Al Hamra

Sun 28/12/25

From Misfat Al Abriyin, we drove to Al Hamra, located nearby about 6.5km and arrived within 15 minutes. We parked our car by the roadside at Al Hamra old village and walked from there towards the Al Hamra Palms path. We stopped for photos at the old abandoned clay and mud-brick houses at Al Hamra, where some have been restored and transformed into heritage hotels.

Old abandoned clay and mud-brick houses at Al Hamra

At the end of the Palms path, we reached the main road and saw a watchtower. We crossed the road and climbed a bit to the watch tower to get a view of Al Hamra old village clay and mud-brick houses,  date plantation and the mountains. There is a park nearby with car parks which we could have also parked there. 

watch tower of Al Hamra

view of Al Hamra old village, date plantation and the mountains

It was still early so we walked back towards the date plantation and had a cup of flat white coffee (1.1 OMR) at Saaf café situated in the middle of the plantation.

Al Hamra Palms path

having coffee in the date plantation

We decided to go for early lunch at Reem Al Yamen restaurant where we had lamb shuwa with rice (OMR 3.2) which we shared as we were not really hungry yet, having a fulfilling breakfast this morning. We also went to buy water and bananas at a nearby supermarket and stopped for petrol (RON 91) about half tank (OMR 4.4) 

lamb shuwa with rice

I then checked with the house owner if we could already check in and the answer was positive, so we made our way to the guesthouse located in the date plantation area (Reef Al Hamra) for OMR 18.9 or RM 200, paid by cash. Our house have a large garden area to hang out. We also washed our clothes as the house has a washing machine but the spinner was not functioning so some drying had to be done in creative ways.

our guesthouse garden

The rest of the afternoon was spent walking around the plantation which was a really calming experience seeing the greeneries. At 4.30pm we headed back to Reem Al Yamen restaurant for an early dinner where we had lamb shuwa with rice again and camel meat with rice (OMR 6.2)

walking the Palms path

Al Hamra palms path 

lamb shuwa and camel meat with rice

After dinner we went back to our guest house and called it a day.

Mon 29/12/25

For breakfast today, we went to Reem Al Yamen restaurant again. We had shaksouka and pratha bread (OMR 2.45) The shaksouka is different from the Tunisian version as it is dry and fried. 

shaksouka for breakfast

Misfat al Abriyin

Sat 27/12/25

After breakfast at our guesthouse in Jabal Shams, we checked out  and drove to Misfat al Abriyin, located about 50km away. The drive took about 1 hour 15 mins. 

view on the way from Jabal Shams to Misfat al Abriyin

We arrived at Misfat al Abriyin before 11am, so it was still early to check in at our hotel. So we decided to do the W9 walk, which took us around the date plantations and Falaj irrigation system until the spring of Misfat's falaj system, which was dry currently. There was also a pool for the local people only. 

Misfat al Abriyin village

pool at Misfat al Abriyin village

W9 walk along the falaj

W9 walk

W9 walk

We then returned the same way and took the W9c trail to back where we parked our car outside the village. The leisurely walk took us 1h 40 mins and covered 3.85 km with 167m elevation gain. 

W9c walk

We took our backpacks (I left the suitcase in the car) and walked to our heritage hotel Bait Baityn, restored from old clay and mud-brick houses (OMR 37.8 or RM 401 with breakfast and dinner, paid by cash) and could check in at 1pm. We were greeted with arabic coffee and dates as welcoming drink. 

Bait Baityn room

We then went to the hotel rooftop to have the last of our packed sandwich, and enjoyed the views while sipping hot tea. 

view from the rooftop

We then showered after the W9 walk just now and rested in our room for the rest of the afternoon. It was still quite hot under the sun (about 20C) in December. 

