As summer sets in across the Arabian landscape, temperatures rise and humidity becomes unbearable making most destinations in Gulf area intolerable for outdoor activities. In the interior of Oman, temperatures can reach near 50°C in the shade creating dangerous conditions for remote travel or any type of activities on foot. In the southern end of the country however, an unusual occurrence takes place. Every year during the southwest monsoon, cool winds sweeping up from the Indian Ocean help create a unique microclimate over the region of Dhofar. During the months of July through September, a heavy mist sets in over the southern tip of the country prompting an amazing transformation to materialise across the landscape. Beginning high in the mountains, the seemingly arid and lifeless countryside turns from desert into a lush tropical landscape, creeping slowly down the valleys until it ultimately reaches the ocean. Oman has many amazing destinations dotting the countryside but Salalah during this season, known as the Khareef, is certainly in the top. I heard about it from friends, read about it books and have even seen it in various BBC documentaries including the Planet Earth series. Finally, a few weeks ago, my wife and I headed down to see what all the hype was about.
Having only the weekend to explore this new area, we opted to fly from Muscat and booked into a hotel just outside of Salalah. Being on such a tight time schedule and finding it difficult to locate much information about exploring the area, we sought out the services of our highly recommended guide, Ali, owner of Safari Tours and tour guide extraordinaire. Ali, born and bred in Salalah, was a fountain of information as he enthusiastically ushered us from site to site. Our first stop was to visit the tomb of Nabi Ayoub high up in the mountains. At the time of our visit, there was little greenery at sea level but as we approached our first destination, it was like being instantly transported to a tropical rainforest in Asia. It is truly a site that must be seen to be believed. The tomb was interesting and the gardens in the area were immaculately kept. Next, we headed east to Mughsayl Beach, home to the famous blowholes that reportedly reach over ten metres during the roughest part of the season. It was mesmerising to watch the constant bombardment of the ocean waves on the bluffs below. It was also pretty amusing to watch the unsuspecting tourists standing over the holes looking down to see what was below. I would imagine that many cameras and phones have met their end in this place.
From here we continued on the road towards Yemen and the Frankincense trail where our guide stopped to show us some of the famous trees and tell us a little about the history and extraction process for a commodity that was once valued as the same price as gold. On our way home, Ali insisted on taking us to his farm which had been in his family for three generations. It was hard to believe we were in Oman when surrounded by such a massive amount of greenery. He had coconuts, bananas, papaya, mango, corn, oranges, lemons, figs, dates and I’m sure several other crops that we missed on our brief tour through the orchard. It was an action-packed day, confirming our suspicion that we didn’t have nearly enough time to explore even a fragment of what the area had to offer.
The following day, we organised a rental car and headed out to explore some of the many freshwater springs which begin to flow during this time of year. Most of the springs have parking areas nearby and during the height of the monsoon can have numerous waterfalls cascading through the greenery. We also noted many of the areas had hiking trails that could easily be followed beyond the public areas, some of which offer spectacular views and an easy escape from the crowds. We also visited Wadi Darbat, which was more of a river than a wadi and had some of the largest trees in the country. Driving to the wadi, we passed through massive green farmlands with cattle, donkeys and various types of crops, reminding me more of Europe than the usual rocky plains of Oman.
During the Khareef, which usually takes place between mid-June and mid-September, the average temperature is 25-28°C. Salalah is an extremely popular destination for the surrounding Arab countries and can see more than 400,000 visitors pass through during the Khareef season, causing prices to skyrocket and availability of rooms and rental vehicles to be nearly nonexistent. This is why I would suggest the best times to visit would be either during Ramadan or the end of September/beginning of October to avoid the crowds. If you plan on doing any hiking, the ground is very wet and extremely slippery! I recommend bringing shoes with built in cleats or hiking boots with removable cleats. The Khareef if definitely a “must do” in Oman. If you decide to undertake this weekend adventure, don’t forget to bring your bug spray, rain jacket and plenty of water. So as we like to say in Canada, get out there, have fun and “keep your stick on the ice.”
Items to bring:
Mosquito repellent
Rain jacket
Drinking water
Mobile phone
First aid kit
Trainers or hiking boots
Darryl MacDonald
