DAY 01 : AHLAN WA SAHLAN! WELCOME TO OMAN

Arrive at Muscat International Airport by morning and Transfer by air-conditioned vehicle with Italian Speaking Guide. We start your Muscat city tour from Airport

Our first visit the *Grand Mosque, which is an architectural marvel and is perhaps the new landmark of the city.

*:-The Grand Mosque is open Sat to Thu from 0800-1100 hrs only.

: -Ladies visiting the Grand Mosque are required to cover their head with scarf and do not wear shorts, beachwear or sleeveless outfits as they are to be fully covered

: – Men visiting the Grand Mosque should wear long trousers.

Continue our journey bay of Muscat dominated by the flanks of the two forts Mirani in the west and Jalali in the east. There is also the Al Alam Palace, where you have enough time for a walk and for photos.

Afterwards, you will travel through the harbor district to the Mutrah Souq, one of the oldest souqs in Oman. The narrow, winding streets make the area appear like a labyrinth. Everywhere it smells of sweets, spices, incense, incense, perfume oils and perfume.

check-in  at  the  hotel  (Check  in  time  is  14.00  Hrs.  For early check in, room need to be pre-booked from previous night with supplement charges)

Overnight in Muscat.

DAY 02 : MAJESTIC FORTS & MOUNTAIN VILLAGE

(MUSCAT-Bahla-Jabreen- NIZWA)

Meet with your Italian Speaking guide at the Hotel lobby at 8.30 am.

Today you have again a wonderful day

Forts and castles are Oman’s most striking cultural landmarks and together with its towers and city walls, they have historically been used as defensive bastions or look-out points.   It is estimated that there are over 500 forts, castles and towers in Oman.  Your visit today would include a few of them, which are more remarkable & striking in their architecture & style.

Continue your drive to the Jabreen castle. Built as a defensive stronghold, the Jabreen is perhaps the finest of Omani castles. The castle has dungeons, passages,  rooms  and  ceilings  decorated  with  fine  carvings  &  paintings.  This castle is distinguished by the inscriptions and frescoes that adorn its rooms. The castle’s ceilings are decorated with paintings and Islamic-era style inscriptions, and its doors are beautifully carved. All these architectural details make Jabreen Castle an authentic expression of Omani craftsmanship.

On your way, stop for photo at the Bahla Fort, which is a UN World heritage Site (still not open to Public). The fort and settlement, a mud-walled oasis in the Omani desert, owed its prosperity to the Banu Nebhan tribe (Nabahina), who dominated the central Omani region and made Bahla their capital from the 12th to the end of the 15th century. Bahla was the centre of Ibadism (a branch of Islam), on which the ancient Omani Imamates were based and whose influence can be traced across Arabia, Africa and beyond.

If time permits, You may explore the village of Al Hamra, at the foot of the mountains, where 400 years old mud houses are still standing and occupied.

Continue driving up to Misfat Al Abriyeen and you can take a walk around this village to see its fascinating history, agriculture and falaj watering system.

Most houses in this little village are built from mud bricks and clay and many of them have been built more than a hundred years ago.

Overnight at Nizwa

DAY 03 : NIZWA & DUNES OF WAHIBA

(NIZWA, Cattle Market, Souq & fort -Ibra-WAHIBA SANDS)

Friday sees the ancient Omani capital of Nizwa come to life for the weekly livestock market where farmers and traders arrive from as far afield as Salalah with their animals to barter and trade at one of the finest traditional markets in the Middle East, this extensive marketplace is dedicated mostly to fruit and vegetables, meat and fish, all of which are housed in new buildings behind the great, crenulated piece of city wall that overlooks the wadi.

You may visit the Nizwa fort and the Nizwa souq.  The 17th century round fort and the souq famous for intricate silver jewelry are the major attractions of Nizwa. Built on a solid base of rock, the huge tower was designed to withstand the vibrations of 24 cannons.

Today you would also see some fascinating diversity of Oman’s landscape; from the dunes of Wahiba to verdant wadis, and some pretty oasis towns too.  The drive takes you through a cross section of Oman’s geography through arid lands, wadis, and oasis villages.

Continue your drive towards Wahiba Sands.

You will drive to the interior of Oman, passing the desert town of Ibra and you wou will start seeing the beauty of the sand dunes rising as you drive closely along the bordering villages.  On the inland side of the great mountainous backbone of the Sultanate of Oman, where sands lap at the thresholds of farmlands, a string of border towns marks the zone of transition between nomadic and settled peoples. In the oasis villages of Oman, however, desert and village economies have mingled for ages to their mutual benefit.

