Thought the Dubai Fountain zipline was exciting (or scary)? Get ready for this…

Neighbouring emirate Ras Al Khaimah will soon be home to the longest zipline in the world – the ride will shoot off from the highest mountain in the UAE, Jebel Jais.

The extreme ride will be 2.6km long and will be open by the end of April. The world’s longest zipline right now is in South Africa (and is 2km long).

The new zipline will be close to a 5-star desert camp that’s being built in Ras Al Khaimah (something for the glampers out there). And that’s not all, there will also be a via ferrata in the mountainous area of RAK.

What’s that, you ask?’Via ferrata’ translates to ‘iron road’ from Italian, and it’s basically a steel cable that runs along a mountain face. Climbers attach themselves to the cable so that they can traverse routes that would be too dangerous without it. Steps, pegs and ladders can also be used as part of a via ferrata route.

Here’s what a via ferrata looks like (this one’s in Germany):

via-ferrataPhoto: Wald1siedel

And here’s a bit of what the terrain of Jebel Jais looks like:

jebel-jaisPhoto (and featured photo): Jude Niro Abeyeratne

To give you a taste of what floating through 2km of air looks like, here’s a POV of the South African zipline:

As part of the whole project there will also be a viewing deck with a picnic area that looks out to the ocean from the mountain.

We’re looking forward to it! We’ll definitely keep you updated.

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