Mystical Oman

 

Joining Day 1: Your Muscat airport transfer will take you directly to our joining hotel, ready for the start tomorrow. Today you will meet your crew for your tour briefing and welcome dinner.

Day 2:, we will enjoy a full day tour of Muscat that includes the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, National Museum and the Matrah souk, a market synonymous with the Middle East. In the afternoon we will receive an introduction to the vehicles and some tips on driving in Oman and what to expect.

Day 3: Departing Muscat we drive into the beautiful Al Hajar Mountains and the stunning world of wadis (canyon, valley or ravine). We visit the remarkable Wadi Bani Awf & Bilad Sayt Village, a cluster of stone & mud dwellings that cling to a rocky slope. We also visit the 400-year-old community of Al Hamra with its Yemeni style two & three story mud brick houses. We overnight in a wonderful 200-year-old guest house run by a local family.

Day 4: Continuing on through the scenic Hajar Mountains we visit Wadi An Nakhur, also referred to as the Grand Canyon, it is a spectacular setting and the drive in is thrilling. We will undertake a wonderful walk along the canyon floor before ascending to Jebel Shams at 2000m / 6560 ft for epic views over Wadi Ghul. Tonight, shall be spent at the wonderful Jebel Shams, the highest peak in Oman.

Day 5: Departing Jebel Shams we shall visit the legendary 17th Century Nizwa Fort & Souq, a remarkable destination that highlights old Omani architecture. We continue onto Jabal Al Akhdar a labyrinth of striking wadis and terraced orchards and date palms located high up on the Saiq Plateau where we shall overnight

Day 6: Today is more exciting 4x4 driving with some creek crossings and dirt tracks amongst stunning desert valleys. We shall visit the beautiful Wadi Abeyyen & Wadi Al Khoud before continuing onto the Gulf of Oman for our overnight stop, beachside.

Day 7: After breakfast, it’s a short drive to Wadi Tiwi, one of Oman’s most beautiful wadis of emerald waters, old villages & green plantations. Continuing on we drive south into what is known as the Wahiba Sands, Oman’s vast desert of towering, constantly moving, sand dunes that stretch to the horizon, it’s fun driving on the sandy tracks leading into the desert. We overnight amongst the dunes to the magnificent 1000 nights camp, an established desert camp and enjoy sunset over the golden dunes under and impossible carpet of stars.

Day 8: leaving the 1000 nights camp we are in for a 160ks / 100ml offroad adventure across the Al Sharqiyah Sands onto the Arabian Sea. We shall explore the wonderful Bar Al Hickman, a remarkable region of wetlands that support a dizzying array of bird and sea life. Tonight, we camp for the first time buts it’s not wild as there are showers available and we cook a meal as the sun goes down over the turquoise Arabian Sea.

Day 9: What better way to start the day off than kayaking out to Lulu Island that’s part of the internationally significant Wusta Wetlands. We hit the road visiting the glorious pure white sand dunes known as the Sugar dunes that provide a perfect backdrop against the turquoise waters of the Arabian Sea. We continue south visiting the Wusta Wildlife Reserve, home to the iconic Arabian Oryx.

Day 10: Today we visit the lost city of Ubar only rediscovered in 1992 and has been dated back to 2800BC and once a centre of the frankincense trade, where traders loaded their camels for the trek across vast deserts. Lawrence of Arabia referred to Ubar as the “Atlantis of the sands”, this is a fascinating insight to a time long past. We continue on into the mighty empty quarter, or Rub al Khali Desert, as it’s known in Arabic; the largest sand sea on earth with dunes reaching 250mt / 850 ft tall. We overnight in a permanent camp in the empty quarter for a magical remote luxury desert camp experience

Day 11: We continue exploring the magnificent sands of the Empty Quarter before visiting desert oasis and the UNESCO listed Dawkah Wadi with its Frankincense trees. We shall leave the desert behind as we once again reach the shores of the Arabian Sea and spend the next three nights at Salalah allowing us to explore a plethora of sights in the region. Salalah is a unique destination as it offers an amazing landscape of beaches, mountains, waterfalls, springs, sinkholes and caves.

Day 12: A full day will be spent in the 4x4s exploring this region of waterfalls, blowholes and wild coastlines. We shall visit the UNESCO listed Al Baleed, a famous frankincense port and Shaat Point before spending the evening dining out in this cool Arabian city.

Day 13: We start the day off visiting Wadi Darbit, a stunningly beautiful wadi completely different from the desert wadis we have seen thus far. We return our 4x4s and explore more of Salah town including the evening frankincense market before enjoying our final dinner and reminiscing over what has been a magnificent Arabian experience in the Sultanate of Oman

Departure Day: Spend a couple more days in Salalah or fly home