Flight Time TBA

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Meals: -

Flight: Doha/Salalah           QR 1142     0130/0430

Upon arrival, be transferred to your hotel (early check-in guaranteed).

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At noon, be transferred for lunch before exploring the surrounding area, including Salalah’s fruit gardens and exotic souq, where Frankincense is sold. Other attractions include the verdant Wadi Darbat where you can take a tranquil walk beside water pools and observe the abundant birdlife.

 

There are the ruins of Sumerham, the ancient trading port of the Queen of Sheba and the charming old port of Mirbat, which in 1972 was the scene of a heroic battle between forces loyal to the Sultan and Marxist insurgents. All the key features of the battlefield are still easily identified. The old part of the town still boasts some of Dhofar’s unique architecture and a stroll through the streets and alleyways, leading to the seafront, take you back in time.

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Overnight: Salalah

Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

At 9 am, we leave the Salalah coastline for the Empty Quarter (about 4-hours’ drive direct, but we will make stops along the way).

 

Follow Darra Ridge in the western Jebel, which boasts fantastic views of the ocean to the south and the barren desert mountains to the north. The wildlife of the area is diverse and fascinating; there are numerous exotic plants and areas scattered with the fabled Boswellia Sacra, the Frankincense tree. The incense comes from its gum, and it has been harvested and traded by Omanis for millennia.

 

We leave the vegetation abruptly and enter the empty barren landscape of the Mountains of the Moon and Negd desert. Finally we drop down into the deep canyon of the Wadi Aydim, home to small groups of Bedouin from the Bait Zabnawt tribe.

 

We leave the main track and weave our way through the grandeur of the russet red sand dunes of the Rub al Khali, the Empty Quarter at about 5pm, in time for sunset! Our camp is set deep in the dunes, and we arrive in time for you to explore your surroundings.

 

Following dinner take a walk among the dunes to marvel at the night sky or relax by the campfire.

(Note: road conditions are a combination of tarmac roads and off-road tracks. At least the last hour of the journey is along an off-road track with some desert driving at the end.)

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Overnight: Private luxury Camp
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

Watch the sunrise over the imposing dunes from camp, or for the more energetic, make your way to the top of one! After a relaxing breakfast, there will be ample opportunity to explore this unique and hauntingly beautiful environment. A walk through the windswept dunes reveals the diversity of the region as well as the incredible plant life.

In the evening, if possible, a local Bedouin from the Haraizi tribe will take you to see his camels and fascinate you with a wealth of detail about the disappearing way of life of those who still depend on them.

Overnight: Private luxury Camp

Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner 

Today we leave our desert camp to retrace our steps to Al Mazyouna before taking a different road to Thumrait, past three-thousand-year-old triliths, and an incredible area scattered with fossils.

 

Finally, we leave the desert behind, cross the mountains near Qeiron Heritti to reach Salalah in time to bid you farewell before your flight to Muscat. (Approximately 3 hours’ drive, 1 hour off-road and 2-hour tarmac)

Flight: Salalah/Muscat        WY 908   1715/1855

 

Upon arrival, be met and transferred to the Chedi.

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Overnight: The Chedi

Meals: breakfast, lunch

Begin with the Grand Mosque of Muscat (available from 0800 – 1100 hrs on working days from Saturdays to Thursdays) with its impressive architecture and fine artwork.

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Then, be driven 2 hours to the fort of Nizwa, dating from the 17th century and the old Souq, which offers a variety of excellent Bedouin jewellery and other traditional artefacts. Visit Jabrin, where we visit the former Imams castle, famous for its wall and ceiling murals. Stop at Bahla well-known for its traditional pottery and its unique fort (on the UNESCO list of the world’s cultural heritage) and visit one of the pottery manufacturers.

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Afterwards take another 2 hours’ drive to reach your hotel in Jabal Akhdar, with views of Al Hajar Mountains!

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Overnight: Alila Jabal Akhdar 
Meals: breakfast, lunch

This morning, enjoy a half-day village hike. On this cultural stairs hike you enjoy great views and greenery as you walk through 4 mountain villages on small old trails, sometimes steep over stairs and along irrigation channels aflaj, characteristic for Oman and UNESCO World Heritage! You will get an impression of the traditional village life and stop for a lunch break in an empty nature. After a short car transfer, you will hike a 2nd time through the magnificent abandoned mountain villages of Wadi Bani Habib.

 

Return to the hotel for lunch and enjoy the rest of the day at the hotel. (Difficulty: Easy, duration 4 hours)        

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Optional: half-day remote village hike: On this remote nature hike on high elevations you enjoy great views and natural vegetation as you walk on small old trails through an old abandoned village. Here you can see how the people lived for centuries a completely remote life. A bit further down the trail, you reach a natural green paradise as water flows in a little stream providing life to many insects, birds and plants. The trail continues further uphill you will reach the summit area for the lunch break with a 360 degrees view over all the highest mountains in Oman. The descent without trail but good to walk and leads you through another green wadi back to the car again. (Difficulty: Intermediate, duration 4 hours)

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Overnight: Alila Jabal Akhdar
Meals: breakfast, lunch

Early morning, check out your hotel and drive back to Muscat. En-route, stop in Nizwa again by 7 am for its Friday Goat Market where local farmers gather early in the morning to trade livestock – mainly goats, cows and sheep – by auction. Join the crowds for a truly unique opportunity to observe this traditional local custom.

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Reach Muscat for flight to the Musandam Peninsula

Flight: Muscat/Khasab       WY 939  1500/1605

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On arrival, be transferred 2 hours to your resort, set on a stretch of sandy beach fringed with dramatic rocky mountains!

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Overnight: Six Senses Zighy Bay​

Meals: breakfast, lunch

Explore the rugged and beautiful Zighy Bay by hiking or on 4X4 adventures; enjoy some exhilarating sea sports or luxuriate at the renowned Spa.

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Some recommendations:

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• Smuggler’s Bay Hike, Destination Spa Hike, or even up and over the mountain towards Wadi al Khamsi.

• Scenic 4X4 Drive to Sabatyn Plateau and mountainside village visits

• Experience the history of a Dhow in the Arabian Ocean as you slip slowly through the water beside the Fjords of the spectacular Musandam and explore small bays and unique fishing villages carved into the Fjords

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Overnight: Six Senses Zighy Bay 

Meals: Breakfast

Free at leisure before driving 2 hours to Dubai and catch your flight home.

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Flight TBA

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Meals: breakfast

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