Oman Adventure Tour: Explore Al Hajar Mountains, Nizwa, and Stunning Wadis

We'll leave Muscat for Nakhal, you can visit the beautiful Nakhal Fortress, which lies at the foothills of the mountains in a nice small village that grows extensive date palm plantations, this magnificent 1500 years old fortress rises out of the mountain rock, towering high above the ancient village as if still warning would-be attackers of its ominous strength, it has witnessed many battles and its packed full of hidden escape routes and secret passages.

You can stroll around inside this restored Fortress and visit all the rooms which have been nicely decorated in the original old style, the view from the top of the Fortress over the mountains and green date plantations is outstanding.

From Nakhal we continue our trip to Wadi Bani Awf, the road leads us through the Wadi, and we'll pass by impressive Wadi Canyons (Snake Canyon) and several villages the most beautiful village there is Balad Sayt, It is surrounded by mountains from all directions.

From Balad Sayt we drive up the mountain, this mountain road drives up to the Jebel Shams 3009 Meters (The Grand Canyon of Oman)  it's one of the most adventurous mountains in Oman, offering existing off-road experiences and fantastic views, you'll reach the Canyon viewpoint which is 2000 meter, Stop there enjoy the view and click some memorable photos.

From Jabal Shams, we drive to Nizwa, where we spend the first night of the tour.

Overnight in Nizwa (Al Dyar Hotel or similar)

Today we'll visit the famous Nizwa Souq (market), a wide variety of vendors offer their goods in the streets of the souk, where you can find, vegetables, pottery, jewelry, handicrafts, Omani sweets (Halwa), dates spice, and souvenirs which are sold in authentic old market halls that few places can boast, especially interesting is the Friday cattle market when the locals from the nearby villages come to sell their, goats, cattle, sheep, and chickens in a circus-style open marketplace.

Next to the Souq is Nizwa Fortress, the fort is a museum today and offers splendid views of this ancient town and the surrounding mountains, you can walk around in this impressive fortress and visit its many rooms, passages, and towers, the fort is an architectural testimony to the economic and military achievements of the early Yaruba dynasty from the mid-17th century, it was a military stronghold designed to withstand even the strongest of attacks at the time, even along the corridors, many traps were laid to deter any intruders that might have penetrated the defenses. 

From Nizwa we visit Birkat Al Moz, it has a large Falaj system that supplies water date palms, and vegetables for many orchards, it’s listed to the UNESCO organization, it’s worth spending some time walking and discovering the old part of the village.

From Birkat Al Moz we continue our journey to the camp in the desert Wahiba Sands, this spectacular desert has an ares of 12,500 Square K.M they called also Al Sharqiya Sands, formerly known as “The Wahiba Sands” it’s a region of desert in Oman the region was named for the Bani Wahiba tribe, divided between the northern and southern Governorates in the eastern Region, the area is defined by a boundary of 180 K.M (110 mi) north to south and 80 K.m (50 mi) east to west, relax in the camp or take part in an adventurous 4×4 sand dune drive, followed by watching the stunning sunset of the desert on one of the big sand dunes, we finish the day with dinner at the camp and a nice relaxing time.

Overnight in the desert ( Safari Desert Camp or similar)

After a relaxing slow breakfast in the Desert Camp, we'll leave the desert for Wadi Bani Khalid, one of the biggest and most beautiful wadis in Oman, after reaching the magnificent Wadi, just a short walk of approximately 10  minutes (walking shoes are required), you'll see sparkling clear water pools 9 meters depth perfect for a long swim, relax sunbath, in the beautiful scenic Wadi Canyon.

From the Wadi we continue our journey to Sur, we'll take you on a city tour in Sur we'll show you the Dhow Factory and old ship we take you to the old part of Sur where you can see most of the houses designed by the wooden doors and windows.

Then we continued our tour to Ras Al Hadd and checked in at our hotel/resort for the night. In the evening after the buffet dinner, we take you to the Turtle Sanctuary at Ras Al Jinz, where we'll go on a guided beautiful walking tour on the beach at night under the stars, where we have a high chance of seeing Omanis great sea turtles stumbling onto the beach to build a nest and lay the eggs, if you are lucky, you can even see baby turtles hatching from some nests.

Overnight in Ras Al Hadd ( Turtle Beach Resort or similar)

Today we'll take you to Wadi Shab, this Wadi is an enormous canyon gorge that is lined with palm trees and impressive indications of what the power of the water coming down from the mountains can do in nature, with a 35 to 40 minute hike up through the canyon Wadi (walking shoes or trainer & Swimming Shoes are required), we arrive at one of the crystal clear water pools. Tourists can swim through the warm waters from pool to pool, eventually, we come to the last pool where an opening among the enormous rocks allows us to swim into an incredible crevice cave with a small waterfall, inside, the sunlight filters in from the outside, turning the water into a beautiful turquoise blue whilst water showers down one side of the cave from the Wadi beyond.

From Wadi Shab, We’ll make a stop at Fins Beach or people call it white sands beach opens up a panorama of strikingly white sands and intriguingly pebbly beach, with sparkling turquoise waters and soft cool breeze. 

After visiting Wadi Shab on the way back to Muscat we stopped at the Bimmah Sinkhole (swimming in the sinkhole lake is possible) Bimmah Sinkhole a water-filled depression, structurally a Sinkhole, in the limestone of eastern Muscat Governorate in Oman, a lake of turquoise waters, it is 50 m by 70 m wide and approximately 20 m deep. It's only 600 m away from the sea, between the coastal towns of Dibab and Bimmah village, the sinkhole was formed by a collapse of the surface layer due to the dissolution of the underlying limestone, to preserve the Sinkhole, the local municipality developed a park there.

After visiting Sinkhole we drive back to Muscat.