a palace belonging to the country's rulers. Part of the climax of the Bollywood film Race was shot on the mountain. The road was built by Strabag International of Cologne, Germany. Hafeet Mountain Road is a challenge for cyclists who frequently use the route to train. The Jabal Hafeet Mercure Challenge is an annual road cycling competition taking place in January. National and international riders take part in climbing the 8% average ascent of the mountain. In 2015 it hosted the arrival of the third stage of first edition of Abu Dhabi Tour, won by Colombian Esteban Chaves. Since 2019, the road to the top of Jebel Hafeet is a fixed location of the UAE Tour. For the 2020 edition the mountain was visited twice. The first ascent was won by eventual Tour winner Adam Yates, and during stage 5, which wound up being the final stage of the race due to concerns about the coronavirus, Team UAE's promising young rider Tadej Pogačar won the stage. Desert / National Park The mountain is part of a national or desert park, which can be called "Jebel Hafeet National Park", "Jebel Hafit Desert Park" or "Mezyad Desert Park". It includes the Hafit Graves, Mezyad Fort, and related oases. Its aim was to preserve and restore the fauna, flora, natural environment, and geology of the place, but at the same time, to attract tourists so that they can learn about the area. Flora and fauna The mountain is home to endangered species of flora and fauna, particularly at Wadi Tarabat. On the mountain has been observed the yellow bloom of Acridocarpus orientalis. Numerous other plants have been seen around caves in the mountain. The caves of Jebel Hafeet are a natural habitat for a wide range of animals, including bats, foxes, snakes, rodents, and hyraxes. The lizard Acanthodactylus opheodurus, which until 1982 was considered extinct in the UAE, has been observed in the area. Among the birds, there is the greatest biodiversity of the whole country: a study counted 119 species of birds. Finally, they have been cataloged, with about 200 different insects, and 23 species of butterflies. Recently, seven species of lacewing insects were discovered here. They were previously thought not to have been in this country, but in Saudi Arabia. The Arabian tahr is also found here. In 1949, an Arabian leopard was spotted here by Wilfred Thesiger. In 1976, one