FAIRYHOOD IN ARABIA SULTANATE OF OMAN
THE MOUNTAIN, THE DESERT AND SEA BATH OF WONDERS

Discovery

At only 7 hours of flight of Paris, and 3 hours of jet lag, the very preserved and wild Sultanate of Oman still is the ideal destination to benefit from the sun at any time of the year. A trip to Oman can make you live very rich and varied experiments. You will be able ressourcer a few days in the desert while sleeping in campings of great luxury hidden between the red dunes of Wahiba, to bathe you in warm waters of the sea of Oman, to observe the whales or the dolphins, or to go on a cruise in the fjords of Musandam, unless you want to hike in the mounts of Hafar. You will sleep in exceptional hotels nested in completely private splits, or wild and almost inaccessible places. The amateurs of diving will be able to discover sites little attended and of a great beauty.

Identity

Opened recently with tourism, the Sultanate of Oman is a country of the Middle East. This last is divided into two distinct parts separated by the United Arab Emirates. On a side, Musandam plunged between the Persian Gulf and the strait of Ormuz and other side the second part bordered by the Indian Ocean, the gulf of Oman and the sea of Oman. This country offers an impressive contrast between its various landscapes; mountains, plains, desert and ocean…

The Sultanate of Oman is an ideal destination for the travellers in search of calm, who will be able to go to the meeting of cordial and accessible people, of which Bedouins, inhabitants of the desert, attaches to their ancestral traditions.

Culture & Traditions

DIVING AND SNORKELLING

That you can already plunge, that you want to try the experiment or simply to swim with palms, mask and tuba, the Omani funds abound in coral where mix with of numerous species of lines, multicoloured fishes, tortoises or of impressive sharks whale.

OBSERVATION OF THE TORTOISES

The green tortoises and the tortoises hawksbill come each year pondrent their eggs on the beach of Oman. The best period is from June to September but it is possible to observe them all the year. The most famous place for their observation is without hesitating the beach of Over.

OMANI NATURE

The Sultanate of Oman has a nature of a great wealth! You will find there a solid mass mountainous with tops of more than 2000 meters where the set ones on sport will be able to be devoted to the climbing. Downwards, you will find plains and canyons. Moreover, to supplement this range of landscapes, you will be able to admire contrast between the dunes sand of the desert and the splits wild which the magnifques beaches of Oman propose.

ACTIVITIES

Besides being able to observe the sensational landscapes of the Sultanate of Oman, the travellers will be able to devote themselves to many activities. The white sand beaches allow the rest, the bathe, of the excursions in dhows, the diving, the snorkelling, the kayak as well as the observation of the dolphins, the tortoise and the lines. While returning in the grounds you will be able to visit villages, forts and to go to the meeting of the Bedouins. Moreover, for the set ones on strong feelings, you will be able to go paragliding or climbing.

 

Essential

25°-30° WINTER / 30°-35° SUMMER
OMANI RIAL
+3H WINTER / +2H SUMMER
ARAB
MASCATE
KABSA / MAKBOUS

Form your trip

The stages

MASCATE

Between sea and mountain, the capital of the Sultanate of Oman, Mascate, is one of the most pleasant and authentic cities of the Arabic peninsula. Here not of turns, constructions remain in the Arab style, in colors sands and white. Bordered by the gulf of Oman, the city is surrounded by gilded mountains which contrast with the whiteness of constructions. It is in the district of the old port that the palace of the Sultan Qabous Bin Said built in a respectful architectural style of Islamic traditional art is. You walk on the cornice of Mutrah, admire to and from of the boutres in the port, made a turn at the fish market, negotiate silver jewelry with the souk and benefit from the marine breeze. The city kept traces of the Portuguese occupation with the presence of three important forts of which those of Jalali and Mirani which keep the capital.

SHARQIYAH SANDS

At approximately 2:30 of car of Mascate, this vast sand desert which comes to die in the sea of Arabia is also called deserted red of Wahiba. With 70% of surface occupied by a desert, Oman is an ideal destination to live one night the single experiment spent in the singular environment of the desert within one of the campings of great luxury installed in the middle of the dunes.

NIZWA

Old Omani cultural capital, Nizwa is a city rich in tradition, located at the feet of the mountains, to 140 km of Mascate (current capital of Oman). Built on a large oasis irrigated by the river Falaj Indian millets, Nizwa books astonishing wonders and fabulous landscapes to make fantasize its visitors. It has one of the oldest mosques of the world. The famous one Extremely of Nizwa was built between 4th and the 17th century, but it was renovated in 1996. Before entering the city, impossible to miss the beautiful view on the immense palm plantation of Nizwa, the green mountain of Jabal Akhdar and the blue cupola of the Great Mosque. For a stay rich in discoveries, do not miss Friday, day of the market, to visit the souk and the market of cattle.

JABAL AL AKHDAR

Jabal Akhdar means the green mountain in Arabic and fact part of the mountainous chain Al Hajar, more the high mountains of the east of the Arabic Peninsula. The mount Jabal Akhdar culminates with almost 3000 meter altitudes. In this isolated region, the panoramas on the throats and the canyons are stunning. You will be able randonner in the mountain and to discover a rich vegetation of endemic plants. The vegetation changes with altitude, and passes from the olive-trees to the fig trees between 1000 and 2000 meters, then a little low in the valley, many fruit trees push. But the area is especially known for the culture of the pinks of Damas which flower between March and May, thus covering the mountain of pink. The rose water produced in the area is used by all the Omanis, as much in the kitchen that for medicine or the perfumes.

