Oman: 5 Coolest Activities Outside Muscat

Oman: 5 coolest activities outside Muscat

By Anna Purpurpurpur

Oman is a fantastic country to explore, so make sure you visit not only Muscat, a capital city, but travel around a bit too!

See my selection of fantastic experiences to try below.

1. Visit the old Nizwa

Nizwa is the old capital of Oman that is hidden by mountains and palm trees. It’s one of the oldest cities of the country and was the centre of trade and religious learning!

The ancient fort dating to the 17th century was recently restored, and you will admire it in its full magnificence.

Come to the top of the fort tower and learn about the ways it was defended (for instance, by pouring hot date syrup on the enemies or firing a canon!)!

Also, you can visit the rooms of students and other inhabitants of the fort, a small ethnographic museum and even a tiny enclosure with animals: oryxes, camels (we saw a baby camel there), deers, goats and rabbits. I hope they are well cared for!

Don’t miss Nizwa souq! It’s located just outside the fort, and you can wander along the narrow alleyways with illumination, explore the pottery shops of one of the oldest markets in the country.

There’s actually a bunch of different markets: a local halwa market, a fish market, a date market where you can introduce yourself to various kinds of dates, and see a spot of goat market that takes place once a week.

Also see magnificent mosques: Al Qala’a mosque and Al Shawadhna Mosque, one of the oldest in the country dating to the 7th century.

Finally, have a proper look at the Nizwa doors which are pretty famous because of the carvings!

The journey to Nizwa takes about 1,5h from Muscat.

2.Learn about the history of the country at the Museum of Oman Across Ages

Museum of Oman Across Ages is a must visit museum! It’s a super modern interactive museum from the early history of the land where Oman is located till more modern events.

It’s fun for kids too because you can become an admiral or defend the Fort of Nizwa or check the trade routes of Oman or learn about previous sultans and imams!

The museum itself is a piece of art: just look at these impressive architectural elements overlooking the dramatic scenery of mountains and desert!

Museum of Oman Across Ages is located just 15 min drive away from the Old Nizwa fort.

3.Learn about dhow tradition at Sur

Sur is a city in 200 km from Muscat, an important trade centre of the past and one of the oldest ports in the world. You can still come here to explore its beautiful watchtowers or forts.

And it might be a nice place to visit – especially if you’re planning to see turtles in the evening (see below).

Pop inside the traditional dhow boats factory too. For generations, local builders have been mastering their art of trucks and traditional Arabian boats.

You can witness this process by yourself and learn about the history of ship making. You can even see a ship in making from the inside.

4. Watch turtles at Ras Al Jinz

Ras Al Jinz is a protected area and a turtle nesting site, and is located about 3,5h from Muscat by car. You can visit it only with a tour and a guide (you buy the tickets inside, no need to reserve in advance), and you have to adhere to a set of rules not to disturb the animals.

We had dinner at the hotel at the reserve before our turtle watching tour. Visitors are divided into a few groups, with a guide assigned to each group, and carried almost to the seashore by a small bus.

Then you continue by walking in the dark, with a guide using red light. Of course, no flash, no torches, no loud speaking, no running. From June to late October turtles come to this beach from 8-8.30pm to lay eggs, and from November to May they appear less and later, like from 10pm. And we were super lucky !

First, we spotted a few newborns all making their way to the sea. Then our guide took us to the spot where a gorgeous green sea turtle was laying eggs in real time! After laying roughly a hundred eggs, a turtle covers them with sand – she’s visibly tired but keeps going – and just to give you a reference, it’s not a small turtle, it’s a huge one that weighs over 100kg! Next, a turtle has to dig a fake hole to confuse potential predators and to get attention away from the real nest. After that, she was on her way back to the sea.

5.…and participate in a stargazing session

At Ras Al Jinz, we also had a chance to participate in a stargazing session.

New iPhone was doing incredibly well with the stars, I must say, however obviously it’s nothing compared to a real professional telescope. We saw Saturn, Jupiter and of course the moon and some constellations. And this is a photo I took with my iPhone through the telescope.

What else?

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time for this, but you might also love to visit one of the wadi, or admire the Grand Canyon of Oman, or visit the Jabreen Castle!