Our MUSANDAM experience

WARNING : The pictures do not do enough justice to the objects in it. The place was nothing short of spectacular.

DISCLAIMER : No amount of words or no number of pictures can describe our amazing experience.

We wanted to do something different before the year came to an end, so on a whim decided to travel to Musandam in the neighboring country of OMAN. After finalizing a tour operator we decided on a two-day trip, overnight camping, with a long drive through the border in our own car and an itinerary filled with exciting activities.

We have been used to the drive all the way on  E311 along the Hajjar mountains. And after Ras-al-khaimah in UAE we have the Dhara check point, shortly after which the entry point of Oman. As soon as the UAE exit and omani entry papers are stamped we enter the territory of OMAN.

Here is our picture story

---- Day 1 
Mountain Safari 

The moment you cross the border, the terrain changes almost immediately with long winding coastline roads with mountains on the right and the spectacular sea on the left. We spotted many small rural villages on our way to Khasab. Sharjah to Khasab (Musandam) is approximately a 3 hours drive.

Winding roads

The drive

Down the mountain

Fishing villages

First on our itinerary was the mountain safari to JABAL HARIM (mountains of the women). It is strictly possible only in a 4x4. Narrow unpaved rocky roads lead to the tallest peak in the region.  The steep mountains dropping directly into the sea, knowns as FJORDS of arabia. 

Steep mountainous roads

Inlets of water

An ancient dwelling : Bayt-ul-Qufl (the house with the lock)

Entrance to Bayt-ul-Qufl

Ancient dwelling

Fish fossils: This entire mountain range was once upon a time under water. We can see 250-million year old fossils of marine life preserved even at around 1600 meters above sea level at present.

Fish fossils

Perfectly preserved skin and eye of fish fossil

Rock carvings: Pictographs as signs of communication in the ages long ago.

Ancient language

Mountain dwellings: At present the mountains are still inhabited by the locals, with all amenities of electricity and water provided by the Omani government. Children from here study at boarding schools in the mainland of Oman. Tallest peak reachable before a check point is at around 1800 meters.

Present mountain locality

Pin-drop silence and pure air with mountains all below us and the setting sun above.

At the top

----Night -1
Overnight camping

There are many places to stay in Musandam (refer to fact sheet below), we saw a few hotels on our way too. But we decided to camp overnight in a secluded beach on an island off the coast of Musandam. The entire camping was arranged by the tour operator. We had the beach and the mountains all to ourselves till next morning. A wonderful family from Italy were our companions and we had a great time with them.

The camping was the activity we were looking forward to more. We had never camped before and had no idea how to. So this was a beautiful experience for us. We are doing this definitely again with our own camping gear soon.

Once the generator was off and the campfire was lit, we sat around the fire, warming our hands against the chilly night, under the moonlight and the sounds of the waves, sipping a warm cup of omani tea, and the conversation flowed among the adults. Our little daughter had by now warmed up to her newly-made friends and was playing about with them.

Warmth of the camp fire

We were thoroughly enjoying the the entire situation, but Hubby dearest was a bit nervous with the safety of sleeping in an open space and stories of foxes in the mountains. He scared up our little brave daughter too. Finally reassured, we went to sleep hearing only the rhythmic music of the waves. It was amazing to go to sleep with that beautiful sound.

Woke up early morning long before the sunrise and took a stroll along the beach, it was so quiet, the campfire had died out.We sat up in the beach rocks, looking at the play of light on the sky, by the rising sun. 

Stunning sunrise

But after a walk down the beach , we spotted a set of animal prints, not far from our tent. So as our daughter woke up she had a new story to keep her gushing and excited.

Our four-legged friend- the fox

After a filling breakfast we were on our way to the dhow cruise. We cannot recommend the good hotels there, because we did not stay in them. But we vouch for this camping experience. Very good hospitality by the crew, good dinner and breakfast, fresh grilled food and unlimited supply of Omani tea. We enjoyed it more especially because it was not crowded and there was just one more family apart from us.

Our campsite

A perfect morning

----Day -2
Omani dhow cruise

There was a guide who gave us a short history of the region, and the things we would be seeing and doing for the day. And off we went cruising along the coast-land and in between the inlets (or Khwars) of Musandam.

The harbor, the fishermen

Omani Dhow

Cruising along the fjords

The captain of the ship was very experienced and he stopped the boat at the right places.Within few minutes of leaving the shore we spotted many dolphins , playing and swimming along our boat, But they dissappeared before we caught them on camera.

Disappearing dolphins

We had our fill of the omani tea, and fruits and soaked up the scenery. The attended was pleasing and friendly, continuously kept offering us tea and fruits. The dhow stopped at a beautiful inlet for snorkelling, the shallow waters and the mountains nearby were a great backdrop. Many on the boat changed and dived into the water. We were so jealous, both of us did not know a bit of swimming. But our brave daughter went with her friends for a swim in the sea. We were so proud, and once again we vowed to learn to swim!!

Shortly after this was lunch.

Then the dhow docked near the telegraph island, which was a telegraph relaying station put up by the British in the 1850's to relay telegrams from Bombay to London. The captain of the ship had a good knowledge of the place and we got to see the most important stops.

Telegraph island

We zig-zaged around the Fjords and were dropped back to the harbor in the afternoon. What a ride it was. And then the beautiful drive afterward back to Sharjah.

Mesmerizing sunset

There were a few things that we missed, like fishing, visiting the Khasab castle etc. which we are definitely returning for .

This trip is going to be in our minds for a long time. Just awesome.

Here are some Information that may help future travelers.

P.S: Could not cut short the post. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Zain & Farz

This post is linked to
The Weekly Story-Wk-11