Liwa Oasis, Desert oasis in Abu Dhabi Emirate, United Arab Emirates

Liwa is a large oasis in the southern part of Abu Dhabi emirate where about fifty small settlements sit between date plantations and high dunes. The palms grow in long rows along man-made channels that bring groundwater to the fields.

Nomadic tribes used this oasis as a stopping point for thousands of years on their journeys across the Arabian peninsula. Only in the 20th century did the temporary camps become permanent villages when wells and irrigation systems made year-round farming possible.

Liwa gives its name to the oasis's date palms, and the harvest is judged each year at the Mazayna Al Rutab festival in the Western Region, where the best fruit is chosen. The Dubas variety is the most famous, alongside Khalas, Barhi and Zamli. Palm farms here once relied on hand-dug wells, and neighbours joined in a collective effort called fazaa to dig a new one.

The drive takes about an hour and a half to two hours from Abu Dhabi city along well-maintained roads through the desert. Visitors who come during the cooler months between October and March will find temperatures more comfortable for walking among the palms or exploring the dunes.

The oasis is the birthplace of the ruling families of Abu Dhabi and Dubai; in 1793 the Al Nahyan moved their residence from Liwa to Abu Dhabi. Men from the Bani Yas tribe of Liwa worked as pearl divers on the coast in summer. The Moreeb dune, 22 km south of Muzayri`, is 300 m high.