Natural Crafts Mascate

A must-do, even if you don't live in this area, to discover this particular facet of the capital: the mountains that come close to the coast and plunge into the sea, cutting into bays and valleys where luxury resorts or white neighborhoods like villages in the city are tucked away.

From Old Muscat, follow the coastal road to the Al Bustan traffic circle - you can stop to marvel at the atrium, which is open to all if you are dressed appropriately. Turn right onto An Nuzhah Street and then take the first left onto Qantab Street. Well before the junction leading to the new residential and hotel area of Jumeirah Muscat Bay, a wide esplanade offers a sublime panoramic view of the jagged coastline, the white neighborhoods encircled by their chaos of brown rocks, the hard blue of the sea so photogenic echoing a sky often of the same blue, powerful and limpid. Continue straight ahead on Al Jissah Street in the direction of the Shangri-La. At the Bandar Jissah traffic circle, start the wonderful panoramic descent towards the Muscat Hills Hotel just for the photo and the pleasure of seeing the bay gradually unveil itself between two twists and turns. Go back up to the traffic circle, gain height and continue for a few more kilometers on the ridge of the coastal mountains, until you reach the Shangri-La hotel area. Then turn around.