SALALAH

Tropical oasis at the edge of the desert, the capital of Dhofar, Salalah was the residence of the Sultans until Sultan Qabus ibn Said transfers his residence to Mascate. The city releases a perfect exotic environment for a balneal stay but also to impregnate you Omani history. It shelters one of most beautiful the museum of the country, the maritime Museum “is in hiding of incense” which recalls the history of the Omani fleet with the exposure of many counterparts as well as the commercial adventure of the country through the seas.

DESERT OF WAHIBA

During this day in 4X4, you will go along the coast and will discover wild landscapes before joining by the tracks is Hajar mounts where you will find a wadi (a natural pool dug in the rock by the waterways) to refresh you. In the area, you will be able to also visit a date plantation and to on the spot taste this fruit so different from that which one knows in Europe. In the middle of the desert of Wahiba, authentic tents Bedouins were installed for you in the pure style of the luxurious Arab caravans. Comfortably installed in a true bed, you will benefit from the singular atmosphere of the desert.

BAHLA AND BAT

Known for its immense extremely classified with the world heritage of UNESCO, the castle of Jabrin and its imposing believed brick walls, the town of Bahla is also famous for the know-how of its craftsmen potters. The city also shelters a very authentic souk. On the way of your camping in the mountain and after a picnic in the shade of palm trees - date palms, you will be able to discover the necropoles of the archaeological site of bldg. Dated from the thousand-year-old 3è front J. - C and registered with the world heritage of UNESCO, they form an astonishing whole with their stone dome, in the center of a surrealist decoration of mountains ochres. They are a witness single and characteristic of the evolution of the funerary practices during the first Bronze Age in the Omani peninsula.

Wadi Bani Khalid

Wadi Bani Khalid books to you a private conversation privileged with nature. True oasis in a decoration enchanter, this natural basin crystalline takes its source since pretty waterways, forming by place of beautiful cascades where time seems to stop. With cours de your excursions, you will discover there superb basins, timeless caves and innumerable natural toboggans in the middle of an imposing valley, made up by sand dunes as far as the eye can see! After you to be bathed in this turquoise and hot water, camp in full desert at the side of the Bedouins, whether it is with the Desert Nights Camp or to Mille Nights Camp. In the vicinity of Wadi Bani Khalid, other stages impossible to circumvent are also not to miss. Between the discoveries in 4X4 of the immense plates of Hajar with its idyllic terrace croppings and its villages, and the rise of Jabal Shams, the strong feelings are guaranteed.

PENINSULA OF THE MUSANDAM

In the most septentrional part of the Sultanate, the peninsula of Musandam overhangs the strategic strait of Ormuz which connects the gulf of Oman to the Persian Gulf. The spectacular mountains overhang splits where the bathe is divine. The ballet of the dolphins is frequent in bay and the best means of discovering the area of the “fjords of Arabia” east to go on a cruise on board a dhow.

DIBBA

Dibba offers to you a fairy-like decoration bordered of all shares by the “fjords of Arabia”, and the tops of 2000 meter altitudes. Begin your days with unforgettable cruisings on board dhows traditional in departure of the harbour small villages, in particular in Musandam. Since the immense virgin beaches, observe the dolphins with Khasab. The evening, the beach is transformed into a center of observation of the stars new. Inside the grounds, nature continues to make its show. You will see the goats gamboling in the mountains, or upright on their legs postpones, seeking food in the trees. After a travel in boutre, survey the lanes of Kumzar. Rent a 4X4 and leave to the conquest the hard mountains Musandam and its authentic Shihuhs villages.

KHASAB

Khasab is located on a territory bordered by the sea on a side and majestic desert mountains of the other. You will have there in particular the opportunity of observing in all quietude the dolphins, to make excursions in dhow, to photograph the tuna benches and to swim at the side of the lines and turtles. Do not miss either Khor al the Sam, most spectacular of the fjords of Khasab. The landscapes are single there and you will want only one: to benefit fully from a return towards this splendid nature. Another impossible to circumvent: the fort of Khasab. The point of view on the roads and the port is stunning. But especially, this magic place will enable you to discover the habits sultanas through the splendid local museum with the boats and dwellings restored.

SUR

Established on banks of the lagoon of Wadi Fulayi, Sour (or On) guarantees to you an appointment exclusive with nature. Whereas ochre sand extends ad infinitum, the mountains of Hajar Ash Sharqi overhang this single decoration to guarantee unseen photos to you. The feet in water, the old working of Sour, its renovated headlight and its timeless White Houses offer opportunity to you of making remarkable meetings. Another historical heritage impossible to circumvent of On: its traditional shipyard where the fishermen affairent themselves the every day to repair their wood boutres. After having visited the market with vegetables and that with fishes, stop your days by the sites of Ras Al-Hadd and Ras Al-Junayz, sites of observation of the laying of the turtles.

Djebel Shams

Djebel Shams, it is the paradise of the climbing. Baptized mountain of the sun, the summit of the Sultanate of Oman is a stage impossible to circumvent for the amateurs of mountaineering. Perched 3,075 meter altitudes, more the high summit of the area is discovered since Nizwa for an unequalled rise. Throughout this exclusive course, you will be surprised by new natural jewels, following the example of the caves of Al-Houta. Unforgettable meetings also expect you the turning of the many traditional villages which mark out this way. Misfah, Tanuf, Al-Hamra or Ghul, you will fall under the charm from these picturesque boroughs where nature is queen. And especially, do not miss the innumerable points of view on the canyons which expect you throughout this remarkable excursion.

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