Venue
Al Dhafra Region, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
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Al Dhafra Festival, Madinat Zayed guide
Camel beauty judging in the Abu Dhabi desert.
In short
Al Dhafra usually runs in several stages from late October to January, with the Madinat Zayed rounds and finale in December; the Abu Dhabi Heritage Authority publishes dates each autumn. Breeders parade camels before mazayna judges, with falconry, saluki races and poetry around the ring. It suits travellers curious about Bedouin heritage.
Al Dhafra is the great camel gathering of the Abu Dhabi desert, a Bedouin heritage festival where breeders from around the Gulf parade their herds in front of mazayna judges, the panels that score camels for beauty. Around the judging ring grows a programme of falconry, saluki races, poetry and desert crafts.
The appeal for a traveller is access. The camel world of the Gulf, with its breeding lines, reputations and serious prize money, normally plays out far from the coastal cities, and here it happens in the open, in the Al Dhafra Region's dune country, with outsiders free to watch.
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Key Facts & Stats:
Date: Monday, 26 October 2026 – Tuesday, 12 January 2027
Starts: 6:00 PM
Where: Al Dhafra, United Arab Emirates
Venue: Madinat Zayed
Held: Every year
Type of event: Sporting Events, Cultural Events, Folk Festival
Currency: UAE dirham (AED, Dh)
Time zone: Gulf Standard Time, UTC+4
Language: Arabic
Map
Getting around
Hotels near the venue fill up around the event dates.
Checking the daily programme each morning
Rounds and side contests move from day to day, and what was announced last week may well have shifted. Check the official festival guide or the Falak Al Namoos app each morning before you drive out, and again before lunch if you are waiting for a particular falcon or saluki event. If a contest you came for is not listed, ask at the market; it may simply have moved to another day of the same week.
Modest dress and asking before photos
- Dress conservatively: long trousers or skirts and covered shoulders fit in with the crowd of local families and breeders.
- Ask before you photograph anyone, and take extra care around Emirati women and family groups; a polite refusal should end the matter.
- Breeders are working. Keep a respectful distance from the pens and from camels being led to the judging ring, and do not touch an animal without the owner's say-so.
Clothing for warm days and cold nights
December and January in Al Dhafra mean pleasant days and properly cold nights once the sun is down. Bring a fleece or jacket, closed shoes for sand, sunglasses and sunscreen for the hours by the ring, and plenty of water in the car. Fuel up in Madinat Zayed or Liwa before any detour into the dunes, and stick to paved roads unless you are with an experienced desert driver.
What happens on the day
- Morning
First groups called
Camels are brought out in groups, sorted by breed and colour, and the panels work through them one category at a time. Be at the ring early.
- Midday
Judging continues
With 383 rounds across the season, the order changes from day to day, so check that day's list.
- Afternoon
Side competitions
During the finale, falcons, salukis, horses, poetry and other heritage contests run alongside the camels.
- Early evening
Market
Move to the Al Dhafra Traditional Market for dates, perfume and Emirati dishes.
- After dark
Desert cold
The temperature drops sharply; keep a warm layer in the car.
Where to stay and how many days to spend
One day is enough to watch a few rounds of judging and walk the market stalls. A second day lets you catch the side contests that were not on the first day's list, because the programme is reshuffled constantly.
Choose your week before you book anything. The Madinat Zayed mazayna and the cash prize finale straight after it form the fortnight most visitors should aim for. That is when the published side programme of falcons, salukis, horses and poetry runs alongside the camels.
How judges assess camels in the mazayna
A mazayna is a beauty contest, and the judging is far more exacting than outsiders expect. Panels look at the size of the head, whether the lips close neatly over the teeth, the length of the neck and the shape and set of the hump. Two families dominate: the Majaheem, with their dark coats, and the Asayel, the pale local camels of the Emirates. Breeders bring herds from across the Gulf, and the camels are judged in groups.
Good milkers have prizes of their own. The finale widens the picture of Bedouin life with a camel milking contest, a challenge in which young camels have to be tackled and held, Al Naeem sheep judging and a Shillat poetry competition, the oral verse tradition of the desert tribes.
Most visitors drift to the Al Dhafra Traditional Market between rounds. Its stalls trade in dates, perfume, handicrafts and Emirati dishes, and date-packing contests show how the region's harvest is sorted and boxed. Dates matter here. The town also hosts the Al Dhafra Dates Festival, with auctions and competitions of its own.
