4 days of hiking between the Wahibah desert and the sea via the Wadi Tiwi in Oman in January 2019
96 km into Eastern Hajar via Wadi Bani Khalid
GPX traces
The GPS track recreated from the data recorder by my garmin watch can be downloaded here.
We have been taken by car twice on the way, so the thrack is a bit longer than what we actually walked.
I will explain below when we had those lifts and if it was possible to walk instead.
Information sources
Our information source about the hiking paths is the official website OmanTourism. This website includes maps of existing and marked hiking paths.
We used here the Eastern Hajar map.
We walked the E35 trail.
The hiking sheet indicates up to 18 hours- of walking with camping gear. We saw signs indicating a distance of 28 km between Wadi Bani Khalid and Tiwi, as indicated by OmanTourism.
However, we walked much more than that between those two points. It took us about two days (about 40 km).
The length of this trail should not be overlooked. We already had a lot of kilometers in our legs, but we still made good progress. We certainly made some detours but not enough to explain this difference.
Day 1
From the desert to Oriental Nights Rest House Hotel
29,8 km - 691 m vertical drop - 5h30
Arrived the day before by car in the desert with Charlene, a Canadian tourist who hitchhiked us and with whom we spent a day betwwen Wadi Ghul and the desert, we woke up after that nigt under the stars in the desert.
The dew had totally wet our sleeping bags.
So, we decided to wait until the sun was high enough to pass over the sand dunes and come dry our sleeping bags.
It was only after that that we said goodbye to Charlene. She left by the track we had followed the day before and we left on foot in the dunes.
We knew, thanks to our GPS where we were and in which direction to go so as not move too far away from Jeeps tracks and villages. We decided to leave in the direction of a village.
So we did not follow any pre-defined path. We just moved forward at will, setting more or less a direction.
So we left the track along which we slept through the dunes.
Going up and down those huge dunes is very tiring.
We tought sleeping one more night in the desert but we quickly realised that the heat, the sand and the flies would not allow us to last as long with our reserves and especially we had quicker than expected enough of it.
We had a little fun crossing the dunes, struggling uphill and sliding on the sand.
We were also chased by a lot of flies. It was not pleasant.
We quickly found traces of car passages. And we decided to follow them to return to the villages.
As we passed, we saw a few dwellings in the desert, with animals and a few camels.
We found the village of Al Mintirib after about 14 to 15 km of walking in the desert.
There, we were happy to stop in a small store to have a cold drink. Walking several hours in the desert, under the sun, quickly gets warm, even in January.
Then, we stopped a little further in the village to eat a salad, a large plate of rice and sandwiches served with fries. It was a small indian restaurant.
We then decided to spend the night in a hotel which was a little further up the road towards Wadi Bani Khalid. This hotel is the Oriental Nights Rest House which is located just at the intersection of the road coming from the villages of Bidiyah and the road going to Wadi Bani Khalid. We were able to find price information (20 OR) and the phone number of this hotel on the internet.
Since this Wadi was our next destination, it suited our itinerary very well.
We resumed our journey along the roads. We first left the villages and then we walked along the main road.
At the beginning, we had enough room on the road to walk on the side. Then, our way approached another stretch of the road, under construction.
Obviously, they were working to make it wider and faster. A type of road along which is not possible to walk.
We were quite lucky here because a car offered to pick us up just when we arrived at this area (about km 26.5 of the trace).
So we asked him to be dropped off at the hotel we had found. The drive was quick (about from km 26.5 to km 33).
We were happy to arrive at this hotel.
With the heat and the walk, I had big overheating on the ankles and lower legs. Certainly also due to the fact that I walked in pants and not in shorts. My legs were burning and a good shower has been good for me.
We were very tired that evening. We ordered a lentil soup from the hotel room service - quite cheap (1 OR) - and ate the food we had with us for the rest.
Day 2
From Oriental Nights Rest House hotel to the heights of Wadi Bani Khalid
24,5 km - 979 m vertical drop - 5h30
Wake up at our hotel before getting back on the road. We started by crossing the main road to have a coffee. There, we met a couple of Dutch tourists who were traveling by bike. We took the opportunity to chat a bit with them.
