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Nizoo to Sunaynah, through Wadi Fatha
Three days and 1,000km through places you've never heard of. Text and photos by Pinaki Chakravarty

42ºC winds rasp through a landscape of thorns and dry rock as Wadi Fatha crumbles into open desert. With our backs to the last police outpost before oilfields, gas pipelines and sand take over, we sit panting under a tree – more brown than green – choking on sandwiches slapped together in the heat.

But this dry desert wind blowing in from across the border is exhilarating, promising endless open space ahead, featureless tracks through the desert and sand so hot we had to replace sandals with closed shoes. This frontier feel is heightened by the sheer desolation of the mountains we had passed through over the past two days. Now, the only living things for company were tiny fish in water that rose briefly before being channelled underground again. These little pools are in stark contrast to the bone-dry surroundings, and their minute marine life will nibble on your toes and tickle you a foot underwater. Such are the pleasures of Wadi Fatha, a winding route that batters through the underside of the Western Hajar and spills itself out towards the UAE.

As the wadi finally opens up, emerging out of the grasp of the mountains, you will hit a desert of stone shards that extends till flat horizons on either side. The only silhouettes against the bleak sky were a couple of wandering camels and a signboard warning against grazing and hunting in the area. Gravel will turn into sand as you head out into the wide open, racing towards the border. This is an area devoid of tourists, or most others, for that matter. Follow the sandy tracks that pass off as roads here and you will be chasing ghosts in the desert, mere entrails of oil pipelines and the deep tread of industrial machines in the middle of nowhere. Such trails are best left to the Bedu and oil companies, so after a foray deep west we turned south, and then east to Ibri where we had set up base.

We had set off from the capital the previous day, heading towards this western town that many confuse with Ibra, on the highway to Sur. We took the road less travelled: the first leg of the journey, from Muscat to Ibri via Nizwa, should normally be 300km of blacktop over three hours. Instead, our route will take you an entire day
of tackling mountains and wadis. You can do this by following the airport highway along the Batinah coast and then diving head first into the Western Hajar, crossing from north to southwest.

Your journey through these largely unknown and unused tracks will skirt around more famous parts of the mountain range. Instead of Jebel Shams, Misht, Kawr and Akhdar you'll be taken through wadis, across mountains and into towns most people in Muscat have never heard of, let alone seen. They can never hope to compete with such tourist attractions, but will instead reward you with anonymity, and discovery. This is absolute blank canvas, fresh ground to explore and experience. Through mountain range and deserts of rock and sand, you'll have absolute freedom.

Setting out from Muscat, we had turned south off Highway One at Suwayq, following signs to our first wadi of the trip, Hoqayn. The moment you turn away from the plantations of the Batinah and head into the mountains, you'll hit an arid strip of no-man's land, a flat gravel plain with the hazy outline of mountains in the distance. Wadi Hoqayn starts with a bang, an explosion of fresh green plantations, plenty of water and little white flowers around the fields. It starts getting tougher after that – a dirt track without directional signs and traffic that begins to cut into the mountain. The landscape is harsh, the grey and brown broken only by the occasional spurt of cultivation at isolated settlements. Although the individual elements are the same as anywhere else in Oman – date palms, rock, leftover ruins of fortifications – you will notice a creeping difference. Although few and far between, the plantations are greener and thicker in growth than normally seen. The ruins seem more involved too, the architecture more complex, the houses more affluent. Far away from most things familiar to Muscat, the area seems to have prospered within itself for centuries. You will find such signs of prosperity much further on, in the mansions of Yanqul, with luxury cars parked under flame of the forest trees, wide open streets and even signposted public toilets. Ibri goes even further – rejoice in its one hotel, with its choice of single and double rooms or suites. You will love its breakfasts of sausages, Spanish omelettes, mushrooms and fried eggs, or dinners of freshly grilled hammour or kingfish. Wash all of this down with beverages of your choice, for this is the only licensed watering hole you're likely to find this side of the Hajar.

Ibri seems to sit poised between desert and mountain, and you could have either depending on which way you choose to venture. A day-long loop, first up north and then slowly circling left to the west, down south and then back north will take you full circle. Follow the road north to Yanqul, passing turnoffs to Bat, with its famous
prehistoric beehive tombs. If you're in the town in the morning you will catch the roadside market, and stock up on fresh fruit and vegetables for the long journey ahead. This road will eventually cross the mountains, going all the way to Sohar on the coast. Turn off this road and head left, deep into the bowels of the last remnants of the mountains. You will be heading into Wadi Fatha, kicking up fine dust to begin with, and then hard rock as you make your way between Jebel Abyad and Khashtah. Hours later, once you have driven across a roller-coaster route over rock, through road construction and past thick clumps of date palms, you will emerge towards the end of the wadi, the most interesting bit. Past the last outpost police station – little more than a room with an earth-coloured Land Cruiser outside – you will be near the pools of water with their little fish and beetles that swim underwater.

You could even dabble in a bit of stone-age history if you're up for a short detour to Bat. The area around the town contains tombs that date as far back as 3,500BC. You will find these tower-like stone structures set against the massive backdrop of Jebel Misht. From excavations of such sites it is believed that Oman had a thriving culture based on agriculture, built around irrigation systems fed by rains and floods. Wheat, barley and dates were grown, and sheep, goats and cattle were reared. The industry that put ancient Oman on the world map was mining and smelting, with copper being the most valuable metal at the time. It was sourced and developed all over the Hajar, and traded across civilisations like those around Mesopotamia. Venture back east towards the capital and you could even climb Jebel Misht, with its massive near-vertical rock face, investigate ancient magic at the little town of Bahla or trek up to Oman's highest point, Al Qannah, now widely known as Jebel Shams.

These can all wait for another time, and trips closer to home. For now you'll have the westernmost fringes to explore, sheer empty space at the edge of countries. Ahead, across the sand, is the UAE, and behind you the rest of Oman. Somewhere in between could just be your thrill for this summer.