DISCOVER OMAN Code: FID – 01
5 Days/ 4 Nights
Day1: Coast – Wadi Shab and Turtles (L – D)
Your guide will pick you up at your hotel at 9 AM and take you for an incredible journey. Start the tour by going towards Bimah sinkhole, a spectacular limestone crater with inviting blue-green water. Continue to Wadi Shab (optional) which means a “wadi between the cliffs”, enjoy a walk through the wadi, walking shoes are strongly recommended. Going up the wadi you will soon see pools appearing before you and you may also enjoy a refreshing swim in those pools. If you feel brave enough there is a cave that you can reach by swimming underwater or through a very narrow gorge where your head can nearly fit into. Come back to the car and enter Wadi Tiwi with its green pools and lush plantations.
Your next stop will be in Sur, another town famous for its trading and still now famous for its Dhow Building Yard. The sheltered lagoon is a perfect picture with all the white houses of Sur in the background and old Dhows floating …or not…in the lagoon.
Arrive at Ras Al Hadd in the afternoon where you can relax before dinner and after go for turtle watching. The turtles come to lay their eggs at night and this experience is a memorable one.
Night at Turtle Beach Resort
Entry fees to Turtle reserve not included, 7 OMR/pers.
Day 2: Wadi Bani Khalid – Wahiba sands desert (B – L – D)
After breakfast, you will start by a drive to Wadi Bani Khalid, one of the most picturesque wadis in Oman where water flows all year round. You can cool down in the green pools or walk up the wadi and see more pools with waterfalls. Your journey continues to Wahiba sands, with its golden sand dunes. Meet a Bedouin family, do some dune bashing which consists in going up and down the dunes like a roller coaster with your 4×4. Enjoy the tranquility of the desert at the desert camp before going back up the dune to watch the sunset over the dunes. The night in the desert will be a memorable one.
You will be invited by a Bedouin family for lunch.
Night at Arabian Oryx Camp
Day 3: Wahiba – Nizwa – Bahla (B – L – D)
After a nice breakfast, leave the golden sand dunes behind you and after a stop in Ibra head towards Nizwa. Nizwa was once the capital of Oman, go through the traditional and craft Souk where you can buy some souvenirs before visiting the Fort of Nizwa with its large circular tower and imagine life inside the Fort in the 17th century. The breathtaking view from the tower will show you how big the plantation is.
Continue your journey to Bahla, a charming little town surrounded by an old 12 km long wall; visit the place where they make pottery and also the old fort of Bahla, one of the oldest in Oman.
Dinner in local restaurant.
Night at Al Diyar hotel
Day 4: Nizwa – Jebel Shams – Wadi Nakhr (B – L – D)
Meet your guide after breakfast to travel to Jebel Shams. Before going up the mountain there is an interesting wadi, Wadi Nakhr, a narrow canyon. It is a stunning beautiful place, and is geologically spectacular, being one of the deepest canyons on the planet. Going inside by car is not easy but you can do a small and easy trek in this wadi where there used to be a village where the main activity was weaving because of the permanent floods, this village disappeared.
Your journey then continues to the top of Jebel Shams, “Sun Mountain”, Oman’s highest peak, 3009 m. The cooler temperatures will surprise you as you reach the top to get a spectacular view of the “Grand Canyon”. The stunning landscape will enchant.
Night at Jebel Shams Resort
Day 5: Misfah Al Abreen – Wadi Bani Awf – Bilad Sayt – Muscat (B – L)
A nice breakfast will prepare you for this big journey in the mountains and villages. Head first towards Misfat Al Abreen, set in a stunning landscape above terraced plantations of date palms. This is a rare sight in Oman as most palms are grown on the plains. The ancient houses and ruined watchtower perched on the mountain complete the scene. The track to Wadi Bani Awf is a stunning, exhilarating trip over the mountains. Deep in Oman’s countryside are many villages that still retain their traditional charm and sense of rural solitude. Perhaps the most appealing of these is Bilad Sayt, a tranquil mountain hamlet tucked away in the mountains. The road or should I say track is steep to go on the other side but worth the trip.
Return to Muscat.
