Camels and Sand Duning

The last day of the visit brought one final surprise: a trip out of the city for camel riding and sand duning. A caravan of land rovers picked us up at our hotel to bring us down the eastern side of the peninsula to the dunes. The scenery changed quickly as we rolled out downtown Doha, with high rises and ocean views giving way to an ubiquitous desert.

After about an hour’s drive south, we pulled off the road where a herd of camels were waiting. We all took a short ride on a camel, and I was surprised to see just how tall the animals were.

Arabian camels (aka the dromedary camel) can be recognized by their singular hump, while Asian camels (the bactrian camel) have two humps. A few of our group members even donned a heavy leather glove in order to hold an Arabian falcon. Falconry is well-loved on the Arabian peninsula, and the Saker falcon is the national bird of Qatar.

We made a quick stop for gas down the road, and even the gas station was a small delight. It was stocked with fresh local ice cream, looking nothing like the rest stops I was used to at home. With full tanks of gas and armfuls of snacks, we headed into the dunes.

Clinging to your seatbelt in the back of a car that’s careening unpredictably off 50 foot drops with no clear destination in the middle of a desert might sound like a nightmare to some, but it was easily one of the most fun things I’ve ever done in my life. Sand duning was exhilarating, to say the least, and coupled with the stunning views it felt like something out of a movie. Our drivers expertly navigated the dunes, pausing at a particularly high peak to let us watch the late-afternoon sun dip below the horizon.

In the final minutes of daylight we came over one final dune to find water waiting for us below. Qatar’s Inland Sea — Khawr al Udayd — is a small inlet of the Persian Gulf, right at the foot of the dunes. The sea isn’t even accessible by road, and it was incredibly peaceful as we dipped our feet in the warm water and squinted to see the Saudi Arabian coast across the way. The Inland Sea is known for its stunning views and unique ecosystem, and I was sad when night finally fell and it was time to return to Doha.