Getting there
Flying in
Fly into Zayed International Airport (AUH), east of Abu Dhabi city, for example on Dhaka to Abu Dhabi or Bangkok to Abu Dhabi flights. Check entry rules on our UAE visa page.
By road
Madinat Zayed lies about 180 km south-west of the capital. Follow the E11 west along the coast, then turn south on the E45, which runs through the town and on to Liwa. Allow two to three hours.
By bus
Capital Express regional services leave Abu Dhabi Central Bus Station for the west, including the X60 to Muzayr'ah in Liwa, and local route 660 links Mezaira'a with Madinat Zayed. Changes in the desert make it slow on a festival day.
Hire a car
Renting a car in the UAE lets you move between the pens, the market and your hotel. From Liwa, you retrace the E45 north every morning.
Where to stay during the festival
Staying in Madinat Zayed puts you minutes from the camel pens and the market. If rooms there are gone, look south along the E45 to the Liwa Oasis: the Liwa Hotel and the Liwa Rest House stand in Muzayri', Tilal Liwa Hotel is in the same area, and Qasr Al Sarab is a resort out among the dunes.
Give it two nights. A day trip from the capital is possible, but it means most of the morning and the evening on the highway.
Abu Dhabi
Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, Abu Dhabi5-star hotel
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- Free WiFi
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Weather and what to pack
December is the mild season in the UAE. The 1991 to 2020 normals for Zayed International Airport (National Center of Meteorology) give a December high of 26.5°C and a low of 15.7°C, with 8 mm of rain in the month.
Madinat Zayed is inland, so expect warm, dry days and nights that feel much colder than on the coast.
Worth packing
- A warm layer for the evenings
- A sun hat and sunscreen
- Closed shoes for sand and livestock pens
- Modest clothing covering shoulders and knees
- Water and snacks for the car
- Cash for the market stalls
Car hire in Al Dhafra
Airport transfer to Al Dhafra Festival, Madinat Zayed
Met at arrivals at Zayed International Airport (AUH) and driven door to door to Madinat Zayed.
- Zayed International Airport (AUH) → Madinat Zayed
- 157 km · 1 hr 45 min
Restaurants and food in United Arab Emirates
Places to eat in United Arab Emirates before or after the celebrations.
Erth
Al Hosn, Al Hosn Cultural District, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Cuisine:EmiratiModern Middle Eastern
- Dine-in
- Outdoor seating
At.mosphere
Level 122, Burj Khalifa, Downtown Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Cuisine:Modern EuropeanFrench-inspired
- Dine-in
- Bar
Ravi Restaurant
Shop 245, 9th Street, opposite Union Cooperative Society, near Al Satwa Roundabout, Al Satwa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Cuisine:PakistaniPunjabi
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
- Outdoor seating
Al Ustad Special Kabab
Al Musalla Road, near Al Fahidi, Bur Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Cuisine:IranianPersian
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
Trèsind Studio
St. Regis Gardens, The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Cuisine:Progressive IndianTasting menu
- Dine-in
- Counter seating
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Need help?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Timing & weather
This season the camel beauty contests alone carry more than AED 92 million in prizes, before counting the falconry, saluki, horse and heritage competitions.
Booking
The organisers list 383 rounds across all the desert stages, and 22 of them are new categories added this season.
General
Yes, during the finale. There are falconry contests and a falcon beauty competition, and Arabian salukis both race and compete in a beauty contest of their own.
The finale includes a racing championship for purebred Arabian horses, run in the same December fortnight as the camel cash prize rounds, so riders and breeders share the showground.
Shooting with the traditional Saktoun rifle is one, and there is even a tea-making competition. Both sit on the finale programme with the poetry and livestock events.
The beauty contests are the core, but the festival also hosts camel races and gives separate prizes for the best milking camels.
It is a related festival in Madinat Zayed with date auctions and contests of its own, organised separately from the camel judging.
No. The Moreeb Dune Festival in Liwa is a separate gathering built around off-road driving and camel racing on the dunes, while Al Dhafra centres on camel beauty judging and Bedouin heritage contests.
Yes. The Abu Dhabi Heritage Authority runs it, and the festival takes place under the patronage of the President of the UAE.
The Liwa International Festival brings around three weeks of desert motorsport to the Empty Quarter each December, with concerts and fireworks, so Liwa can be busy at the same time.