As Adventure-seekers and lovers of nature, we definitely wanted to 'do' the so-called 'Omani grand canyon' or 'grand canyon of Arabia': the Wadi Ghul, named after the village of Ghul. The Wadi Ghul is an immense dried riverbed close to Jebel Shams (‘Mountain of the Sun’), the highest peak in the Hajar mountain range. The canyon is breathtaking beautiful, reaching in some points 1 km (0.6 miles) in depth. 

Oman is rich in natural wonders and history, from ancient stone castles in the desert to the waterfalls and lush vegetation appearing during the monsoon season (khareef) in the south.

Driving into the gorge of Wadi Ghul...

The route from the main road (parking: 23.1491632, 57.2038475), starts with a steep path down, which takes you to a huge gravel plain (Valley Necrosis), you follow the (ridden) path towards the gorge, after which it gets narrower and rougher, through small oases, past large boulders, farms, old (looked abandoned) villages, palm trees, water irrigation system, goats, be hardly able to take it all in.

Along the route ... 

... there are stunning views, small oases and breathtaking overhangs. We put our swimsuits on and just had a relaxing time with bathing and a picnic. And nobody around, lovely.  

Jebel Shams

To leave the wadi, you just have to drive the same way back. The total route inside the wadi, is around 6-7 km one way. After this wonderful experience, we decided to take the way up to Jebel Shams and we probably reached half way. Unfortunately, we were running out of time, as we wanted to be down again before sunset and take the off road route over Jebel Kawr back to Dubai (also better driving with some daylight left). Glad it all went well.