Salalah
Well-labelled and atmospherically lit at night, the ancient ruins of Al Baleed belong to the 12th-century trading port of Zafar. Frankincense was shipped…
Must-see attractions in Dhofar
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Dhofar
A popular picnic site during the khareef and a great place to enjoy the jebel in any season, Wadi Darbat is a grassy plateau in the hills marked by Oman's…
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Dhofar
Looking across one of Dhofar's prettiest bays at peacefully grazing camels and flocks of flamingos, it’s hard to imagine that 2000 years ago Khor Rori was…
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Dhofar
The upper plateau of Jebel Samhan suddenly ends in a vertiginous drop more than 1000 meters to the coastal plain below. Barely a ledge interrupts the…
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Dhofar
The sands of the Empty Quarter begin to curl around the road on the approach to Al Hashman, then very quickly coddle into small mounds and ergs (wind…
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Dhofar
Oman’s most spectacular bay ends in a set of sheer cliffs that reaches towards the Yemeni border. Immediately below the start of these cliffs the rock…
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Dhofar
The most striking of all the springs scattered across the Salalah Plain, Ayn Razat flows copiously from the hillside at all times of year and rolls across…
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Dhofar
This remarkable rock formation affords the opportunity of seeing a living stalactite in the making without having to clamber through a cave to do so…
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Salalah
Salalah is famous for its plantations of coconuts, papayas and bittersweet, small bananas. Stroll through the plantation roads near the corniche (2km from…
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Dhofar
Ubar is an archaeological site of potentially great importance. Lost to history for more than 1000 years, the rediscovery of the remains of this once…
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Dhofar
Separated from the rest of the Salalah Plain by the vertical cliffs of Mughsail, and accessed via the Sarfait Rd, Fizayah Beach is one of the most…
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Dhofar
This small reserve, 40km north of Salalah, protects a 5km grove of ancient frankincense trees and is listed by Unesco as part of the frankincense-related…
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Dhofar
Every few years, steady rains across the jebel result in a torrent of water racing across Wadi Darbat and falling over the edge, 300m to the Salalah Plain…
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Dhofar
In religious terms, this tomb is probably the most important site in Dhofar. The tomb of Prophet Job, mentioned in the Old Testament and venerated by…
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Dhofar
The Sarfait road, which links Salalah with the Yemeni border via Mughsail, is one of Oman's many impressive engineering projects. Zigzagging nearly 1000m…
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Dhofar
Identified in 1997, this 90 million cu metre–sinkhole is one of the largest of its kind in the world. Elliptical in shape, it has a depth of 250m and is…
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Dhofar
This small but well-preserved castle was built in the 19th century. With a furnished interior, good signage and an accompanying booklet explaining the…
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Dhofar
Housing the remains of Mohammed Bin Ali, a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, this tiny tomb, with its two distinctive onion domes, marks the old…
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Dhofar
Conforming to the typical image of a desert oasis, with palm trees, permanent water and grazing camels, Muqshin is renowned for a less expected wonder: a…
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Dhofar
Just before reaching a spring of the same name, a small car park appears on the right-hand side of the road and a paved path disappears mysteriously into…
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Dhofar
The flat plain near Qitbit has little hint of fecundity so it may come as some surprise that it is the habitat of thousands of sand grouse. These…
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Dhofar
This magical stretch of white sand beach extends almost as far as the eye can see. There's a tiny village halfway along its length, famous for the…
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Dhofar
A celebrated local beauty spot, this khor (inlet) is often partitioned from the sea by a sandbar that shrinks and grows according to the season. In the…
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Dhofar
Botanists may be surprised to find a small stand of baobab trees gracing the thickets just above the Salalah Plain. These magnificent giants, their trunks…
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Dhofar
One of the prettiest springs sprinkled across the eastern Salalah Plain, this one ushers from a bare rock and is channelled through a zigzagging concourse…
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Dhofar
Tiny compared with its more bountiful neighbours, this spring collects in a small well in the middle of a rural road at the northern rim of the plain. Of…
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Dhofar
The town’s main fort is now derelict despite being the site of the well-documented Battle of Mirbat. Nine soldiers kept 300 insurgents from taking Mirbat…
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Dhofar
Below the village of Ayoon there are some natural pools surrounded by tall stands of reeds and other vegetation. The pools are accessed along a 3km off…
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Dhofar
Of passing interest in the town of Mirbat is the old quarter, where some merchant houses still stand proud along the beach front. Some are still lived in,…
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Dhofar
One of the most visited of the springs issuing from the foothills surrounding Salalah, Ayn Garziz often has a generous flow of water collecting at the…
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Salalah
This enormous palace complex, with villas and landscaped gardens along the beach front, is home to the family of Oman's ruler, Sultan Qaboos Bin Said…
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Dhofar
One of several issuing from the hills above the plain to the east of Salalah, this spring trickles into a reservoir at the end of the road. The spring…
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Dhofar
This deep sinkhole (1 million cu metres), known as the Well of Birds, gapes without warning in a corrugated landscape of rock, covered in thicket. A small…
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Salalah
This newly completed, single-dome mosque with two minarets is a gift from His Majesty to the people of his mother's hometown, Salalah. It's open to…
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Dhofar
Recently restored, this old crenellated castle is set square to the sea as if designed to repel invaders. It's closed to the public but makes a photogenic…
