Jebel Akhdar

Introducing Jebel Akhdar

Without a guide or some inside information Jebel Akhdar (Green Mountain) may seem something of a misnomer to the first-time visitor. Firstly, Jebel Akhdar refers not to a mountain as such, but to an area that encompasses the great Saiq Plateau, at 2000m above sea level. Secondly, the jebel keeps its fecundity well hidden in a labyrinth of wadis and terraces where the cooler mountain air (temperatures during December to March can drop to -5°C) and greater rainfall (hailstones even) encourage prize pomegranates, apricots and other fruit.

With a day or two to explore this ‘top of the beanstalk’, the determined visitor will soon stumble across the gardens and orchards that make this region so justly prized. If you stay at the hotel in Saiq, collect a hand-drawn map picking out some of the highlights of the area. It helps to think of Jebel Akhdar as two separate areas – an upper plateau, and a lower plateau on which the main town of Saiq is located. On the edge of the lower plateau, in a south-facing crescent, high above Wadi al-Muaydin, are spectacularly arranged terraced villages, where most of the market-gardening takes place.

In a weekend, you could spend one day exploring the upper plateau by car (turn first right after the hotel), picnic among magnificent mature juniper trees (in a perfect camp site about 2km after the Sultan’s experimental farm) and hike through wild olive and fig trees to sunset point (a right turn before the school). The following day, explore the lower plateau by dangling over Diana’s Viewpoint – named after the late Lady Diana of Britain who visited this vertiginous vista, with its natural pavement of fossils and dizzying view of the terraces below. Then, allowing extra time to adjust to the thin, high-altitude air, hike from Al-Aqor to Seeq around the edge of the crescent. This is particularly rewarding during spring when the fragrant, pink roses from which rosewater is made are in bloom.

Jebel Akhdar was the centre of fierce fighting during the Jebel Wars, and until recently access was restricted to residents and the military. Although a permit is no longer necessary to make the ascent, you are only permitted to approach the area in 4WD. There have been many accidents caused by people trying to make the long descent in a saloon car, using their brakes with disastrous consequences rather than changing gears.

The only alternative to 4WD is a walking trail through the terraced villages of Wadi al-Muaydin to the Saiq Plateau. You’ll need a guide and you should allow six hours from Birkat al-Mawz at the bottom of the wadi to reach the plateau (12 hours return). Beware: it’s an unrelenting uphill slog!

Last updated: Sep 25, 2008