Moreeb Dune

This guide to Moreeb Dune, near Abu Dhabi, opens at the foot of a slope so steep and so disputed in height that even survey maps disagree, and traces how a handful of local drivers first pointed modified Nissan Patrols at it in 2001, just to see if it could be done. You'll hear about the burst hoses, split fuel lines and roadside engine fires that followed, and how those informal runs grew by 2004 into the Liwa Moreeb Dune Festival. Look up the slope in front of you for the ruts and thrown sand left by yesterday's climbs.