The most beautiful natural sites to discover Batinah Coast And Its Wadis

Its name is a derivative of the Arabic word meaning "to boil". It is accessed through a palm grove that allows you to glimpse the mountain tops through the foliage. A falaj is reached from the hot spring located a little higher up. Park your car and continue on foot. You reach the entrance of a wadi where the spring is enclosed in a basin that extends a stream. The water there is warm and the locals like to use it to wash themselves or to make their ablutions.

It is probably the most interesting wadi in the region and the most borrowed, especially since a road was built in its extension to cross the Western Hajar and descend from the side of Nizwa (which is ideal during a circuit discovery of the interior of the land). Its entrance is indicated on the left of the main road, about 3 km after the village of Awabi. Very quickly, the track, which is kilometres long, is lined with corn plantations and palm-calf palms, as well as cemeteries (simple edges of flat rocks erected in squares of rocks) and especially more or less scattered houses, fuelled with water and electricity, despite their isolation (a way of promoting the sedentary)… It sinue along the river bed, sometimes bordered by falajs, between very steep walls, before climbing in the mountains overlooking the valley and along some beautiful precipices. A 4 x 4 is of course necessary, especially since some passages are steep and narrow (place for only one car). But directions are well indicated by panels and leads to charming hamlets, usually adorned with terraces.

After kilometres, we arrive at a branch line: on the right, the village of Bilad Sayt, left of Hat. To cross the Hajar, follow the road from Hat. It would be a shame, however, to go into the corner without taking a detour by the wonderful hamlet of Bilad Sayt, 1 km away: from the entrance of the gorge, we join it in minutes. Built in height, Bilad Sayt dominates its cultures and palm grove and offers an incredible palette of colours. From this village there is a signposted trail towards Misfah. It's a two-day walk, with climbing up to the Hajar plateau in four hours and, the next day, going to you it on Misfah in six hours. The less courageous will return to their footsteps and take the road from Hat.

250 metres after the fork opens on the left, the entrance of the Serpent Canyon (Snake Canyon), which has been taken up by local impulses, some of which organise days of climbing and canyoning. Never venture alone in these gorges which require the first 500 metres a reminder. Go 500 metres further, on the right, where small gorges, accessible to everyone, offer beautiful walls. A staircase runs along the rock to enter the heart of these "Serpent gorges" equipped with climbing paths (the same entrance of gorge leads to the village of Bilad Sayt on foot).

The road then climbs to a plateau that offers good camping possibilities, provided that it is well equipped because the evenings are fresh. We leave the Batinah Region for that of Al-Dakhiliyah. The decor changes, the color of the stone clouds… We arrive near the village of Al-Hamra, 35 km after Hat. There are several possibilities for routes: go to Nizwa, go to the discovery of the Jebel Shams, return to Muscat…

This Wadi has the advantage of offering natural water pools about km from its entrance, adding a little more to discovery. It will be surprised by the milky colour of the water due to suspended calcite. When the track becomes too narrow for a car, continue along the bed of the river to the village of Abyada, only minutes walk away.

Like most of the wadis in this part of the Sultanate, the Wadi Wadi wadi opens on steep walls and a narrow canyon, in 4 x 4. It will delight geology lovers by its multitude of marine fossils. At 2 km from the entrance you can observe drawings carved in the rock, representing animals and warriors. These paintings are believed to be over 1 500 years of age. The last village in 4 x 4, Al-Ulya, is a paradise: palm groves, clear water basins, falajs… A preserved and still authentic place to the very welcoming population.

It is probably the longest Wadi in the region. Beware, the track is not very broad. Seventeen kilometres after Gubrah, it joins the village of Wakan, starting point of a hike that leads to the edge of the Gubrah Bowl circus to the village of Haddash (7 h walk). Beware, this is not a loop and therefore requires a transfer upon arrival.