The secret is out, or rather open…

Dubai residents are still mourning the loss of one of their favourite beaches, which closed at the end of last year.

We’re talking here about the sandy expanse that occupied a small stretch of mainland coastline between the eastern trunk of Palm Jumeirah and Burj Al Arab. Known as Sufouh Beach or sometimes – Black Palace Beach, because of the neighbouring (black) palace, the sheltered cove was favoured by residents in-the-know because of its relative tranquillity when compared to the likes of The Beach on JBR, Sunset Beach or Kite Beach.

That particular feature led to its third, affectionately bestowed though completely unofficial, moniker – ‘Secret Beach’. But as the years passed, the first rule of Secret Beach Club was not followed and Secret Beach became significantly less secret – with visitor numbers climbing until its eventual closure in December of 2023.

Much discussion has been made about the reasons for the closure, but – at the time of writing – there doesn’t seem to have been any official communication on the matter.

But a tiny grain of hope has emerged. Residents have reported that one of the former entrances to the beach – accessed from King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Street, has reopened.

We went down to check it out, and it appears that the beach has temporarily reopened but for a limited time and a very specific purpose. So our full and most heartfelt apologies if you feel we’ve oversold you with the title there.

But it does appear to be at least semi-open (you can drive in and park), and whilst taking a dip is likely prohibited, you can still catch the DIPC. Yes, the beach seems to be an allocated landing strip for events at the Dubai International Parachuting Championship (DIPC), which is taking place between November 28 and December 5.

Competitive categories in the championship include accuracy, canopy piloting speed, distance, and whatever ‘freestyle’ might be when referring to taking the business exit out of a plane at several thousand feet.

As for the more permanent future of Secret Beach, that seems to be a well-guarded secret.