Some people will tell you that camping in the UAE/Oman region in July and August is completely insane. Well, my psychiatrist tells me that I’m perfectly normal. Thus, to prove ‘some people’ wrong, five of us (all perfectly sane, though perhaps with a little more gung-ho! than most) headed off to the Musandam for a drive and dive weekend in July. The aim of the drive was to explore the Musandam peninsula from Khasab, to camp as high, and hopefully as cool, as possible on the Friday and then to dive off the Straights of Hormuz on the Saturday. Having returned, unscathed from this trip, I thought it was worth sharing, in the hope that if your reading this, you may think; ‘we should do that’.
The first thing to do, however, is to book your diving. We booked with Extra Divers, which are based at the Golden Tulip Hotel, just outside Khasab (website www.musandam-diving.com) and then you need to get yourself to the Musandam. Follow the Emirates Road (E311) to Ras Al Khaima and then take the E11, coast road through Ar Rams, Ghalilah, and Sha’am, until you arrive at the UAE/Oman border post at Ad Darah. Get out of your car and start the exit/entry procedures through the UAE & Oman borders. You’ll have to pay AED35 to leave the UAE and AED50 for your Omani visa (providing you have UAE residency, otherwise it’s AED200), and then drive the spectacular coast road to Khasab, passing the Golden Tulip on the way. Once in Khasab you need to follow the main road south through town and then turn right at N26 11.167 E56 14.639 onto the road that heads to the airport and keep heading south and beyond it (note there are no petrol stations beyond Khasab. Ensure you have a full tank). Eventually you come to a point where the tarmac road bears to the left and you turn right onto the gravelled track at N25 05.431 E56 15.470.
This track will take you all the way to the Rowdah bowl area and is, perhaps, one of the most breathtaking roads in the region, surpassing Wadi Bih (though, ironically, the end of the track finishes in the upper reaches of Wadi Bih). It really starts with a spectacular 1,000m climb that ends up at an agricultural plateau but then climbs another 400m as it crosses through a ridgeline to take you down towards Rowdah. But, let’s take it in stages. The start of the initial climb is at N26 03.046 E56 13.762 and it just keeps going up until you come to a sudden and unexpected road summit and then drop down, briefly, onto the farming plain and the village of Al Sayh at N25 59.990 E56 12.875. Continue on the track, passing several junctions on your left and right until you reach the plateau of Jebel Khanzur and follow the sharp bend left at N25 57.936 E56 11.866 (the track on the right at this point with the ‘Road Closed’ sign in Arabic, leads up to Sheikh Saqr’s villa, in the UAE) and turn towards the military base on the shoulder of the highest peak, Jebel Al Sayh. The track then passes through a small cutting at N25 57.850 E56 13.298 and then opens out to, what must be, one of the most breathtaking views in the region. Drive down this track until you see a mini Grand Canyon opening up to your right, stop the car, get out and take some damned photos.
In fact you’ll probably find yourself stopping frequently to take it all in. The track heads on down a long ridgeline, descending a 1,000m to the upper reaches of Wadi Bih. At the base of the descent you’re presented with three options. Right takes you to the Omani border check point, through which only GCC citizens are able to pass (and by which one of the most enjoyable and spectacular drives is denied to anybody else). Left takes you to into Wadi Bana, then Wadi Maqalayli and on to the road’s end at the hamlet of Maqalayli, and straight on takes you through Wadi Halqa Rowdah to the village of Al Rowdah and the ‘bowl’. Which ever way you take from this junction, you are going to have to return to it, so take your time and explore at will.
If you’ve started this trip early on a Friday from Dubai you’ll probably get to Al Rowdah in the early afternoon. You need to be heading for the suggested campsite by 4 o’clock, in order to enjoy a truly exceptional sun-downer. You’ll need to back-track towards the farming plateau at Al Sayh. You then turn left at N25 59.183 E56 12.572, engage low ratio, and head up the very steep, twisting track to another plateau. After a short descent you’ll come to a right turn at N25 59.303 E56 11.762, which is the track that takes you to the campsite, but don’t turn down there just yet. There is another magnificent view to behold before you get the chance to put up your camp-beds. Carry on along this track until it stops. Get out of your car and walk to the cliff edge. This is the top of the well known, if not infamous, Stairway to Heaven route. The views are breathtaking, so get your camera out, again. Now you can turn back to the campsite junction and then turn left.
You can see the track clearly climbing a spur as it zig-zags higher and higher on the opposite side of the plateau. Be warned, this track is a technically difficult climb. You will need a sturdy 4×4 with good ground clearance and departure angles (we did it in a Jeep Wrangler, a Toyota Land Cruiser, a Land Rover Discovery and Mercedes G500). In many places there is considerable water erosion and you need to pick your way carefully as you progress higher. You will need to be in low ratio and may need to engage your traction controls at certain points, and you are advised to deflate you tyres (about 25psi should be sufficient). Turn right at the junction at N25 59.837 E56 10.932 and keep climbing. The track then improves as it levels out and keeps trending north. Stay on track until you come to the campsite, in a small cleared, level area at N26 01.187 E56 10.961. You are now at an elevation of 1,700m. If you’re lucky enough to enjoy a clear day, the views from here are astounding (I’m struggling to find any more synonyms). You look down onto Wadi Galilah to your left and to Sha’am to your front. You could comfortably fit 8 cars in this area. Beyond this campsite the track descends to a spur that has, um…,astonishing views and another cleared area suitable for a wonderful camping spot.
After a cool Summer’s evening and a decent night’s sleep in this 10,000 star hotel, you’ll need to be up and driving back down the hill by 06.30 in order to get to the Golden Tulip and book in with the dive centre by 08.30. Take care descending this track; if necessary, take as much time to descend as it took to ascend. Once down, retrace your steps back to Khasab and onto the dive centre.
The dive centre will take you up to the Straights of Hormuz and exposes you to better diving than you can find in the UAE. You’ll comfortably fit in two dives and maybe even a third, depending on the number of divers. Visit the website for contact details and costs. At the end of the diving you merely head back down the excellent cost road and retrace your steps within the UAE. You’ll have had a truly memorable weekend and hopefully be as excited by it as I was but don’t tell anybody; let’s keep it our little secret.
