Spooky season is here and while pumpkin picking might not be a traditional activity in the UAE, there are plenty of local farms that you can visit to try your hand at vegetable picking, take part in hands-on activities, meet feathery residents and shop locally grown produce.
Gracia Farms in Abu Dhabi has just reopened for the season and has a new Peter Rabbit space that children will love, while IGR Organic Farms, which has outlets in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Khanwaneej, will reopen to visitors in mid-November.
Here are five farms in Abu Dhabi where you can surrounded yourself with nature as the weather cools down.
Gracia Farms
Gracia Farms in Abu Dhabi reopened for the season on October 15 and bills itself as a community farm, with the tagline “Our farm is your farm”. But this Al Bahia gem is so much more than a farm as it has a kids petting zone, horse-riding, a play area, picnic spaces, a football field and even a treehouse podcast recording studio. Children will love the Peter Rabbit experience, which lets them gets hands on with fluffy bunnies while finding out lots of interesting rabbit facts. There's also pottery classes, painting workshops and one-off events such as yoga, mum and baby classes, photography lessons and more – check their Instagram for details. Open daily from 8.30am-10pm, it's also a great pick for breakfast, lunch or dinner at the Gracia Cafe, which embodies farm-to-table dining.
Mazaraa Farm
The UAE's first certified organic farm and shop is the place to go to pick up locally grown vegetables and fruit, freshly harvested honey and hand-blended spices. When the weather cools down, Mazaraa Farm also offers tours that take visitors to meet the camels, chickens and goats that live on the grounds. Keep your eyes peeled for the noisy family of geese, who wander around at will. Open daily from 8am to 7pm, the farm also hosts lots of special events including family fun days and the coming Sustainable Cooking and Farm Tour. If you're hungry afterwards, there's a boho-style cafe that's a good place to refresh after a morning filled with nature.
Emirates Bio Farm
Al Ain’s stalwart farm has been teasing snippets of its soon-to-open season for the past few days, and while there's no official word on the exact opening date, it won't be too far in the future. This oasis in the middle of the desert makes for a great family day out with the chance to learn more about organic farming via hand-harvesting seasonal vegetables such as beetroot, carrot and kale under the watchful eye of the helpful farm guides. Emirates Bio Farm also offers kids the chance to interact with the animals that call it home and there are tractor rides galore. The little farmer's play park for the kids plus The Farmer's Table Restaurant, which serves a tasty vegetarian menu and is the ideal spot to refuel after all your outdoor activity. Once the season launches, it'll be open daily from 9am to 5pm.
IGR Organic Farms Al Rahba
This organic farm in Abu Dhabi is gearing up to reopen to visitors for the season in November, when families will be invited to wander between the crops and help out picking vegetables, as well as meet some of the growers who work on the farm year-round. Open every Sunday from sunrise to sunset, the certified organic farm produces tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, capsicum and more and is on a mission to educate visitors on healthy living, environmental protection and sustainable farming. They also stock a great range of vegan and gluten-free eats.
The Flower Farm Abu Dhabi
Anthophiles will want to put The Flower Farm on their visit list for later this season. Located at Muwaileh Farms – not too far from Kizad – this hidden gem is a blooming extravaganza, where visitors are welcome to wander between colourful rows of petals and purchase blooms to take home. As well as getting plenty of Instagram-worthy content, including pretty water fountains and a macrame swing chair – visitors are welcome to enjoy a picnic, surrounded by flowers, on the pathways between the blooms, and can also take part in special one-off flower-making workshops. The farm will reopen for the winter season from December until March.
