Smooth, Scenic and Worth It: Wadi Shab From Muscat

When you feel like you need to press the reset button, spending a day in a from Muscat Wadi Shab and Bimmah sinkhole full-day tour is one of the easiest options available to you. I made mine a last-minute, and I was hoping that I could get out of the city a bit and it actually was that way; I saw nature, quietness and a little adventure all in one.

I was picked up in Muscat and at the very first moment, I realised the calmness of the roads in the morning. The scenery on the road leading to the wadi was worth travelling before one had reached the wadi. You have open coastline, expanses of desert and little villages sandwiched along the highway. It also helped me value the natural diversity in the country better.

The initial few minutes of the hikes at Wadi Shab were warm and sunny; however, the further we went up the canyon, the more the scenery changed; the high cliffs started to emerge around us and provided some shade and echoed the steps of the people. The blue waters before it were like emerald jewels. I couldn't wait to jump in.

Sailing on the crystal-clear water was most calming. Each swab of the stick waves across the canyon sides. Nothing is commercial about the swim; it is natural, pure, crude. I would mix some silence floating along with some laughter as other travellers were doing their ideal pose of the perfect dive.

We went on to visit the Bimmah Sinkhole after the exquisite commotion of Wadi Shab, and it was an attraction of another sort. It was more open, brighter than that, almost like a natural amphitheatre of blue water and limestone walls. A dip here was the right refreshment.

This day-long tour is so convenient for anyone seeking to have some time to relax and, at the same time, explore. You do not have to plan or worry, just grab your swimsuit, water and spend time in one of the most popular natural places in Oman. Truly worth every minute.