Must-see attractions in Dhofar

A celebrated local beauty spot, this khor (inlet) is often partitioned from the sea by a sandbar that shrinks and grows according to the season. In the…

One of the prettiest springs sprinkled across the eastern Salalah Plain, this one ushers from a bare rock and is channelled through a zigzagging concourse…

Salalah is famous for its plantations of coconuts, papayas and bittersweet, small bananas. Stroll through the plantation roads near the corniche (2km from…

One of the most visited of the springs issuing from the foothills surrounding Salalah, Ayn Garziz often has a generous flow of water collecting at the…

This newly completed, single-dome mosque with two minarets is a gift from His Majesty to the people of his mother's hometown, Salalah. It's open to…

Identified in 1997, this 90 million cu metre–sinkhole is one of the largest of its kind in the world. Elliptical in shape, it has a depth of 250m and is…

Botanists may be surprised to find a small stand of baobab trees gracing the thickets just above the Salalah Plain. These magnificent giants, their trunks…

Tiny compared with its more bountiful neighbours, this spring collects in a small well in the middle of a rural road at the northern rim of the plain. Of…

The town’s main fort is now derelict despite being the site of the well-documented Battle of Mirbat. Nine soldiers kept 300 insurgents from taking Mirbat…

Below the village of Ayoon there are some natural pools surrounded by tall stands of reeds and other vegetation. The pools are accessed along a 3km off…

Of passing interest in the town of Mirbat is the old quarter, where some merchant houses still stand proud along the beach front. Some are still lived in,…

This enormous palace complex, with villas and landscaped gardens along the beach front, is home to the family of Oman's ruler, Sultan Qaboos Bin Said…

One of several issuing from the hills above the plain to the east of Salalah, this spring trickles into a reservoir at the end of the road. The spring…

This deep sinkhole (1 million cu metres), known as the Well of Birds, gapes without warning in a corrugated landscape of rock, covered in thicket. A small…

Recently restored, this old crenellated castle is set square to the sea as if designed to repel invaders. It's closed to the public but makes a photogenic…