We board 4WDs for your transfer to the desert Camp.

Living within and along the Sands are approximately 3000 pastoralist Bedouins belonging to different tribes and who owns mainly herders of goats and camels.

Running south from the Eastern Hajjar Mountains to Arabian Sea, the Wahiba Sands, described a Sand sea, stretches almost 200 kms in length and about 100 kms in width. The dunes rise  above  100-150  meters  in  different  shades  of colour and shifting sands, is the perfect place for both the romantic and the adventurous. A roller-coaster ride over the dunes would a thrilling fun especially for those who are first time visitors to the desert.

On your way, you are likely to pass by many of the Bedouine house, and encounter beoudine people who are very hospitable and not spoilt by tourism.

Be amazed at the spectacular sun set over the dunes! You will certainly enjoy the ambience at your desert camp and of course the dinner.

DAY 04 : WADI, DHOWS & TURTLES

(WAHIBA SANDS- Wadi Bani Khalid – Ras Al Jinz – SUR)

Getting up early in the morning provides you a fantastic opportunity to explore the dunes by foot or to just watch the shifting colours of the dunes.  Enjoy short camel rides inside the camp before saying good-bye to the dunes!

We board our coach to continue our tour.

You will take the winding road up to the picturesque Wadi Bani Khalid.  The Wadi has several beautiful mountain formations and landscapes. The walk to the pools of  Wadi  Bani Khalid  is quite  interesting,  along  the  falaj  (small irrigation canals) and past mango trees and other crops.  Farmers in the area, despite the rough terrains, have managed to cultivate land at the foothills of the mountains by using the water streams to irrigate the crops.

This is quite a refreshing visit; and you would be able enjoy a swim in the waters here.

Continue your drive towards Sur and immediately after Al Kamil, there is an area where there are good chances of seeing camels (crossing the road!).Sur has historical importance and dhows used to sail to India and other countries from Sur. Many of the rich people of Oman belong to Sur and you can see many big seaside mansions along the way. Driving on to Sur, we would visit the Dhow building yard (though in recent times, unfortunately, the amount of dhows built here is very few! We are therefore unable to guarantee ant activity during the visit)

You would also visit the village of Ayja, a small town on the other side of Sur, lulled by the sea and quite charming with quaint houses on both sides of narrow alleys, with goats and sheeps wandering the narrow streets, this is really an interesting town for the visitors.

We drive to Ras Al Jinz for the Turtle watching tour depending on the time confirmed.

Ras Al Hadd is where the first sunrise in the whole of Arabian Peninsula is seen – the adjoining Ras al-Jinz houses one of the largest nesting areas for Green Turtles in the Indian Ocean. An exceptionally high amount of turtles nest here each year, with an average of 30,000 only nesting on the beaches of Ras al-Jinz.  The turtle reserve opens at night (9.00 pm) as well as at dawn (4.00 am) for the public to see the turtles nestling on the sands and depending in your luck, you would be able to see a few or or more of these wonderful creatures. Please note that photography is allowed only during the dawn visit.

Overnight at Sur

DAY 05 : WADIS & COASTAL ESCAPADE

(SUR- Wadi Tiwi/ Wadi Shab – Bimah Sinkhole – MUSCAT)

Today you would embark on a long thrilling drive from Sur to Muscat. With stunning views of the waters of the Arabian Sea on one side and the rocky cliffs on the other, this is an exciting drive along the coast road to Muscat.

A few kilometers away are the ruins at of Qalhat, one of the oldest towns and seaports in Oman. However, only the remnants of the city walls remain here today.  Take a photo stop at the ruins of the tomb of the holy lady, Bibi Miriam, which stands high up on the cliff top.

Not far away is another picturesque wadi- Wadi Tiwi.  A walk through the narrow roads leads you to lush plantations and pools with clear water.

Stop at the Bimah Sinkhole, a spectacular limestone crater with blue green water at the bottom.

Drive to Muscat and check in hotel

After dropping at the hotel, the guide will bid farewell to you.

DAY 06 : FLY BACK!

(Departure)

After breakfast, free time until your transfer to Muscat airport by vehicle with English Speaking Driver for your departure flight (Room till 12.00 hrs).