At 4pm we went outside the hotel to check out some of the shops around but we finished in less than 30 minutes as the old village is very small. So went to the rooftop again to enjoy the views and waited until sunset at 5.30pm

in front of Bait Baityn

Misfat al Abriyin village

sunset from the rooftop

Dinner was served buffet style at 6pm at the rooftop. We had rice with salad, chicken, curry and soup for dinner. After dinner we walked for a bit to check out the views at night and then called it a day.

dinner

Sun 28 Dec 2025

The next morning we woke up by 5am and then went to catch the sunrise at the hotel rooftop around 6.30am 

sunrise from the rooftop

Breakfast spread was delicious and was served at 7.30am. We had 2 rounds of the Omani pancake quroos which was really yummy.

delicious breakfast 

We took our time enjoying breakfast and checked out at 9am. The hotel staff helped to carry our bags to our car and then we spent a bit of time checking out the nearby honey shop and the views before proceeding to our next destination Al Hamra

Jabal Shams

Thu 25/12/25

After lunch at Nizwa, we then headed for our final destination today Jabal Shams where we would be staying for 2 nights. The drive from Nizwa took almost 2 hours although it was only 88km because about 14km of the way was off roading so we had to drive slowly.

We reached our accommodation located at the start of the W6 Balcony Walk of Jabal Shams (40 OMR about RM 428 paid by cash) at 3pm where our host was already waiting for us. 

our room

Jabal Shams view from our guesthouse

I have ordered for dinner (OMR 5 or RM 55 per person) the previous day, thinking it was a bit difficult to find any restaurants around the area. Turned out that we were still full from lunch and was very sleepy as we haven't slept properly since we departed from home. In hindsight, we should have skipped dinner and sleep early for the balcony walk tomorrow. Dinner was rice with chicken, salad and vegetable dish. After dinner, we called it a day.

dinner at our guesthouse in Jabal Shams 

Fri 26 Dec 2025

We woke up early at 5am and then prepared for some simple breakfast and lunch of bread with chili tuna that we have packed from home. We did not order breakfast from the guesthouse as we planned to start our hike early. We also packed our bags and left them in the car as we have to check out from the house. Sunrise was at 6.30am

sunrise in front of our guesthouse

We set out for the W6 Balcony Walk at 7.30am from our guesthouse. There was only a family and a couple in front when we started our hike. Since we stayed at the guesthouse situated near to the start point, we were served with beautiful views of the mountains and canyons from the start.

views of the Balcony Walk

views of the Balcony Walk

Jabal Shams canyon

The hike started downwards and then was flat most of the way. It was still cool when we started, but it got sunnier at around 8am, with clear blue skies above. We even spotted 4 "eagles?" flying above us.

eagles maybe

balcony walk

old abandoned village

Jabal Shams canyon

Our hike took about 4 hours covering a distance of 10.4 km to and fro (the same way back) with 379m elevation gain. We also climbed up to a natural pool at the end of the hike. It is not clearly marked. Since it was dry season, the water in the pool was not fully filled up, and nothing to be missed if you skip this one.

the pool at the end of the balcony walk

the small pool

goat at Jabal shams canyon

On our way back, there were many people already on the trek and we had to give way most of the time as the trek is quite narrow. 

We stopped at a hut near the starting point to have our lunch of packed sandwich while enjoying the views and then returned back to our guesthouse at 12.30pm

We then drove to our next guesthouse Sun Horizon chalet (OMR 32 or RM 340 with breakfast, paid by cash) located about 15 mins away in Jabal Shams. It was a self check in accommodation with a key box and it was ready by the time we reached there at 1pm.

Sun Horizon chalet

Since there was no restaurant located nearby (only a café at the Jabal Shams view point), we finished up our packed bread and chili tuna for dinner. We rested for the rest of the day.

Sat 27 Dec 2025

I went out for a walk nearby the guesthouse at sunrise around 6.30am but since the second guesthouse was located further away from the canyon, the views here were rather limited. It was quite cold in the morning around 8C

We waited for breakfast at 7.30am where the caretaker came in and brought pre cooked meals. Our breakfast consisted of bread, boiled eggs, Omani pancakes (quroos), balaleet (sweet vermicelli), chickpeas and kidney beans. 

Omani breakfast

After breakfast, we checked out from the guesthouse and drove to Misfat al Abriyin, located about 50km away. The drive took about 1 hour 15 mins.