StokeLab Missions: Trekking Through Oman

MISSIONS

TREKKING THROUGH OMAN canyons + rivers + streams + sand

words + photos by

IJFKE RIDGLEY

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I COME FROM A PLACE OF GREEN, AND HAVE MOVED TO THE DESERT. Let me be more specific. I grew up in Kahalu’u, Hawai’i, against the Ko’olau mountain range, a place covered in a lush blanket of greenery.

A place where it rains every morning and the earth, the house, your sheets, are constantly damp. Leave anything alone for a short while and it will rust, rot, mildew, or disintegrate from the humidity.

I am hardly scared of a little rain.

This could prove to be my downfall in Oman.

-IJfke Ridgley StokeLab Contributor Born in Hawaii, Currently Living in Oman

We strain our heads skyward, trying to catch a glimpse of the weather through the narrow gorge walls. This trek will take six hours, long enough for the weather to go from bright blue to imminent doom without enough time to get out.

It would be a mistake to think that it doesn’t rain in the desert. It might not rain as much, or as frequently, but when it does you better watch out. You would think that this parched, dusty, pizza oven of a country would rejoice in a little moisture, soak up every last drop, sprout a few palm trees, and let nothing go to waste. This is not the case. Instead the water rushes down the cliffs of Jebel Shams and into the valleys of cracked earth, across the pancake-flat desert floor and out to the ocean in 15 minutes flat.

More people die in this desert land from drowning than from thirst, most due to flash floods. This blows my mind. I had laughed out loud at the look of panic that crossed our guide’s face when it started to drizzle a few weeks ago. Drizzle. And we weren’t anywhere near the mountains. I guess one can die from a little rain. Here, at the bottom of the narrow s-shaped gorge of Wadi Bimmah, we are literally caught between a rock and hard place. We scramble between the boulders like tiny, desperate ants at the mercy of the rain gods.

Oman lies at the bottom of the Arabian Peninsula, in the area that looks like one giant sand box on the satellite images of Earth. As suspected, it is predominately dry and often unbearably hot (it can reach up to 130 degrees in the summer), but there is much more to it than just sand. While the capital of Muscat has all the modern conveniences that an oil-rich nation could desire, one does not come to Oman for the city. It is the spectacular scenery, the unexpected natural drama that is the real star of the show.

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The mountains are high – high enough to freeze in the winter – and the valleys are steep, deep gorges that play host to hot springs and post-rainfall swimming holes.

There are caves and sinkholes, islands and wadis. Bedouins host camel races next to the dunes of Wahiba Sands. Tiny mountain villages cling to the rock face in the most unlikely of places, taking respite in the green patches of date plantations. An endless coastline undulating between steep cliffs and sand the color of shortbread gives way to clear, blue waters. There are forts – forts! – in every town and ancient tombs perched on forgotten hills. Your ten-year-old self might think he’d died and gone to heaven.

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THERE IS A NEVER-E

ROCKS TO CLIMB

ENDING SUPPLY OF...

CLIFFS TO SCALE

AND DESERTS

TO CROSS.

YOU COULD BE FORGIVEN FOR NOT KNOWING MUCH ABOUT OMAN. After all, it was closed off to tourists until 30 years ago, when the current and beloved monarch, Sultan Qaboos, began his reign. Since then, the antics of its infamous neighbors (Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Iran) have done little to encourage American visitors. Let me say this first: Oman is very safe. Yes, it is a Muslim country. The people are extremely tolerant and the friendliest of any I’ve met on my travels. A stammered “Salaam alaikum” at the market will surely illicit smiles and waves and an invitation to a stranger’s house for dates and bitter, black Omani coffee.

Since the country was closed from development for centuries, Oman had stayed relatively unchanged since the Middle Ages. With Sultan Qaboos came a flurry of activity and Oman was quickly ushered into modern times. While there are now highways and supermarkets and a car for every Omani in place of a donkey, the culture remains remarkably traditional. It is an ancient land, home of Sinbad the Sailor and the Queen of Sheba, and away from the suburban sprawl of Muscat it is hard to imagine that much has changed since then. I often feel like I am living in scenes from the Bible. It is precisely this combination of the (very) old and the new, at once archaic and developed, which makes it a fascinating time to experience Oman.

YES, IT IS A MUSLIM COUNTRY. The people are extremely tolerant and the friendliest of any I’ve met on my travels.

CAN YOU IMAGINE VISITING THE GRAND CANYON AND BEING ALONE?

