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RAWAL

HIKING FROM QURM TO wadi ADAI

written and photographed by PINAKI CHAKRAVARTY

It sounded like a bird with a sore throat that had been
interrupted mid-gulp as it tried to swallow cough syrup

LABYRINTH
All you have to do is walk

The gazelle had been dead long enough to have its hair singed by the sun, and its skin dried brittle, so all that was left was a shell that made the animal look whole, while its insides had been hollowed out by a fox judging by the droppings around. Now, at least weeks if not months later, there was so little left that only the yellow hornets fed on it, while the dried remnants of what used to be its eye stared listlessly out at me.

Hidden away from the rest of the world by a labyrinth of unnamed and unexplored wadis, such spots could be anywhere. But they’re just around the corner. Between Qurm and Wadi Adai. Yes, Qurm, the residential and commercial patch of Muscat. There to the south, parallel to the sea, beyond the blur of traffic, shops and freshly kicked up dust from road construction, lies a mountain range that follows the city and its waterfront, right from Wattayah and Qurm to Bausher and on west, while also extending its way down south till it rises up and merges with the rest of the Eastern Hajar. You’ve seen it a million times – all you have to do is look up. And walk.

CONVERSATION KILLER
The best views in Muscat

There are easy points of entry from along what is commonly known as ‘Death Valley Road,’ which connects Qurm to Madinat as Sultan Qaboos that is now being turned into a highway. The trick is finding your way in to the dirt back-alley that runs from the Sultan Centre and comes out just after the traffic police offices. It is here that you will find a track heading steeply up the hill. You could have driven up a couple of years ago, but rains and landslides have eroded the way, so you’re better off parking down and walking up.

The first ten minutes is a real conversation killer – all you’ll be doing is panting and sweating, but that’s the worst of it. That patch of effort will open an entire world for you: a massive plateau from which you can look over the city, all the way from Ghubrah to your left to the Qurm Heights road to your right. And in-between: the desalination plant, two highways, the Shatti beachfront, the soft limestone of Ras al Hamra. Follow the dirt track as it snakes its way across the plateau, with slight undulations to your left, a deep wadi to your right and mountains rising in front. The path will meander forward, and will turn left just as it passes under a massive electricity tower. Turn with it, with the slopes now on your right and the sea to the left. Walk a few minutes and the path starts to dip a little and turn right, before sloping up ever so slightly and turning a bit to the left. It is about here that you must leave the way and walk up the side of the slope to your right, up to the cairn of stones we have shown here and marked with a GPS coordinate.

COUGHING FOXES
Follow the animals

We were up on the plateau one evening trying to figure out just where to leave the beaten path. And that’s just about the time when we heard the first cough. To be honest, we hadn’t the foggiest clue as to what that was. It sounded like a bird with a sore throat that had been interrupted mid-gulp as it tried to swallow cough syrup. In reality, it was a fox, exactly the same colour as the mud and rock, almost invisible until it moved. And it ran – across the plain and up the slope and over the hill, where we found the cairn and an old, forgotten path clinging on to the side of the hill, leading down a ravine and to a clearing that led to a wadi that would lead to Amerat.

You will not be alone. All around you, and frequently underneath, are the telltale signs of animals. From stray dogs that slink into the garbage bins of Qurm at night to foxes that cough and melt into the mountainside, the scratches of little gazelle hooves and the minute pear-shaped droppings of the deer that cannot be confused with those of goats, which are much bigger and more rounded. The droppings of foxes are a bit closer to those of a dog, but much smaller. Other signs include the burrows of some rodent, perhaps, webbed footprints in the dried remnants of puddles from the last rain and, most dramatic of all, the silver-grey glint of a snake diving away as you walk too close.

That will, most likely, be a wadi racer, a snake so full of character it has at least three names that offer descriptions. The English name describes it perfectly, for this snake moves so fast you will never see much of it. It is very thin and, if you’re lucky enough to spot one before it sees you, can move with an incredible grace when undisturbed. The last one we saw was deep in the wadi, and literally flung itself from one boulder to another, while we stood open-mouthed at such a display of speed and limbless dexterity. In Oman, the wadi racer is abu rawal, and also sikkan makkan, though even locals might not be familiar with the latter.

ANCIENT PEOPLE
Tombs and stones

Once you’ve left the path, walked up the hill and down into the clearing, you’re already in virgin territory. No other joggers and hikers come this way. This patch of open space is charming, and intriguing when you scratch the surface. At least a couple of ancient groups of toppled stones exist here, almost certainly tombs, although you have to have a developed eye to spot them. Like the hints of animals, you will find hints of human habitation through the wadi: the cairn marking the path, the handful of tombs and, where the wadi dips deep into recesses, a foot of a stone wall meant for sheltering goats or food.

The route is a bit on the longer side but is of continuously varied terrain so you never bore of it, and it doesn’t seem as long as it is. Lots of vegetation, winds blowing in between valleys and the thrill of constant discovery makes time fly here. The wadi narrows and drops – while always remaining easy to walk over – and then flattens out and opens up, till you get to an abandoned red and white barrier once used to close a dirt track that goes up a hill to an electricity pole. Just ahead, as the wadi twists left, are the remnants of what might have once been a dam, now just gargantuan chunks of concrete. And then, past the graffiti and football pitch, are the first few houses of a little pocket of Wadi Adai. Take a taxi out of here or leave a car behind – you’ll be at the Wadi Adai roundabout, between Hatat House and the Polyglot institute – in minutes.

Essentials

Don’t start the hike any later than 6am

It should take you three hours to walk from Qurm to Adai

Wear tough hiking shoes that are good on rock. Sandals are not good enough and sports shoes do not offer enough ankle support. They also tend to be too soft for this terrain

Carry enough water

Protect yourself from the sun. It will get hot and sunny towards the end

Don’t attempt this walk if there is the possibility of rain, which might flood the wadi

Do not venture into the wadis alone

Let someone know of your plan

If you get lost far into the walk keep following a major wadi – it will probably lead you to habitation