UAE's only year-round natural waterfall: Wadi Wurayah open to public; how to visit

Hidden deep within Fujairah’s Hajar Mountains, clear water slips through rocky channels, springs rise from the arid landscape and a natural waterfall continues to flow even through the fiercest months of the UAE summer.

For years, Wadi Wurayah, the secluded mountain ecosystem, was largely beyond the public’s reach. Its trails, freshwater pools and rugged valleys were left undisturbed as scientists studied its wildlife and authorities worked to restore and protect its fragile habitats.

Wadi Wurayah, recently inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage List, has been open to members of the public through controlled group visits since January 2026, a top official from the Fujairah Environment Authority told Khaleej Times.

Access is not unrestricted. Visitors must register for an organised tour operated by Fujairah Holidays, allowing people to experience the reserve without placing its environment at risk.

Here is everything visitors need to know about the protected area, why it was closed and how they can explore it.

Yes. Wadi Wurayah reopened to the public in January 2026, but visits are limited to controlled groups.

“Anybody can register through our operational partner, Fujairah Holidays,” said Asilah Abdullah Al Mualla, Director-General of the Fujairah Environment Authority.

The controlled system is intended to allow visitors to enjoy the reserve while preventing damage to its sensitive environment.

Tours are offered through the Fujairah Holidays website under the package titled Explore Wadi Wurayah.

Yes. During a Khaleej Times visit to the reserve in January 2025, researchers said more than 60 springs fed a water channel extending for over 6km before draining into the waterfall.

The waterfall is about 13 metres high and, according to geologists cited by the Fujairah Environment Authority’s research team, may have been flowing continuously for at least 10,000 years.

The water sustains an ecosystem rarely seen elsewhere in the UAE. A fish known as the Garai lives in the pool surrounding the waterfall and has adapted to survive the flash floods that periodically sweep through the wadi.

When Khaleej Times entered Wadi Wurayah in January 2025, access was still largely restricted to researchers, students and registered conservation volunteers.

A group of around 15 residents had been admitted through Emirates Nature-WWF’s Leaders of Change initiative to work as “citizen scientists”.

After hiking approximately 2.5km through the wadi, volunteers reached a freshwater pool where they carefully caught toads, measured them and released them back into their habitat.