The government has taken an active roll in making Oman very tourist friendly, but that’s not to say that you will see many tourists around. There are informational signboards in even the smallest of villages, inviting visitors to have a look about. Hikes are well marked, and favorite spots come equipped with new rest areas and clean bathrooms. You are welcome to camp where you’d like, when you’d like, without need of a permit. It’s as if the country took stock of the cupboard, swept up a little, and proudly invited guests to dinner. It’s a wonder that all this natural beauty is sitting here, labeled and easy to see, without parades of tour buses and gawkers and Swiss men in expensive climbing gear. Can you imagine visiting the Grand Canyon and being alone? It is not an inaccurate comparison, though it’s unlikely to stay this way for long.

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We park the car amid the thorny scrubs at the mouth of the gorge. Wadi Bimmah is a deep cut in the Hajar Mountains running snake-like for three miles. Huge boulders sit in the emerald stream like brown sugar cubes in absinthe, wedged in the bowels of the canyon. It is the middle of July and 120 degrees in the shade. The little breeze wafting through the massive gap feels like a hair dryer aimed at my face. The only movement comes from the trickling water and the red dragonflies that dart back and forth across its surface.

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Halfway through the trek, on an imperceptible ledge high above us, begins the Via Ferrata. The steel cables glint in the sun, from here as delicate as a spider’s web. The climbing route zig zags over the lid of the canyon, challenging those who dare to cross. It is a different adventure for a different day.

That’s the thing about Oman, it can be as hardcore as you want it to be.

Hiking, camping, canyoneering, trekking, diving, kite boarding, rock climbing, caving – it’s got it all. And chances are, you can experience this vast and monumental nature alone. We have not seen or heard a single person during our six-hour trek. We wave to a lone Omani herder tending to his goats as we emerge from the narrow valley, grateful to have beaten the rain.

1. A view from Jebel Shams at 9,800’

2. Entering Wadi Shab

THIS IS WHAT I WOULD ADD TO 1. JEBEL SHAMS Meaning “mountain of the sun” in Arabic, Jebel Shams holds the highest peak in Oman. At 9,800 feet it is high enough to freeze in the winter and provide an escape from the unrelenting heat in the summer.

It is also home to a spectacular gorge system known as the “Grand Canyon of Oman” which offers dramatic views, ancient ruins, and some of the most isolated villages in the country.

Tip: Hiking trails range from a few hours to a few days at various skill levels.

2. WADI SHAB Yes, this is the most popular wadi in Oman, but for good reason. A 45-minute hike will take you through a dramatic canyon and along cliff overhangs used in the 2012 Red Bull Cliff diving Championship.

A series of pools at the end leads to a waterfall within a cave. Stunningly beautiful, it is like The Grotto of the Playboy Mansion come to life (if sans bikini-clad beauties).

3. TURTLE NESTING Oman is one of the few places on Earth that sea turtles lay their eggs, and one of the only places where this happens yearround. The beaches of Ras Al Hadd, Ras al Jinz, and Masira Island come to life at night when massive Green Sea and Hawksbill turtles heave themselves onto the sand to nest in the moonlight.

Tip: The babies can be seen emerging closer to dawn.

4. Diving in the Daymaniyat Islands

6. Camel treks

O YOUR “MUST-DO” LIST IN OMAN: 4. DIVING The Daymaniyat Islands are a nature reserve made up of nine uninhabited islands an hour off the coast of Muscat. Relatively shallow, easy dive profiles and a pristine reef make it a haven for scuba divers and snorkelers. Eagle rays, cuttlefish, seahorses, leopard sharks, lemon sharks, and turtles are frequently spotted but the big draw is the whale sharks.

Tip: Come in late summer to early fall when the whale sharks are sighted almost everyday, often in large groups.

5. MAJLIS AL JINN CAVE On a winding dirt road off of the freeway lies one of the great wonders on Earth, and even many locals have never heard of it. Majlis Al Jinn, whose name in Arabic means “gathering place of the spirits,” is the second largest underground chamber in the world – large enough to hold Eygpt’s pyramid of Giza inside of it. The problem is it is only accessible from the top and visiting means peering into a seemingly endless abyss. However, if you’ve got the experience, the gear, and a little tenacity (permits are required and available through the Ministry of Tourism), you can enter by the only way possible: a 350-foot rappel down into the hole.

6. WAHIBA SANDS When you think desert, you think large sand dunes, and the best place to experience this is in Wahiba Sands. Though most Bedouins no longer live in the dunes, they do host overnights at their desert camps with dune-bashing, sand boarding, and camel treks.

Tip: The nearby town of Ibra also holds early-morning camel races.

IMAGES + WORDS BY IJFKE RIDGLEY IJfke Ridgley is a fashion and travel photographer.

Originally from Kaneohe, Hawai’i, she has spent the last decade living and working around the world in locations such as Holland, Spain, Bali, Curacao, New York, and Oman. Catch her latest travel tips and photographs on the style-based travel blog Jungle Fever.

And, for those of you wondering, it’s a Dutch name pronounced “eye-f-kuh.”

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