Must-see attractions in Dhofar

Well-labelled and atmospherically lit at night, the ancient ruins of Al Baleed belong to the 12th-century trading port of Zafar. Frankincense was shipped…

The upper plateau of Jebel Samhan suddenly ends in a vertiginous drop more than 1000 meters to the coastal plain below. Barely a ledge interrupts the…

A popular picnic site during the khareef and a great place to enjoy the jebel in any season, Wadi Darbat is a grassy plateau in the hills marked by Oman's…

Looking across one of Dhofar's prettiest bays at peacefully grazing camels and flocks of flamingos, it’s hard to imagine that 2000 years ago Khor Rori was…

The sands of the Empty Quarter begin to curl around the road on the approach to Al Hashman, then very quickly coddle into small mounds and ergs (wind…

Oman’s most spectacular bay ends in a set of sheer cliffs that reaches towards the Yemeni border. Immediately below the start of these cliffs the rock…

The most striking of all the springs scattered across the Salalah Plain, Ayn Razat flows copiously from the hillside at all times of year and rolls across…

This remarkable rock formation affords the opportunity of seeing a living stalactite in the making without having to clamber through a cave to do so…

The Sarfait road, which links Salalah with the Yemeni border via Mughsail, is one of Oman's many impressive engineering projects. Zigzagging nearly 1000m…

Ubar is an archaeological site of potentially great importance. Lost to history for more than 1000 years, the rediscovery of the remains of this once…

Separated from the rest of the Salalah Plain by the vertical cliffs of Mughsail, and accessed via the Sarfait Rd, Fizayah Beach is one of the most…

This small reserve, 40km north of Salalah, protects a 5km grove of ancient frankincense trees and is listed by Unesco as part of the frankincense-related…

Every few years, steady rains across the jebel result in a torrent of water racing across Wadi Darbat and falling over the edge, 300m to the Salalah Plain…

In religious terms, this tomb is probably the most important site in Dhofar. The tomb of Prophet Job, mentioned in the Old Testament and venerated by…

This small but well-preserved castle was built in the 19th century. With a furnished interior, good signage and an accompanying booklet explaining the…

Housing the remains of Mohammed Bin Ali, a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, this tiny tomb, with its two distinctive onion domes, marks the old…

Just before reaching a spring of the same name, a small car park appears on the right-hand side of the road and a paved path disappears mysteriously into…

Conforming to the typical image of a desert oasis, with palm trees, permanent water and grazing camels, Muqshin is renowned for a less expected wonder: a…

The flat plain near Qitbit has little hint of fecundity so it may come as some surprise that it is the habitat of thousands of sand grouse. These…

This magical stretch of white sand beach extends almost as far as the eye can see. There's a tiny village halfway along its length, famous for the…