UAE

The UAE's Jebel Jais is the country's headline drive, a wide, beautifully surfaced climb to the highest point in the Emirates with hairpins that would not look out of place in the Alps, minus the altitude sickness. It is a genuine surprise to most first time visitors expecting only desert and motorway.

Jebel Hafeet near Al Ain offers a similar experience on a smaller scale, a smooth mountain road climbing in long sweeping curves to a viewpoint over the desert plain, while the Hatta Mountain Road threads a quieter route through the Hajar range near the Omani border.

The best driving here happens outside the summer months, when daytime temperatures make anything but a brief stop uncomfortable, and dawn starts are common even in the cooler season.