Jebel Shams

The final day of exploration in Oman required the most effort. Having to wake up almost close to 5AM and be out before sunrise after almost a week of constant driving was tough but I had a mission today. With several worries in my mind, the first step was simply to get moving and hit the highway. I had some bread with coconut shavings and some bananas along with a big bottle of water. Hoping this would be enough for breakfast and lunch. It wasn't.

It was a 3 hour drive to the trailhead of Jebel Shams, the highest mountain in Oman. Through the darkness came the first rays of sunrise. I took a break at a viewpoint of Al Hamra village. A most tranquil place to eat breakfast in peace, the ancient mud village was wrapped in palm trees and mountains. To my right was a lone tower that overlooked the village. I saw some silhouettes up there and was curious enough to enter and climb up. We exchanged pleasantries before I went back to the car to continue to drive up to Jebel Shams.

The second half of the drive was much better as I wasn't constantly racing against other cars and it was a wonderful and winding way up to the top. My other worry was whether my 2WD car would be enough to get me to the top, but I did my research and it was in fact enough. Doing the actual thing was much more nerve-wracking though, these off-road rocky paths made such endless vibrations throughout the car and took almost an hour just to finish the final leg of the journey. The downward journey was something I put at the back of my mind for now because the views of Jebel Shams were absolutely spectacular.

It was cold up here with goats scurrying around the parking lot. The hike was pretty straightforward as well, a general out and back route. The balcony walk it's called, and I can see why as these walls and cliffs of the canyon towered above in all directions. The Grand Canyon of Arabia was another name for it. I carefully managed my water supply and layering as I progressed through the trek and at the end there was a little sidequest to find the secret cave and pond. I admit that I was lost for awhile and wasted a lot of time trying to figure out how to find it with some tips from various blogs and I eventually did. The hike back was also a bit taxing but it mostly went swell and I was glad to have gotten the most difficult part of the day done, yet there was still a ton of stuff to do for the day ahead.

Starting with the long drive back down, I was quite worried if I was breaking too much but my Hyundai Accent pulled through and soon enough, I was back on asphalt. I stopped by the Al Hamra village again, this time going inside and seeing it close up. The mud villages here were a bit dilapidated. Seems like most of the residents moved into better houses and what was left is being reclaimed by nature. There was one house called Bait Al Safah that functioned as a cultural center. A preserved house of the previous village head now turned into a living museum. I was able to see how they grinded coffee beans and sewed fabrics, along with how they used dates to coat the house walls to ward of pests and regulate temperature.

Another nearby village and a more popular one just less than half an hour away from Al Hamra was Misfat Al Abreyeen. There were much more tourists here and the car parking here extended a ways beyond the village entrance. I didn't want to risk getting stuck in between two cars so I bit the bullet and parked pretty much as far as I could and walked the rest of the way there. It felt it was a much more compact village with layers as compared to Al Hamra. What made the place special was the aqueducts. It was possible to do a short trek following the aqueducts out the city to an origin spring of sorts, but one can continue on even pass the mountains which I didn't have the time to do all the way. It was fun to get lost around the village and I got some good photos; however the photo I wanted the most was the village from the other side of the valley so I took my car and drove there and got a pretty decent shot of the village with the palm trees framed by the mountains.

I had to start making my way to Nizwa to get closer to Muscat before it gets too late so it was another 1 hour journey. I got there in time during sunset which meant golden hour light on the pink fort. The most famous fort of Oman though not necessarily the most beautiful one. It was crowded definitely, the most crowded fort I've been to. It was also commercialized, they got people in costumes doing parades and children doing dances as well, wasn't really sure if the latter was ethical or not. I went around and took my shots, and explored the old town and the souks before finding a place to eat dinner. There were some Filipino waitresses there and we talked for a bit about their life in Oman. I suppose it was New Year's Eve as well today so there were some well-wishes as I headed back to Muscat.

Not before finding out that my car became the target practice for bird poop as it was parked right below a tree. Tough luck. I just had that cleaned literally the day before too. The drive back was once again mindnumbingly fatiguing after a whole day's worth of activities but I made it back safely. The next day, I returned the car back at the airport and was ready for plane to New Delhi, right at the start of a New Year.Read more