# Bithnah Fort, Fujairah > Bithnah Fort is an 18th-century stone-and-mud fort with two round towers above Wadi Ham, 13 km west of Fujairah city. Entry is free (unofficial). The official tourism site lists 8 am–6 pm daily, while guides say 8 am–4 pm. Thirty minutes is enough. Without a car, a taxi is the only way there. Web page: https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/bithnah-fort - City: [Fujairah](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah), United Arab Emirates - YesGo score: 31/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 30 min - Opening hours: Daily 8 am–6 pm per the official Fujairah Tourism site (seen in search results); guides give 8 am–4 pm and a shorter Friday - With kids: Fine with kids - Entry fee: Free (unofficial; no official price published) - Timings: 8 am–6 pm daily per the official tourism site; guides say 8 am–4 pm - Friday: Some guides mention shorter hours — go in the afternoon - Time needed: 20–30 minutes, plus a few for the valley view - Location: Al Bithnah village, ≈ 1 km off the E89 Fujairah–Masafi road - Getting there: Car or taxi only: 15–20 minutes from Fujairah; no direct bus - From Dubai by car: ≈ 113 km, about 1.5 hours without traffic — right on the way to Fujairah - Tourism & Antiquities Authority phone: +971 9 223 1554 - Coordinates: 25.18889, 56.23278 - Facts checked: 03.11.2026 ## Key facts - **18th century** — 1735 per the tourism authority; after 1745 per a 2009 study — it was standing by 1808 (source: Fujairah Tourism & Antiquities Authority; Al Etihad, 2026; English Wikipedia (Ziolkowski & al-Sharqi, 2009)) - **2 towers** — a rectangular fort with two round corner towers (source: Fujairah Tourism & Antiquities Authority; English Wikipedia; Property Finder) - **≈ 13 km** — west of Fujairah city, close to the main road inland (source: Fujairah Tourism & Antiquities Authority; Al Etihad, 2026) - **Wadi Ham** — the fort guarded the main pass from the east coast to the interior (source: English Wikipedia; The National) - **1884** — taken by Hamad bin Abdullah Al Sharqi — a step towards Fujairah's independence from Sharjah (source: English Wikipedia; Property Finder) - **2008–2012** — latest restoration, including the boundary wall (source: English Wikipedia; Khaleej Times, 25.07.2012) - **Stone and mudbrick** — stone lower walls, mudbrick above, set in mud mortar (source: English Wikipedia; Property Finder) - **c. 1000 BC** — a T-shaped tomb near the village, excavated by a Swiss team (source: ENHG Bulletin 37, 1989; English Wikipedia (Al Bithnah)) - **1974** — first restoration; the fort decayed again afterwards (source: English Wikipedia) - **≈ 0.5 km** — to Al Bithnah village; ≈ 11 km in a straight line to Al Hayl Fort (source: OpenStreetMap, straight line) > **Check it's open before you drive out** There's no official timetable you can actually open: the Fujairah Tourism site shows 8 am–6 pm in search results, guides say 8 am–4 pm, and a few mention shorter Friday hours. The fort is out of town, so a locked gate means a wasted trip. Call the Tourism & Antiquities Authority first: **+971 9 223 1554**. ## Is there an entry fee, and what are the timings? There's no ticket. Guides, including Property Finder, say entry is **free**; the tourism authority publishes no price, so treat that as unofficial. A caretaker is sometimes at the gate and may show you around. Timings are less certain. The official Fujairah Tourism site appears in search results with **8 am–6 pm daily**, but the page itself wouldn't load for us. Property Finder and AAA give 8 am–4 pm, with Fridays shorter. The safe bet is a weekday before 4 pm. Cards are accepted almost everywhere in the UAE, but carry some dirham cash for taxis out here. ## Bithnah Fort history Bithnah Fort dates from the **18th century**, though the exact year is disputed. The Fujairah Tourism & Antiquities Authority and the Abu Dhabi paper Al Etihad both give **1735**. Archaeologists Ziolkowski and al-Sharqi, writing in 2009, are more cautious: it could have gone up any time after 1745, and it was certainly there by 1808, when Wahhabi forces held it. The location is everything. The fort overlooks **Wadi Ham**, for centuries the route from the Gulf of Oman coast inland to Masafi, Dhaid and Sharjah. The National describes it as guarding the main overland route to the Fujairah coast and the farms around it. Whoever held the fort held the road. The same article says it also served as a jail, and a single shot from one of nine watchtowers nearby warned of danger. So it changed hands often. In 1745 the Qawasim and the Na'im beat the army of Oman's Ahmed bin Said at Bithnah, and control later swung between the Qawasim and Muscat. In **1884** Hamad bin Abdullah Al Sharqi took the fort, a key step in Fujairah breaking away from Sharjah — though Britain only recognised Fujairah as a separate emirate in 1952. In the 20th century the fort fell apart and both towers collapsed. It was patched up in 1974, decayed again and was lived in by a local man until 2009. The latest restoration ran from **2008 to 2012**; in July 2012 Khaleej Times reported the fort and its surrounding wall would be finished by August. ## Is Bithnah Fort worth visiting? It's a compact rectangular fort with **two round corner towers**, stone at the base and mudbrick above, roofed with date-palm beams. Around it are palm groves, the village and the bare Hajar Mountains. Al Etihad calls