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When planning your trip to Al Hoota Cave, don't forget the range of attractions that surround it. Since you can be there in about a couple of hours, and since the cave takes about an hour to walk through, you can fill your day with other things too. The overall area is rich in attractions that have for many years overshadowed the previously undeveloped cave: some of Oman's highest peaks, walks to ancient village terraces and yawning canyons. They’re all there for the taking, more accessible than ever.

Grand Canyon
Looking into the abyss
Well, the top of the canyon at least. This is certainly the best part, and the most easily accessible. It's a hard road all the way to the top, and even sedans do it, although we recommend a 4WD. Everyone will love the fantastic views down into the gaping canyon, and, what's more, you have a choice of overnight accommodation depending on how adventurous you are. You can either camp out in the open on your own, or sleep and eat at the motel.

The Centre for Travelling and Camping in Jebel Shams offers little villas, with two beds, hot water and a patio, little camping tents complete with mattresses and larger Bedouin style tents in which you can laze around. Call Faris al Khatry on 99 611956, and look up more numbers, along with web addresses of the Centre, in our Guide section.

When hiking around the areas, remember to bring the proper equipment:

* Good hiking boots with ankle support
* Loose cotton clothing for the hike, and warm clothing for the cold nights
* A sleeping bag and mat
* Torch and extra batteries
* Food and water
* First aid kit
* Map, compass/ GPS
* Sunscreen with 30+ SPF
* Lip moisturiser with an SPF rating too
* Hat/ cap/ head cloth and sunglasses
* GSM... yes you do get coverage a lot of the way
* Mirror and whistle to signal for help

Jebel Shams
The highest peak in Oman
This is the highest peak in the sultanate, a four-hour trek from the Grand Canyon (that's just going up �think another few hours down), and the undisputed top of the food chain in the list of to-do things in Oman. But there are two things that we've got horribly wrong over the years. Firstly, this is really Al Qannah �Jebel Shams is a relatively new entrant on the map that has caught on and stuck. Secondly, when you're up on the plateau where the motel is, it really is the top of the Grand Canyon, not the peak. That's four hours above. Follow the hiking path signs from the Grand Canyon to reach the summit.

The rim walk
Hiking to the abandoned village
If you like walking and have a good head for heights, it doesn't get better than hiking along the inside edge of the Grand Canyon. Imagine a ledge a few feet across, high above the canyon floor 1,900m below. Wake up at the crack of dawn and set off from the motel, following the signposts to hiking path W6, which starts from the little village of Al Khatim. It is little more than a sprinkling of a few stone rooms stuck to the side of the canyon. Park your car here, and set off down the trekking path marked by daubs of paint �bands of yellow, white and red �against the rock. You'll have the privilege of some of the greatest, most stunning views in the sultanate. This is the closest you'll ever get to a bird's eye view.

Walk along the ridge, sticking to the folds of the mountainside, until the path ends at the abandoned village of Sap Bani Khamis. It was inhabited for hundreds of years, its residents protected from the outside world by the toughest approach possible. Explore the sparse ruins of stone houses, a one-room mosque with a carved wooden door and empty food stores. Below are terraced plantations now bare, and ahead of you a pool of water. The ridge opens out quite wide at the village, up to maybe 50ft, and this is a great place to camp for a while.

Walk on from the village, going on straight and then upwards and to the left, to the hidden pool of water cupped in the mountain wall, almost above the abandoned village a few terraces below. This is one of the most beautiful spots, a place of hidden quiet beauty; in direct contrast to the sheer grandeur of the more exposed parts of the walk. The absolute stillness of the water, half-choked at the corners with plants, reflects the silence of the mountain. Somewhere over the terraces a bird twitters, then another, only to die down into the silence of the canyon.

Wadi Nakhr and Wadi Ghul
Slithering through the bottom
There are two sides to the Grand Canyon, and funnily enough, it is more adventurous to drive along its floor, which few do, than drive up on the very good road leading to the top. Turn into the wadi at Ghul village, and you can follow the narrow, winding stony wadi all the way till the end. You'll need a hardy 4WD, and will make your way over stones and a bit of water. Down in the wadi you will find a few villagers actually weaving the rugs that you can buy on top of the Grand Canyon, and you will be invited to a round of kahwa and dates. A bit of hospitality on the floor of the Grand Canyon can be the perfect topping to a day spent at dizzying heights among the remnants of an extraordinary people who live off the sheer cliff face. If you’re up to it, there are ways to hike to the top, over many hours.

Al Hamra
Halwa and ancient architecture
Since Hoota sits literally in the backyard of Al Hamra, this is the best idea yet, and the least you should do when visiting the cave. The old town has been long abandoned, but you can still wander along the old paths and enjoy the old architecture, which is set aglow in the evening light. Hamra possibly got its name from the Arabic word for red, ahmer, also the predominant colour of its soil. This is also the tinge of its traditional architecture. Follow the old falaj into the backroads of town and you will find the halwa maker �enough reason for the trip in itself.

Misfat al Abriyeen
Fairytale on a hillside
Misfat al Abriyeen is little more than a warren of houses clinging to the hillside, above Al Hamra. There are little more than 1,000 people who live here, and the predominant sounds are those from braying donkeys, swishing date palms and water flowing through the falaj. Misfat seemed like a fairytale in the evening, with its winding pathways and houses almost piled on top of each other. You will find no level ground here �you have to go either up or down.

Birkat Sharaf
Under the olives, above everything else If you're up to a hike uphill for 5-7 hours, Birkat Sharaf is a dream come true. Spend the night at Misfat's campsite facilities, complete with shelter and toilets, and hike up the next day with a guide, preferably one with a donkey for your pack. Birkat Sharaf is just a fold in the rock, a ridge in the crest, with the mountain falling behind you into Misfat, and ahead of you into Wadi Sahtan. You can lie here under a juniper tree and enjoy the weather that comes with the altitude of 2,000m. This spot has been used by travellers for hundreds of years, crossing from one wadi to another, and you will have a stone room and pool of water for company. Some people carry on down the other side, but this is really pushing it, for the journey down is quite demanding, and it stretches over 11 hours. It is also ignoring the best part of the trip, which is a night under the stars at the highest point between the wadis.

Sharaf al Alamayn
Crossing over
if you have the time, there's no reason to come back the way you came. After exploring Hoota and its sister attractions, head up the road that winds up the mountain, between Al Hamra and the cave. The signs point to Balad Seet. This is the only road that crosses the Western Hajar, from north to south (you'll be entering from the southern side).

Right at the top is a point called Sharaf al Alamayn, little more than an old stone room for travellers, followed by a level natural viewpoint. There are also lots of hikes you can do from here, joining ones that set off from Misfat and Jebel Shams. The way up is steep, but largely paved, but the way down is very steep, and very unfinished. Put your 4WD in its lowest gear for the really tough part. On the other slope, visit the ancient mountain stronghold of Balad Seet, with its terraced plantations nestled in the folds of the Hajar.

When down, you'll come out around Snake Gorge (Wadi Bani Auf) and join the excellent road around that passes by Al Awabi and Nakhl, and later joins the highway that will take you straight to Seeb and Muscat. Awabi is the gateway to the ancient stone carvings of Wadi Bani Kharus and Wadi Hijir, but leave those for another day.