Travel Guide Wadi Mistal

Wadi Mistal is one of the longest in the region and the second longest, along with Wadi Bani Awf, where it is possible to stay in a guesthouse. About 16 kilometres from Nakhal, you leave the N13 road to go through the rocks of Gebel Akhdar. Following the course of the wadi all the way to the end, we come to the heart of the Gubrah Bowl cirque 40 kilometres further on. From there, several villages are signposted, including Wakan. Located at 2,000 metres above sea level, it is one of the most flowery villages in the sultanate. If the road is passable to Gubrah Bowl, a 4x4 becomes necessary for the 2.5 km of narrow and sloping stretch to Wakan. At the entrance of the village, an observation platform offers a spectacular view of Wadi Mistal and the surrounding mountains. Scenic, the hamlet is the starting point of a famous hiking trail (W25, W24a and W24b to make the loop) which leads to Haddash village in 7 hours of walking. Without going that far, it is simply possible to take the paved path through the hamlet along a falaj to reach the palm grove some 700 steps higher. Agriculture is the main activity of the inhabitants of Wakan who maintain beautiful terraced plantations where grapes, apricots and grapefruits are harvested. In the heart of the wadi, one can admire many specimens of Ziziphus spina-christi, the local Sidr, whose honey is extremely famous, a natural offering or compensation for having been the 'supplier' of the thorns of the Holy Crown.