided a route through the 'steps'. This brings you to a definitely saddle where many historic pathways seem to converge. From here for the next few hours is just undulating terrain. Easy rolling hills as you cross over between the tops of valleys. There is one hill that appears to sit between Tafif and Qihwi, however once up you hold the height. For this section try not to get pulled up and down the little sub-peaks, traverse if required to avoid unneeded ascents/descents. The remaining part of this section I have described in section 3 on the following route:
https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/jebel-qihwi-western-route-wadi-niqab-19754161
* Jebel Qihwi northern route - A track has now been made from the 'track from dibba to wadi bih' up close to Jebel Qihwi and onwards. This makes for quick movement, however it is a bit boring at times. it's easier just to frequently skip the long hairpins for quicker descent on foot.
* Jungle Book Hike - Much talked about, but little documentation for this bit. We just headed straight down from the track into the wadi, and met a few vertical drops that required some easy routing around. If you come from the car park on the track to dibba, head straight down the scree heading south. This will avoid the next paragraph altogether.
The hardest part of this route was a 10m (30') step at way point 18. However we did find a route past it which was a very exposed scramble. If you look down the wadi at the step the route follows a ledge on the left hand side for about 30m (100') before scrambling down a set of steps into the wadi, moving slighting back up the wadi in direction. It should be possible for an easy ab off this ledge if you have rope.
After this you will arrive at an opened up area of the wadi, with a farm on the left hand side (heading down wadi). On the right is a scree slope which heads straight up to the parking on the dibba track. Here I think would make for an easier access route, skipping the above section. After this point the wadi closes in and is committed for the next 3 hours.
This section makes the wadi worth it. The canyon walls close in, and shoots, slides, steps, boulders, pools and one rope assisted drop make for a solid hour of the route. Everything is either a challenging scramble or can be skipped by finding side scramble routes. At way point 20 specifically, there are alternative routes to the left hand side over to the joining wadi. In this section there is one 5m~ drop/slide with no alternative climbable route, which has a fixed rope in place, however this rope is rapidly falling apart, and only a few core strands remain, so take a rope to do this section in the future.
After this point there is quite a long walk out, from waypoint 20 to waypoint 24. Initially it is quite stunning with enormous cliffs on both sides, as a collection of wadis consolidate down into one large gorge heading to the even more impressive central wadi bih area. The walk out will take another couple of hours, and if you plan to head back up to the wadi bih track, reversing the route would make waypoint 20 a good turn around spot.
* Wadi Bih Central Section - A long track section. Not too exciting, but a beautiful area, only accessible to GCC nationals by means of the conventional access points at either end of the track, ran by the UAE and Oman Military. Routes in/out from Yabannah or Qada'ah side are possible however. All a bit of a gamble.
I think this route would be most beneficial if you take it in its sections. These can be used for known access/exit routes, or jigsaw fitted into other routes. The final walk out has the military base at the end and is challenging to get through, and wouldn't plan it into a route. The total moving time for this was about 16 hours.
I have graded the Technically difficulties in the following ways:
T = Trekking
M = Mountaineering
E = Easy
M = Moderate
D = Difficult
VD = Very Difficult
X = Experts Only
T-E = tracks, paths etc.
T-M = rocky terrain, hopping over rocks etc, with lack of obvious path
T-D = asy Scramble Sections, steep sections, with no path
T-VD = Scrambling - Use of hands
T-X or M-E = Scrambling - Hard with exposure
M-M = Climbing - Use of ropes for moving together or descending
M-D = Climbing - Use of ropes, with Belay or abseils which which are a must at 1 or more sections
M-VD: Requires lead climbs on vertical sections
M-X: The scary stuff.
The route was made up of the following key sections:
* Leopard Canyon and along the ridge to Jebel Tafif - a T-E walk in, T-M up, 1 avoidable M-E, a T-E upper section. 11km. 5 hours at a quick pace.
* Jebel Tafif to Jebel Qihwi - a T-E mostly, with T-D scrambles at either end. 8km. 3.5 hours, quick pace + 30 mins to do both peaks.
* Jebel Qihwi northern route, T-E - 4.5km, 1 hour 30 mins, quick pace.
* Jungle Book Hike - M-M (with 1 M-D on the route we did for the top section). 15km, 4 hours 30 mins, regular pace.
* Wadi Bih Central Section - T-E. 6km, 1 hour 30 mins, regular pace.
