# Fujairah Fort > Fujairah Fort is a stone-and-mud fortress on a rocky hill in the old quarter, often called the oldest in the UAE. Entry is free (unofficial), and the official tourism site lists 8 am–6 pm daily. Allow 45 minutes for the fort and the heritage village below. There's no exhibition inside: you come for the walls, towers and views. Web page: https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/fujairah-fort - City: [Fujairah](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah), United Arab Emirates - YesGo score: 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 45 min - Opening hours: Daily 8 am–6 pm per the official Fujairah Tourism site; some guides give other hours and a short Friday - With kids: Fine with kids - Entry fee: Free (unofficial; a few guides mention a token AED 5) - Timings: Daily 8 am–6 pm per the official Fujairah Tourism site - Friday: Some guides list 2:30–4:30 pm only — go in the afternoon - Time needed: 30–45 minutes; another 30 for the heritage village and museum - Location: Old Fujairah, Fort Road; about 2 km inland from the Corniche - From Dubai: RTA bus E700 to Fujairah Bus Station (about 2 hours, nol card), then a 10-minute taxi - Shade and water: Little shade, no café inside — bring water - Tourism & Antiquities Authority phone: +971 9 223 1554 - Coordinates: 25.13873, 56.33698 - Facts checked: 03.11.2026 ## Key facts - **16th c. – c. 1800** — competing dates: nobody knows exactly when it was built (source: The National (tourism pamphlet and carbon dating); English Wikipedia; Al Etihad (1670)) - **3 + 1** — three round towers and one square tower linked by walls around a courtyard (source: Fujairah Tourism & Antiquities Authority; English Wikipedia) - **1997–2000** — restored with the original building materials (source: The National; English Wikipedia) - **≈ 20 m** — height of the rocky hill the fort stands on (source: Fujairah Tourism & Antiquities Authority; English Wikipedia) - **1808–1810** — held by Wahhabi forces until local tribes retook it (source: The National; English Wikipedia) - **1925** — shelled by the British navy, then left abandoned until the late 1990s (source: The National; English Wikipedia) - **Stone, mud, hay** — plus gravel and sarooj, a local gypsum mortar (source: Fujairah Tourism & Antiquities Authority; English Wikipedia) - **Prison** — one of the rooms held prisoners into the early 1900s (source: The National; English Wikipedia) - **Old Fujairah** — ruined mud-brick houses and a mosque surround the hill (source: The National; English Wikipedia) - **≈ 0.5 km** — to Fujairah Museum; ≈ 170 m to the heritage village (source: OpenStreetMap, straight line) > **Check it's open on the day** The official Fujairah Tourism site says 8 am–6 pm with no closing day; guidebooks give 8 am–5 pm or a short Friday, and a few list the fort as closed to visitors. Several UAE attractions have also shut temporarily for security reasons since spring. If you're coming all the way from Dubai, call the Tourism & Antiquities Authority first: **+971 9 223 1554**. ## Is there an entry fee? No official ticket price is published, and most guides say entry is **free** — treat that as unofficial. A few older guides mention a token AED 5, possibly for the neighbouring heritage village. There's no ticket office at the gate. Bank cards work almost everywhere in the UAE, but you'll need a topped-up **nol card** for the intercity bus from Dubai and some small cash for local taxis just in case. ## How old is Fujairah Fort? Nobody knows for sure. A tourism pamphlet quoted by The National puts it in the **16th century**, the Abu Dhabi paper Al Etihad says 1670, and carbon dating by an Australian team, also reported by The National, suggested around **1800**, under Sheikh Mohammed bin Matar Al Sharqi. Either way it is usually named among the oldest forts in the country. Wahhabi forces held it from 1808 to 1810. Into the early 1900s it worked as a prison, with inmates lowered into a pit inside the square tower. In **1925** the British navy shelled the fort as part of its anti-slavery campaign — The National says one tower was destroyed, English Wikipedia says three. The fort then stood empty until a restoration in 1997–2000 rebuilt it in stone, gravel, mud, hay and gypsum mortar, just as before. ## Is it worth visiting? It's small — **three round towers and one square one** on a 20-metre outcrop, walls following the edge of the rock. The Fujairah Tourism & Antiquities Authority points out that its design is unlike any other fort in the country. Inside there are empty rooms, a courtyard and a dry well rather than displays. Don't make a two-hour trip from Dubai just for this: you'll see it in half an hour. It is worth it if you're on the east coast anyway. Pair it with the [heritage village](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/fujairah-heritage-village) at the foot of the hill and [Fujairah Museum](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/fujairah-museum) for an hour of local history before the beach or [Snoopy Island](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/snoopy-island). ## What to see - **The square tower** — the main block, once living rooms and, according to The National, the prison. - **Round watchtowers** with crenellations facing the sea, the town and the Hajar Mountains. - **The courtyard** with its long-dry well, once used for weddings. - **Date-syrup channels** carved into the floor, where sacks of dates dripped into a collecting pit. - **Ruined mud-brick houses** around the hill — what's left of old Fujairah. - **The colour of the walls**, which turn deep orange in late-afternoon light. ## How to get to Fujairah Fort 1. From Dubai, take RTA bus **E700** — about 2 hours to Fujairah. Pay with a **nol card** (buy one at any metro station). Guides quote AED 25–30 and departures from Union or Etisalat by e& station; check the S'hail app for the current stop and fare. 2. From Sharjah, buses to Fujairah leave from Al Jubail bus station. 3. Intercity buses arrive at **Fujairah Bus Station** on the western edge of town, about 5 km from the fort. 4. Take a taxi and ask for "Fujairah Fort" — roughly 10 minutes. 