Then, we walked on the road towards Wadi Bani Khalid.
Regularly, cars offered to drop us off further.
The tourists group we had met before in Bilad Sayd and Wadi Ghul also recognized us by passing us and stopped to check on us.
The walk on the road was quite easy, despite the elevation, and still pretty, but we finally accepted the offer of a car to drive us.
From km 47 to km 55 approximately we therefore benefited from a vehicle. It would have been entirely possible to continue walking on the road.
We did not exactly where to ask our driver to drop us off but we still wanted to have access to one of the shops before starting the crossing between Wadi Bani Khalid and Wadi Tiwi.
When we saw some shops, we asked to be dropped off.
We were in the village before the caves and the natural pools of Wadi Bani Khalid.
There, we have been able to do some shopping and we ate in a small restaurant.
Then, we resumed our walk to the pools. We walked along the road until we got to the parking lot. We felt there that the place was quite touristy and developed in this sense.
From the parking, we walked along the falajs to reach the natural pools.
Many people bathed there. Restrictions on clothing during swimming were displayed.
We enjoyed the place to take a tea on the very busy terrace.
We were happy to have eaten and done our shopping in the village below because around the pools, there is only one touristic bar-restaurant.
We did not took a bath. I think my swimsuit would have been a little too much undressed for a woman in this place. We just dipped our feet in the water. Small fishes came to eat the dead skin.
My overheating from the day before being still present, the little bath was good for me to refresh my feet and my lower legs.
The time going fast, we decided to set off to Wadi Tiwi in order to be able to find a campsite far enough from the pools before the sunset.
So, we passed the pools and found the path up the mountains. The start of the path is marked and visible from the pools.
We passed a very poor hamlet and goats on the way up.
The amount of elevation was high in a little time after leaving the pools.
The views withe the late afternoon light were stunning !
We were not optimistic about finding a place to pitch our tent easily since the ground was not falt and covered with a lot of stones.
But we finally found a place where, by clearing the the stones, we could pitch the tent.
We were very tired from this long day, which was very varied and ended with the hardest part, the steep slope among the rocks.
Day 3
From the heights of Bani Khalid to the heights of Wadi Tiwi
30,5 km - 1271 m vertical drop - 8h
Waking up fot what was supposed to be our last day of walking.
Once all our gear packed, we resumed the ascent.
The path was not always easy to follow. We had to look for the marking several times.
The first time we lost them we found them pretty quickly but the second time when we were going downhill we could not find them. We then continued in the direction that seemed to be good to us.
Then, we arrived on a flat portion, very sandy, and there we found back the path with the markings.
This portion was quite special, and allowed us to rest our legs a little after these long climbs and all those rocks on the way.
The respite was quite short, we quickly get back to an ascent, towards antennas. There, there was nobody but we found a dirt road. It seemed to be recent.
Le répit a été assez court, nous avons vite repris une ascension, vers des antennes.
We enjoyed the view on the canyon to take a lunch break.
The path crossing the road at two points but we decided to simply follow the dirty road because it seemed above all easier to us and not longer. We were a bit tired to have to be very attentive to every signs like in the morning.
So we followed the road and we saw where the path came to on the other side. Then the trail went along the same road. It is possible to walk on it or slightly next to it.
So we walked, hoping to fond a small village with a mosque to find some water.
Unfortunately, the small hamlets we saw were very far away. In any case, too far to want to make the detour when our feet (especially mine) were starting to hurt.
We still had water but were careful because drinking it was going fast.
Few cars passed us on the road, but those that stopped near us had no water to give to us.
We followed the road until the path was going away from it. We then start again walking among the stones.
There, a fairly thick fog began to form.
We could not see the landscapes anymore but we still met some donkeys. It is always fun too see them running away when we are approaching.
At the end of the day, the fog lifted and we were able to enjoy the landscapes again!
We were approaching the sea and we could see it on our way, much lower!
The last part of the day was very difficult for me, although the path had less gradient and was easy to follow, I had severe pain in my feet and ankles which made every step difficult.