-------------------------------------------------------
* Leopard Canyon - The section explored was actually a northern shoot off the Leopard Canyon Wadi, which went up onto the Ledge leading into razor. At waypoint 3 the route takes the left wadi (looking up the wadi) and heads up the relatively solid scree. A sharp messy step then marks the top of this tributary, and an exposed M-E scramble on the right hand side of this step in the reverse direction, and leads to the valley sides overlooking Leopard Canyon and wadi ghail generally. A T-M section takes you to the ridge line. We continued along the ridge, which had really good views of both wadis on either side. The peak of Tafif takes some time to get to with a lot of false horizons along the way. However once at the peak I can defiantly say it has the best views of any peak i have been up in the region. It sits central among all the mountain routes I have explored from the UAE side. Going clockwise you have great views of Jebel Qihwi, Dibba, Tawain, RAK, Sal, Qada'ah, Yabanah, Rahbah/Rahabah, Jebel Jais/Bil Ais, Jebel Harim, a load of central wadi bih peaks i don't know the names of, and all of Central Wadi Bih and the peaks around the gateway to Rawdah! The sunset added to the magic. Camping is possible anywhere around here. It is close to freezing at the time of year this route was recorded (January).
* Jebel Tafif to Jebel Qihwi - There is a steep slope on the western side of Tafif, which importantly has step sections in it which would require ropes to drop off. Therefore from Tafif head north or south sufficiently until the sides are not so steep. We followed a small cutting in the side which provided a route through the 'steps'. This brings you to a definitely saddle where many historic pathways seem to converge. From here for the next few hours is just undulating terrain. Easy rolling hills as you cross over between the tops of valleys. There is one hill that appears to sit between Tafif and Qihwi, however once up you hold the height. For this section try not to get pulled up and down the little sub-peaks, traverse if required to avoid unneeded ascents/descents. The remaining part of this section I have described in section 3 on the following route:
https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/jebel-qihwi-western-route-wadi-niqab-19754161
* Jebel Qihwi northern route - A track has now been made from the 'track from dibba to wadi bih' up close to Jebel Qihwi and onwards. This makes for quick movement, however it is a bit boring at times. it's easier just to frequently skip the long hairpins for quicker descent on foot.
* Jungle Book Hike - Much talked about, but little documentation for this bit. We just headed straight down from the track into the wadi, and met a few vertical drops that required some easy routing around. If you come from the car park on the track to dibba, head straight down the scree heading south. This will avoid the next paragraph altogether.
The hardest part of this route was a 10m (30') step at way point 18. However we did find a route past it which was a very exposed scramble. If you look down the wadi at the step the route follows a ledge on the left hand side for about 30m (100') before scrambling down a set of steps into the wadi, moving slighting back up the wadi in direction. It should be possible for an easy ab off this ledge if you have rope.
After this you will arrive at an opened up area of the wadi, with a farm on the left hand side (heading down wadi). On the right is a scree slope which heads straight up to the parking on the dibba track. Here I think would make for an easier access route, skipping the above section. After this point the wadi closes in and is committed for the next 3 hours.
This section makes the wadi worth it. The canyon walls close in, and shoots, slides, steps, boulders, pools and one rope assisted drop make for a solid hour of the route. Everything is either a challenging scramble or can be skipped by finding side scramble routes. At way point 20 specifically, there are alternative routes to the left hand side over to the joining wadi. In this section there is one 5m~ drop/slide with no alternative climbable route, which has a fixed rope in place, however this rope is rapidly falling apart, and only a few core strands remain, so take a rope to do this section in the future.
After this point there is quite a long walk out, from waypoint 20 to waypoint 24. Initially it is quite stunning with enormous cliffs on both sides, as a collection of wadis consolidate down into one large gorge heading to the even more impressive central wadi bih area. The walk out will take another couple of hours, and if you plan to head back up to the wadi bih track, reversing the route would make waypoint 20 a good turn around spot.
* Wadi Bih Central Section - A long track section. Not too exciting, but a beautiful area, only accessible to GCC nationals by means of the conventional access points at either end of the track, ran by the UAE and Oman Military. Routes in/out from Yabannah or Qada'ah side are possible however. All a bit of a gamble.
Waypoints
Waypoint
0 ft
10 - Bend in Route
10 - Bend in Route
Waypoint
0 ft
11 - Bend in Route
11 - Bend in Route
Waypoint
0 ft
21 - Split in Wadi
21 - Split in Wadi
Waypoint
0 ft
22 - Split in Wadi
22 - Split in Wadi
Waypoint
0 ft
23 - Split in Wadi
23 - Split in Wadi
Waypoint
0 ft
24 - Wadi Bih Track
24 - Wadi Bih Track
Waypoint
0 ft
25 - Military Check Point
25 - Military Check Point
Comments (1)
You can add a comment or review this trail
its a dream to hike with you !!