Mountains, Deserts and Coast of Oman

Arrive in Muscat, an old walled town, arguably the Gulf's most attractive city, surrounded by a horseshoe ring of mountains that naturally restricts it city's growth. For those arriving in the morning, you may take the opportunity to explore the surrounding area, visit one of the many shopping malls, go for a walk in Ghubrah Beach Park or visit the National Museum. Our Leader plans to meet you in the hotel reception at 13:00 for the welcome meeting and later to take us on a guided tour of Muscat. We recommend having lunch before the welcome meeting. Our leader will show us the highlights of the city including visiting the Royal Opera House and Bait Al Zubair Museum. We will also have the chance to take a stroll along the waterfront of Mutrah, Muscat's oldest quarter and onto the bustling souk. If you would like to receive an airport transfer today, you'll need to arrive into Muscat International Airport (MCT), which is just under 30-minute drive from the airport. If you are booking your own flights, we recommend giving yourself approximately one hour to clear the airport. Should you miss the welcome meeting, your Leader will inform you of any essential information as soon as you catch up.

Before leaving Muscat we will visit the Grand Mosque. We then follow the coast down to Wadi Shab and Wadi Tiwi. A beautiful oasis of freshwater pools, Wadi Shab is an ideal place for a photo opportunity. We will then visit Wadi Tiwi where there is the option to walk in the wadi, following the pools up through a haven of lush vegetation and palms, before heading to Fins Beach. On arrival later in the afternoon, we will check-into our beach front hotel and there will be time to relax or go for a swim in the Arabian Sea to unwind after the long drive. Overall driving time approx. 5 hours.

Continuing along the rugged coastline we head for Ras Al Hadd, pausing en-route to visit the Port of Sur. Once a major trading port with East Africa, Sur represents the seafaring origins of Oman. We will visit the dhow shipbuilding yard where traditional dhow boats, used throughout the 19th century, are still built today. We also visit the nearby small fishing village at Ayega, now a quiet community of old merchant houses but once a stronghold of rebellious sheikhs, where we will visit the lighthouse for a photo opportunity. After lunch, we'll continue our drive towards our next night stop by the sea, Ras Al Hadd - this part of the coastline is an important nesting site for some 20,000 endangered Green Turtles annually. Our hotel is right by the sea and features a beautiful stretch of naturally pink beach. Upon arrival, we will board a timeless dhow vessel to take a scenic cruise along the coastline. We'll then return to the jetty before the fishermen place their fishing nets for the night.

After breakfast this morning we will begin the journey to our wild camping spot in the desert. The coast of Oman is wild, rugged and beautiful; a place where deserted white beaches are interspersed with small, traditional villages. As we journey along here, the Wahiba Sands begin to rise before us, a vast sea of sand covering about 15,000 square kilometres. Laid out like a great ocean of sand the endless dunes are generally rusty red at the base and honey coloured on the top - an alluring landscape of changing contours and colours. The sands are home to the Bedu, nomadic tribesmen who roam the land with goats and camels, or live in small fishing villages. An exhilarating drive across the dunes brings us to our nightstop somewhere in the Wahiba Sands. Sunset promises stunning photo opportunities amidst the spectacular dunes, before we settle down for our night under the desert sky.

Early mornings in the desert are a time of activity. Mists are a curious phenomena of the sands, spreading across the dunes and wadis at night, to disappear in the early mornings. The remarkable dew drinking beetle, living just below the surface of the normally scorching sands, utilizes this time to gain valuable sustenance. We continue through the desert this morning. In spite of its barren feel the sands contain a phenomenal amount of life. As well as the Bedu they are home to an exotic diversity of fauna including dragonflies, wolf, two species of Ruppell's fox, wild cats and white-tailed mongooses. Some 115 species of birds have also been recorded here and it is one of the few remaining refuges for the elusive Arabian and Sand Gazelles. Once out of the sands we continue through a market town that is a meeting point for Bedouin for miles around. From here it is a fairly easy drive along tarmac roads to Nizwa, the capital of Oman from 751 to 1154 AD and still regarded as the cultural capital.

Today we spend a full day exploring some of the many highlights of the surrounding area. We begin in Nizwa itself, visiting the traditional Friday goat auction and the contrasting modern souks. We continue onto the 17th century fort, built to guard the Sumail Gap during the struggle between the Sultan and the radical Imams. Nizwa was the centre of Imam Resistance right up until the 1950s when the Sultan had to call upon the help of the British to quell the rebels. Once we've explored the town, we'll start making our way to Jebel Shams and we'll drive north through the Jebel Akhdar ('Green Mountain') mountain range, passing the dramatic craggy peaks. Despite its desolate and barren nature, small settlements cling to the plateau areas, nestling in the lunar like landscape. For thousands of years self-sufficient oases have flourished in the folds of rocks, using an ancient irrigation system known as falaj. These are water channels that never dry up, often contoured round wadis or tunnelled through the cliffs in order to tap the water table. Upkeep of the life-giving falaj is a community responsibility and contributes to maintaining harmony within a village. We will reach at 3,000m Jebel Shams (Mountain of the Sun), the highest peak in Oman. En-route to the summit of Jebel Shams, we encounter an astonishing view down a sheer drop of 1000m to the bottom of the 'Grand Canyon', Oman's very own (and equally spectacular) version of its American counterpart. At the bottom of this vast void, a wadi winds peacefully through the landscape. According to one theory, the canyon was once a huge cave and evidence of fossils and shells suggests that the canyon base was at one time covered by a shallow sea. Descending back towards Nizwa we will visit the mud village of Al Hamra, where we will enjoy a traditional lunch prepared by a local family, before making our way back to Nizwa late in the afternoon.

Our route back to Muscat is through the stunning Wadi Bani Awf. We once again leave the smooth roads behind, and head into a narrow canyon with steep sided cliffs. The palm trees, scattered dwellings and interrupted streams create a peaceful atmosphere. Upon returning to the capital city later this afternoon, I will have free time to explore Muscat further. Alternatively, you can take an optional trip on a dhow vessel if you wish to spend more time at sea. This optional sailing departs from the marina in Old Muscat and sails past the skyline in time for sunset.

The trip ends after breakfast at our hotel in Muscat. There are no activities planned today, so you are free to depart from Muscat at any time. If your flight is departing later in the day, luggage storage facilities are available at our hotel. If you would like an airport transfer today, you'll need to depart from Muscat International Airport (MCT), which is 30 minutes' drive from the hotel.