It was on the previous day I returned to Muscat from Al Khayran and As Sifah beaches. Here I got joined by my Dutch friend Max and, early morning, we set out on the third day of this road trip in Oman. The first destination of the day was the Wadi Dayqah Canyon.
Wadi Dayqah is situated about 100 km east from Muscat, on the way to Sur. It is mostly known for its dam which is the largest dam in the country and the reservoir it holds provides water to the metropolitan area of Muscat and much of Oman’s east coast. There is a road leading to the dam leaving from highway 17 at 23.2017 / 58.8812, just before Al Zahir town.
To go to the dam, though, wasn’t our idea for today. Instead, we remained on highway 17 heading for the canyon’s mouth. We left the highway at Munayzif village and took the sideway until we were under an impressive bridge spanning the mouth of the canyon. The massive canyon looked so attractive from that point.
We attempted to drive the rough track to the interior of the Wadi Dayqah for as long as we could with the Accent: that wasn’t that very long. Having given a good deal of effort to clear the track of the largest rocks, we only drove a mere couple of hundreds of
It was almost exactly midday. The large breadth of the canyon in combination with the smooth, white pebbles that covered the ground and the utter absence of shade made this place the hottest one I visited in Oman.
Other than some strange metallic constructions, which were surmisingly used as sieves for quarrying, there was no other sign of human activity within the canyon. The quiet was profound and the views breathtaking.
We hiked over the canyon bed for about 2 km, until the first sharp curve. There we clambered up to the right wall to marvel at some nice wider views of the canyon. It looked so splendid in its deep distance. The prospect of coming back there someday and exploring it with a 4×4 moved me.
On the way back we made a stop under one of the very few trees that were to be seen around there to lunch. Afterwards, we also took a nice short hike up a narrow gully which concluded on the spot.
A while later we were back in the car heading towards our next destination: the Bimmah Sinkhole.
Accommodation and Activities in Oman
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