Things to see and do Misfah

The trailhead is located in the village of Dar Al Bayda, at an altitude of around 1,500 metres. From the village of Misfat Al Abriyeen, take the track and drive about 25 km towards Dar Al Baydah, the journey taking about 35 minutes. At the entrance to the village, take the small path to the left, with the trailhead at the end.
The route is well signposted with the famous tricolour markings that are ubiquitous in the Sultanate. The start is relatively steep. Then the slope becomes less steep, but the path is sometimes dangerous and has some tricky sections. This is followed by a tricky descent to the left. The path crosses the UTMB race route. From this point onwards, there are no longer any tricolour markings and you have to follow the green UTMB points. The path is again quite steep and you come to a cliff, which you have to climb using the metal steps installed by UTMB. The trek at this level is perilous and you need to be very careful. We go all the way around the large cliff before exposing ourselves again to a very steep climb. Keep following the green dots until you reach the foot of the cliff at the top of which lies the highest point of Jabal Shams. Follow the path marked out at the foot of the cliff for about 1 km, then take the metal steps on the left of the path.
To reach the highest point, where there is an orientation table, make a round trip up to the left. The trail then becomes the W4.

Abdullah Al Abri, a native of Misfah, is proud to have created this small museum to showcase his childhood home and to help visitors understand the life of the past through an exhibition of old objects that belonged to his family: kitchen utensils, clothes, tools, jars and baskets, etc. The guided visit allows to discover the organization of a typical habitat and ends on the roof with a coffee and dates. An interesting and touching place of memory.

Honey has always been harvested in the Sultanate and is part of the Omani diet. Date palm honey is the most common and can be recognized by its light golden colour. But there is also honey made from flowers, acacia or jujube tree among others, the most popular being the one harvested in the Hajar mountains. You can learn a lot in this small museum, held with heart by Ahmed, the beekeeper of Misfah. Possibility to taste and see the beehives. Shop.

During easy 2h30 to 3h guided cultural walks, we discover the falaj irrigation system, local farming techniques and the way plantations are organized. For a more total immersion, you can take a 2-day mule trek and camp along the wadis and mountain trails (5h outward, 7h return). For the day, guided hikes from 5h to 7h in small groups of up to 8 people are organized from the village.

From the parking lot at the entrance to Misfah village, follow the three yellow-white-red stripes marking trail W9. The path descends into the hamlet and leads to a pond. A few steps further down, the path splits in two.

To the right, a 6-hour hike of good level and with a fair amount of ascent leads to the junction with trail W8, which leads to the village of Bilad Sayt in the heart of Wadi Bani Hauf. Even if you don't do this walk, take a few minutes on this path to descend into the wadi and climb back up to enjoy a 5* panoramic view of the old hamlet clinging to its rock face in the middle of its palm grove. Another option: a 7-hour guided hike from Misfah to Shorfat Al Alamayn with Canyon Adventures & Tours.

Alternatively, if you take the left-hand side at the junction shortly after the basin, a pleasant one-hour round-trip walk along the side of a lush green gorge leads to the spot where the water emerges from the earth to feed the falaj. The path is easy, even if the stones, polished by many passages, are sometimes slippery. Once you've reached the falaj, don't hesitate to walk directly along its edges, which are about 20 centimetres wide, to experience the almost childlike sensation of balancing on the edge of a sidewalk, except that the construction here has its origins centuries ago. Yes, to stroll along the falaj is to capture the essence of the sultanate, what feeds it: nourishing water channelled to bring life.