Khorfakkan

Khorfakkan belongs to Sharjah but sits on the far side of the Hajar mountains on the Gulf of Oman, a deep natural bay between two rocky headlands with a container port at one end and a long sand beach at the other. A tunnelled mountain road cut through from the interior in 2019 made it an easy day trip, and the town has been rebuilt around a corniche, a made waterfall on the hillside and an open-air amphitheatre carved into the rock above the bay.

The main sights

• The bay - a curve of sand between rocky headlands on the Gulf of Oman.
• The amphitheatre - an open-air theatre cut into the hillside above the town.
• The Al Rafisah road - the tunnelled mountain route from the interior.
• Shark Island - the rock offshore, snorkelled and dived from the beach.

When to go

October to April for the beach and the mountain road. Summer is hot and humid on this coast. Weekends fill the corniche and parking.

Before you go

The working container port dominates one end of the bay. Swimming areas are shared with boat traffic and the currents around the headlands need care. Weekend crowds from Dubai fill the beach.

Nearby

Al Rafisah Dam is west, and Wadi Shees is south-west.

Key facts