it the emirate's second-largest fort. There's no exhibition or café — just a courtyard, rooms, stairs and gun slits. What you get is the building itself and the valley view, usually with nobody else around. It isn't worth a special trip from Dubai, but it's well worth a stop on the way: it's about a kilometre off the E89, the road everyone takes down to Fujairah from Masafi. Allow 30–40 minutes including the detour. Without a car it's harder to justify: no bus goes there, so it's a separate taxi ride out and back. If you're staying on the coast and only want one fort, start with [Fujairah Fort](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/fujairah-fort) in town instead. ## What to see - **The two round towers** — the tourism authority places them on the west side, towards the mountains. If a tower is open, climb it for the best view. - **The walls**: rough stone at the bottom, neat mudbrick courses on top — easy to see in low sun. - **The entrance and courtyard** — you go in through a narrow passage; English Wikipedia says the 2008 restoration found an underground room that may have been a madbasa, a store for dates. - **Gun slits** in the walls and towers, all trained on the wadi below. - **The palm groves and the dry bed of Wadi Ham** — the reason the fort was built here. - **Al Bithnah village**, half a kilometre away — a lived-in village, not a museum, near a tomb dated to around 1000 BC. ## How to get to Bithnah Fort 1. From Fujairah: head west from Fujairah Fort or the centre on the **E89** (Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Road) towards Masafi — about 16 km, 15–20 minutes. At Al Bithnah, turn off the highway towards the village; the fort is about a kilometre in. 2. By taxi: about 13 km and 15 minutes from Fujairah Bus Station. Ask for "Al Bithnah Fort". There are no taxis waiting at the fort, so ask the driver to wait half an hour or agree a pick-up time. 3. From Dubai by car: ≈ 113 km, around 1.5 hours without traffic, via Dhaid and Masafi. The fort is on the way — stop before you drop down to the coast. 4. From Dubai without a car: RTA bus **E700** to Fujairah Bus Station takes about 2 hours (pay with a **nol card**; guides quote AED 25–30 and departures from Union or Etisalat by e& — check the S'hail app). We found no stop near the fort, so take a taxi from Fujairah. 5. From Sharjah, buses to Fujairah leave Al Jubail station and run via Masafi. Get off at Fujairah Bus Station and take a taxi. 6. Etihad Rail: Khaleej Times lists one daily train from Dubai (Al Yalayis) to Fujairah station in Al Hilal. The fort is about 22 km by road from there — again a taxi. Check the timetable with the operator on the day. > **Best photo spots** Walk around the outside: the strongest shot is a round tower against the mountains, taken from low down by the palms. Early morning and the last hour before sunset turn the mud walls warm orange; at noon they look flat. Don't fly a drone without a permit, and don't photograph military or restricted sites along the highway. ## Bithnah, Fujairah Fort or Al Hayl? | | Bithnah Fort | Fujairah Fort | Al Hayl Fort | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Where | Al Bithnah village, ≈ 13 km west | Old Fujairah, in town | Al Hayl village, ≈ 13 km south-west | | Dated to | 18th c. (1735 or after 1745) | 16th c. – c. 1800 (disputed) | 1930s | | Towers | Two round | Three round, one square | Hilltop watchtower | | Getting there | Car or taxi, off the E89 | Short taxi from the centre | Car or taxi | | Entry | Free (unofficial) | Free (unofficial) | Free (unofficial) | [Al Hayl](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/al-hayl-fort) and Bithnah sit in different valleys, about 23 km apart by road via Fujairah. Bithnah is the easy stop on the drive from Dubai; Fujairah Fort is the one to pick if you're already in town. Dates are from the Fujairah Tourism & Antiquities Authority and English Wikipedia. ## Historic sites in Fujairah compared Forts, mosques and museums in Fujairah rated by YesGo. - [Fujairah Fort](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/fujairah-fort) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Free (unofficial) - [Fujairah Heritage Village](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/fujairah-heritage-village) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 40 min · ≈ AED 5 (unofficial) - [Fujairah Museum](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/fujairah-museum) — YesGo score 38/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · ≈ AED 5 - [Bithnah Fort](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/bithnah-fort) — YesGo score 31/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free (unofficial) - [Al Badiyah Mosque](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/al-badiyah-mosque) — YesGo score 30/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free - [Al Hayl Fort](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/al-hayl-fort) — YesGo score 29/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free (unofficial) ## A Fujairah day by car from Dubai Bithnah on the way down from the mountains, then the old town and an evening by the sea. 1. [Bithnah Fort](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/bithnah-fort) — YesGo score 31/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free (unofficial) 2. [Fujairah Fort](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/fujairah-fort) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Free (unofficial) 3. [Fujairah Museum](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/fujairah-museum) — YesGo score 38/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · ≈ AED 5 4. [Fujairah Heritage Village](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/fujairah-heritage-village) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 40 min · ≈ AED 5 (unofficial) 5. [Fujairah Corniche](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/fujairah-corniche) — YesGo score 40/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free ## Before you go - [ ] Called to check it's open today - [ ] Friday? Plan for the afternoon - [ ] Car, or a taxi booked both ways - [ ] Water and a hat — there's almost no shade - [ ] Shoes with grip for the stairs - [ ] Shoulders and knees covered - [ ] Some dirham cash for the taxi ## Bithnah Fort with kids Fine for a short stop if you're driving: it's free, quick, and towers and gun slits beat display cases for most children. There are no crowds, so they can explore the courtyard freely. Watch the stairs and wall edges — there are hardly any railings. Stone gets very hot by midday, so come early with little ones, and bring water and snacks: there are no shops or toilets at the fort. ## Don't mix up Bithnah Fort isn't the Bithnah archaeological site by the village, where a Bronze–Iron Age tomb and settlement were excavated separately and nothing is set up for visitors. The Wadi Ham dam is a different place too. And don't confuse Bithnah with Al Hayl Fort: both are in the mountains west of Fujairah, but in different valleys. ## Tips - Driving from Dubai? Stop at Bithnah on the way in rather than doubling back from Fujairah. - Go on a weekday before 4 pm — the only window every source agrees on. - Bring water: there's no café or shop at the fort. - Taxis don't hang around out here — ask your driver to wait. - For photos, come early or just before sunset, when the mud walls glow. - Afterwards, head into the old town: Fujairah Fort and [Fujairah Museum](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/fujairah-museum) are 15–20 minutes away. - Finish at the sea on the [Fujairah Corniche](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/fujairah-corniche). ## Questions ### Where is Bithnah Fort? In Al Bithnah village, about 13 km west of Fujairah city and about a kilometre off the E89 road to Masafi. It overlooks Wadi Ham. ### Is there an entry fee for Bithnah Fort? No official price is published; guides say entry is free. Treat that as unofficial. ### What are Bithnah Fort timings? The official Fujairah Tourism site shows 8 am–6 pm daily in search results; guides say 8 am–4 pm with a shorter Friday. Call +971 9 223 1554 before you go. ### How old is Bithnah Fort? It's 18th century. The tourism authority says 1735; a 2009 study says some time after 1745. It was definitely standing by 1808. ### How do I get to Bithnah Fort without a car? By taxi only: about 13 km and 15 minutes from Fujairah Bus Station. There's no direct bus, and no taxis wait at the fort, so ask the driver to stay. ### How far is Bithnah Fort from Dubai? About 113 km by road, roughly 1.5 hours without traffic via Dhaid and Masafi. It's right on the way to Fujairah. ### How long do you need there? 20–30 minutes for the fort itself. With the drive from Fujairah and back, about an hour. ### Is it worth visiting? Yes as a stop on the drive to the east coast: it's free, uncrowded and set in a striking valley. Not worth a special taxi trip if you're short on time. ### How is it different from Fujairah Fort? Bithnah is smaller, out of town above a mountain valley and usually empty. Fujairah Fort is in the city, with three round towers and a square one, next to the museum. ## How we checked We checked the build date against the Fujairah Tourism & Antiquities Authority and Al Etihad (1735) and English Wikipedia, which cites a 2009 paper by Ziolkowski and al-Sharqi (after 1745); both are shown. Arabic Wikipedia says the fort is fired brick, which contradicts English Wikipedia and Property Finder (stone and mudbrick); we follow the latter. The 2008–2012 restoration is confirmed by Wikipedia and Khaleej Times. The underground date store comes from Wikipedia only and is credited to it. The 8 am–6 pm timings appear in search results for the official site, but the page wouldn't load from our server, and guides say 8 am–4 pm, so both are marked as being checked. No official price exists anywhere; "free" is unofficial. Distances and drive times were measured with OpenStreetMap and OSRM. The English query set comes from Google suggestions and search results for Bithnah Fort. ## Sources - Fujairah Tourism & Antiquities Authority (fujairahtourism.ae) — Museum and Forts; Information Centre - Official Fujairah Tourism site — fort timings (seen in search results) - Al Etihad, 31.01.2026 — Fujairah's forts - Khaleej Times, 25.07.2012 — History rediscovered in Fujairah - The National, 29.11.2009 — Restoring an original vision (Fujairah forts) - English Wikipedia: Al Bithnah Fort, Al Bithnah; Wikidata Q6403619 - Emirates Natural History Group Bulletin 37, March 1989 — recent finds at Bithna - Property Finder, 19.08.2025 — Al Bithnah Fort guide - Khaleej Times, 03.10.2026 — Etihad Rail timetable - OpenStreetMap and OSRM — distances and drive times --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.