But I wanted to move on, to go as far as possible because I felt that the road was still long.
When the sun started to set, we found a place to pitch our tent.
The sunset was wonderful! I admit that I took pictures instead of setting up the tent. Luckily, I was not alone and had help to pitch the tent.
Once in bed, you would not have ask to me to do one single more step. The stones and the gradient were beginning to get the better of my feet.
Day 4
From the heights of Wadi Tiwi to Tiwi and to the beach
15,5 km - 349 m vertical drop - 4h15
Wake up at our camp and its magnificient landscapes. Our last day of hiking begins.
The program for the day was to descent into this Wadi Tiwi and follow it to the sea.
My feet were going a little bit better thanks to the night of rest.
We continued to follow the path, quite clear, that we followed the day before at the end of the day.
We quickly began to have a view on the wadi and its vegetation. It was not easy to take picture of the wadi that morning as the light was strong on the shadowed wadi, that created too much contrast.
So we started to descend well, and we met several people with their donkeys. Very skilful locals jumping from stones to stones. Very impressive.
The descent was quite fast and we arrived at the bottom of the valley, in a very green oasis.
The village was mostly on the opposite side of the valley. So we crossed the river bed in the bottom of the wadi and a few crops to reach it.
We lost the right path for a while but we found it back close to the houses.
We followed it until we reached the sign marking the start and end of the trail. At that point, we arrived on an asphalt road.
In the village, en then following the road, we met many locals and tourists. We spoke further with a couple. We also saw bathing in the water pools.
In the village, and then along the road, we have seen a lot of local and tourists.
We had a longer chat with a couple.
This wadi was the wettest we had seen. So far, everything had always been very dry, but here we found a real river and pools of water.
The water even overflowed onto the road in one place, making it very slippery. A small fall, not serious, for one of us, will remind us to be careful with wet and slippery road.
We followed the main road until we came under a large overpass. We had the feeling of a return to civilization, because from there we crossed many cars.
Once past the viaduct, we arrived at the village of Tiwi! We had reached our goal!
We stopped at a small restaurant to celebrate with a good hot dish.
We took time to rest there and chat with a group of French tourists.
We then resumed our journey along the coast and find the beach. We passed by the entrance of Wadi Ash Shaab. Many cars were parked there and we could see small boats on the water.
Once reachec, we enjoyed the beach to rest a little more.
A fast foot bath feels very good after so many days of hiking as for the short nap.
And then, we deceided to try hitchhiking agin to each Muscat.
So we went to the road which was an access ramp to the main road that runs along the coast.
There, we did not wat 5 minutes when a big Jeep stopped to pick us up. A young man was driving on his own, he explained to us that he was regularly going back and forth to a second home he was building a little further along the coast while living in Muscat.
He was happy to have company and spoke good English.
So we had a great time with him on the road. He even stopped to let us take pictures of the view over the city as we approached the capital.
He dropped us off near a shopping center where we started by having a snack. There was a large food court so it was to find what suited us.
We then took a bus to get closer to the cheap, centrally hotel we found on Booking.com.
After a day visiting the capital city, it has been time for us to return to Belgium.
This last hike was very tiring, especially for my feet. But it was also very various between the desert, the mountain and the sea.
The trail was not easy to follow and gave us some trouble.
The accumulated fatigue was also making the walk more difficult.
We will remember that is was once again wonderful and that we did not meet any other hiker.
Pay attention to the lenght though! It is longer than the description might suggest.
Two beautiful weeks of hiking in Oman! A country that is not really suitable for backpackers. Most of the tourists we encountered were either in organized groups or in well-equipped 4x4.
Traveling in Oman is therefore generally quite expensive. Although camping is allowed everywhere and hitchhiking works quite well.
So, our way of doing, hiking and camping, was very cheap. We paid only 3 hotel nights, a few buses and our food. We spent not more than 200€ per person for the two weeks.
The country has enormous hiking potential! And what tranquility as soon as you move away from the few touristic spots.
We felt privileged to have the right to enjoy these magnificient landscapes.
We therefore strongly advise all hiking enthusiasts to go and enjoy the sun in winter in this magnificient country!