Liwa Festival.. Human Generosity and Dunes

The Al Dhafra region in Abu Dhabi is experiencing an exceptional winter atmosphere that combines family fun, youth passion and the excitement that accompanies the activities of the Liwa International Festival 2025.

No activity is absent from the festival, which is organized by the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Ruler's Representative in the Al Dhafra Region, between December 13 and January 4.

Every evening, Liwa turns into a spacious space embroidered with colors that embrace the sand dunes that accommodate everything that comes to mind.

Visitors can camp or spend time in Liwa Village, where activities never stop, and watch races of all kinds, and follow vehicles competing to attract attention with their strength and speed, which are tamed by organizational and security rules that ensure everyone’s safety. Despite all this daily momentum, Al Dhafra has the opportunity to quietly express its authenticity and rich heritage, which speaks eloquently for itself in the form of activities, traditions, and towering landmarks, welcoming the region’s lovers and festival visitors who race against time daily to enjoy its activities, and return to it again and again with the same spirit.

Liwa Village is one of the festival’s beating hearts, where families and groups of friends can find what turns their visit hours into doses of fun. Games are spread out in one part of the village, leading to the haunted house, the circus, the classic car museum, and “Tarab Liwa”, the attractive concert venue, all the way to the market and restaurants. The village is adjacent to the balloon festival, which turns hot air into dunes that light up at night, simulating the magic of the desert.

What a terrifying hill, it is the heart of official car and bike races, and a friend to competitors in ascending and descending the sand dunes with their vehicles, and their followers from the surrounding areas.

In every corner of the festival, heritage vocabulary is present, with racing falcons, handicrafts, and products that weave a deep relationship between the past and the present, and customs that overflow with generosity in welcoming visitors coming from all the Emirates and Arab countries.

The Liwa International Festival 2025 is one of the manifestations of the vision of the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi about the heritage of the emirate, its society, and its natural landmarks, and the event represents one of the department's efforts to establish Abu Dhabi's position as a destination for authenticity, innovation, and distinctive experiences.