5. Driving: navigate to "Fujairah Fort", leave the car at the foot of the hill and walk a couple of minutes up to the gate. 6. From the Corniche it's about 2 km inland — a 5–10 minute taxi; walking in the heat isn't much fun. ## Fujairah Fort and the heritage village The **Fujairah Heritage Village** sits just below the fort, about 170 metres away — you'll walk from one to the other in a couple of minutes. It has restored old houses and displays on traditional life, and it gives you the best ground-level view of the fort on its rock. Fujairah Museum is about 500 metres south, with finds from local excavations, old weapons and traditional costumes. Together the three make a compact morning in the old town. ## Fujairah Fort or Al Hayl Fort? | | Fujairah Fort | Al Hayl Fort | | --- | --- | --- | | Where | Old Fujairah, in town | Al Hayl village, ≈ 13 km south-west | | Dated to | 16th c. – c. 1800 (disputed) | 1930, by carbon-14 analysis | | Hill | ≈ 20 m | ≈ 40 m above the wadi floor | | Next to it | Heritage village, museum | Mountains and wadi | | Getting there | Short taxi from the centre | Car or taxi only | Pick Fujairah Fort if you're short on time and staying in town; [Al Hayl](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/al-hayl-fort) suits drivers who want mountain scenery. Dates and heights are from the Fujairah Tourism & Antiquities Authority. ## 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) ## Old Fujairah in half a day Fort, heritage village and museum on foot, then the mosque and the sea. 1. [Fujairah Fort](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/fujairah-fort) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Free (unofficial) 2. [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) 3. [Fujairah Museum](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/fujairah-museum) — YesGo score 38/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · ≈ AED 5 4. [Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Fujairah](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/fujairah-sheikh-zayed-mosque) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Free (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 - [ ] Confirmed it's open today (call if coming from Dubai) - [ ] Friday? Plan for the afternoon - [ ] nol card topped up for the E700 - [ ] Water and a hat — there's little shade - [ ] Shoes with grip for the slope and uneven floors - [ ] Shoulders and knees covered ## Don't mix up The fort and the heritage village are neighbours but separate sites. The emirate has several other forts too — Al Hayl, [Bithnah](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/bithnah-fort) and the watchtowers by [Al Badiyah Mosque](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/al-badiyah-mosque) — and a few hotels use "fort" in their names. ## Tips - Do the fort, the heritage village and the museum together — they're all within half a kilometre. - Come early or in the last hour before sunset: midday on the hill is hot and the walls look flat. - The best photo is from below, near the palms of the heritage village, with the mountains behind. - On a day trip from Dubai, see the fort first, then head north to the beaches and Snoopy Island. - Kids enjoy the towers and the well, but keep an eye on the wall edges. ## Questions ### Is there an entry fee for Fujairah Fort? No official price is published; most sources say entry is free. A few older guides mention a token AED 5. Treat it as unofficial. ### What are Fujairah Fort timings? The official Fujairah Tourism site lists 8 am–6 pm daily. Some guides give 8 am–5 pm or Friday 2:30–4:30 pm only, so call +971 9 223 1554 before a long trip. ### How old is Fujairah Fort? Estimates range from the 16th century (tourism pamphlet) to 1670 (Al Etihad) and about 1800 (carbon dating reported by The National). The exact date is unknown. ### Where is Fujairah Fort located? In old Fujairah on Fort Road, on a rocky hill about 2 km inland from the Corniche and next to the heritage village. ### How do I get to Fujairah Fort from Dubai by bus? Take RTA bus E700 (about 2 hours, paid with a nol card) to Fujairah Bus Station, then a 10-minute taxi. ### How long do you need at Fujairah Fort? 30–45 minutes for the fort itself, about 1.5 hours with the heritage village and museum. ### Can you go inside? Usually you can walk into the courtyard and towers, though a few guides list it as closed to visitors. You can always see the walls, hill and old village from outside. ### Is Fujairah Fort good for kids? Yes for a short stop: it's free, quick and has towers and a well to explore. Avoid midday heat and keep children away from wall edges. ### What else is near Fujairah Fort? The heritage village below the hill, Fujairah Museum 500 m away, Sheikh Zayed Mosque and the Corniche, both 5–10 minutes by taxi. ## How we checked Layout, hill height and towers come from the Fujairah Tourism & Antiquities Authority page and English Wikipedia. The 8 am–6 pm timings are from the official Fujairah Tourism site as shown in search results; the page itself wouldn't load from our server, so they're marked as being checked. No official entry price exists; "free" comes from guides and is unofficial. The build date is disputed (16th century, 1670, around 1800), so we show all three. The National and Wikipedia disagree on how many towers fell in 1925; we give both. Official sources put the sea 1 km and 3 km away; we measured about 2 km on OpenStreetMap. E700 fare and Dubai stop differ between Gulf News and other guides. ## Sources - Fujairah Tourism & Antiquities Authority (fujairahtourism.ae) — Museum and Forts; Information Centre - Official Fujairah Tourism site — fort timings (seen in search results) - The National, 11.12.2010 — Fujairah Fort opens to public - Al Etihad, 30.01.2024 — Fujairah travel guide - English Wikipedia: Fujairah Fort; Wikidata Q5953247 - Gulf News, 22.10.2024 — UAE intercity buses - OpenStreetMap — straight-line distances --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.