Where you should be in December
We’ve seen that slightly skewed red ‘Liwa’ rectangle stuck to the back of so many car bumpers and back windscreens all across the UAE. You know the one (if you’re not in the UAE then you’ll probably have no idea, but read on anyway), for that festival that happens way out in Liwa and has something about huge sand dunes and supercharged SUVs screaming up them.
Liwa Festival or Liwa Tal Moreeb Festival, or just Tal Moreeb Festival (depending on what sticker you see and who you speak to) has always been on our radar but it was always just a little bit too far away, or too unfamiliar, or too unknown to head to, until December 2023.
We went and holy smokes. It’s wild.
In a good way.
First you’ve got to get way out into the Empty Quarter, the worlds largest open desert which crosses into Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra region and presents one of the most stunning landscapes anywhere in the world. Then down a black asphalt road that winds into an ocean of sand is Tal Moreeb, and coming to life live on the sabkha is the most interesting and completely mad festival in the UAE. A symphony of noise, chaos, cars, people, food trucks, farms, tents, fireworks, laser lights and a whole lot of other stuff that’s worth traveling there to discover yourself.
The whole thing is pretty well captured by this Vice documentary, but it’s still nothing close to being there watching, smelling, hearing and feeling the crazyness happen.
There’s a lot of crazyness, and the big show, the thing Tal Moreeb is known for - the cars racing up the dune - is not nearly the most interesting or wild thing going on.
It’s a little bit mad max, a dance of supercharged cars flying up sand mountains and a little bit mellow max with cafes and model farms. Hundreds of thousands of people, gathering over a month, a pop-up desert city open to all. It’s one of the clearest expressions of modern Emirati/Gulf culture you’ll find and if you’re looking for a late December adventure in the UAE that is unlike anything else on offer then this is your ticket.
You should go.
OUR TIPS FOR TAL MOREEB:
If you don’t fancy a tent in the desert book a hotel early - there’s not many close-by and they fill up fast.
Find the dune next to Tal Moreeb (the one they officially race up) and plan to spend at least an hour watching in disbelief as hundreds of cars freestlye charge their way up and down without hitting each other.
Fill up with gas before you get on-site - there’s a pop-up petrol station with queues longer than the Empty Quarter is empty. You don’t want to be filling up at Tal Moreeb.
Plan for the night life. Tal Moreeb is nocturnal, it sleeps during the day and comes to life at night, all night.
