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a nomad in the land of nizwa

~ an American English teacher in Oman

a nomad in the land of nizwa

Tag Archives: Jebel Shams

exploring an nakhur gorge & a hike from the old village of ghul to the ridge of the canyon

07 Thursday Mar 2013

Posted by nomad, interrupted in Al-Dakhiliyah Region, An Nakhur Gorge, Jebel Shams, Middle East, Oman, Wadi Ghul

≈ 18 Comments

Tags

Jebel Shams, Oman, Travel

Thursday, March 7: It’s starting to get hot already in Oman, with an expected high today of 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 Fahrenheit).  Because of this, Mario and I decide to get an early start to hike from Wadi Ghul to the rim of An Nakhur Gorge on Jebel Shams.  He meets me at my flat at 7:30 and we’re on our way to tackle a section of Oman’s highest mountain.

old Ghul village clings to an orange hillside

old Ghul village clings to an orange hillside

We stop first for pictures at old Ghul village, a cluster of ruined mudbrick homes clinging to a rocky hill on the far side of the wadi, with a pretty patchwork of farm fields and date plantations in the foreground. The mudbrick homes blend in with, and even disintegrate into, the orange rocks of the hillside.  Along the far left of the village, a huge stone wall meanders all the way to the top of the first ridge.

terraces of date palms inside Wadi An Nakhur

terraces of date palms inside Wadi An Nakhur

The name ghul, means literally, “ghoul,” — a devilish kind of jinn.  It’s unclear why the village is thus named, although it may have something to do with the supernatural behavior of the nearby jinns of Bahla (Rough Guide to Oman).

the precipitous walls of An Nakhur Gorge

the precipitous walls of An Nakhur Gorge

We drive into An Nakhur Gorge where we see a brown rectangular sign mentioning Parking and the W6a trekking trail.  We follow that sign, looking for another sign and anything that looks like a parking lot.  We don’t see anything, and as we drive further and further into An Nakhur Gorge, with its steep cliffs looming on either side of us, we realize there is no way the top of the gorge is accessible from here.  The road, which is just a dirt track, is very bumpy and rough and we must take it slow and easy to avoid damaging my trusty GMC Terrain.

Looking up toward the ridge of An Nakhur Gorge

Looking up toward the ridge of An Nakhur Gorge

About 3 km into the gorge, we see a strange-looking black thing sitting atop a boulder.  It looks surreal.  Mario says, “Is that a head?  It looks like the head of an animal, maybe a goat.”  We both look closely as we drive by and certainly, it is very bizarre, but we can’t make out quite what it is.  We can see eyes, and some facial features, but it almost looks as if someone skinned an animal head and put the skin over a rock.  After passing this disturbing head that looks to me like a warning sign (Keep out!), we see a large splotch of blood in the wadi and a blood-drenched hide stretched out in the sun to dry.  I have to say I’m quite disturbed by this sight, even though I know Omanis butcher goats and cows all the time, as a matter of course, especially during the Eid holidays.  Uneasy, I say to Mario, “Should we continue?”  He says yes, and reminds me that Omanis regularly butcher animals for food. Still.  I find it very unsettling.

golden grasses and terraces of date palms

golden grasses and terraces of date palms

We drive through a little village, where four dirt-covered children jump out from nowhere and start knocking on our windows.  They keep saying what I think is “Eid Mubarak!” but it’s not Eid now and Mario says they want money. I make the mistake of giving them one rial, and when I do all the others start crying. “Me! Me! Me!!”  I dig out a couple of baisas, but still there is not enough for the 4th child and a crying fit ensues.  Annoyed by now at all this drama, we roll up our windows and continue driving down the gorge.

dripping rock with a tiny oasis of green

dripping rock with a tiny oasis of green

We drive on to the end of the gorge for 7 km until we come to a dead-end blocked by huge boulders.  Near the end we come across a large platform hung with rugs woven by the locals.  A young man approaches us and asks if we’d like to drink some tea and look at their rugs.  We’re anxious to begin our hike as it’s getting hotter by the minute, and besides, neither of us is in the market to buy anything now.

golden grasses and date palms

golden grasses and date palms

As we backtrack out of the gorge, we pass a number of date plantations built atop rock-walled terraces.  We see some glowing grasses in front of the date palms, quite a picturesque spot, so we stop for photos.

Wadi An Nakhur

Wadi An Nakhur

Wadi An Nakhur

Wadi An Nakhur

Further on, we pass a beautiful mango tree in full bloom and we make another stop for photos.

blooming mango tree

blooming mango tree

the mango tree

the mango tree

textures in Oman's wadis

textures in Oman’s wadis

Finally, we make it back to old Ghul village, and looking carefully along the wadi, we see a large peeling sign hidden behind some trees.  Aha!  We get out to inspect, and find it is the sign for the W6a trek.  Nearby, we see the red, yellow and white flag sign painted on a rock, the mark for the trail.  We park the car alongside the wadi and begin our trek at 10:40, later than we hoped to start.

Finally, the beginning of the W6a trail

Finally, the beginning of the W6a trail

We walk through the ruined village, which truly is disintegrating into the rocky hillside.  Down below we see the small patchwork farms and the date plantations.  As we head up and up, over rocky and gravelly terrain, we follow the signs up along the rock wall all the way to the ridge.

old Ghul village

old Ghul village

ruins of old Ghul

ruins of old Ghul

view of the plantations through a door in the ruined village

view of the plantations through a door in the ruined village

following the path through old Ghul village

following the path through old Ghul village

ruins

ruins

walls of a deteriorating home

walls of a deteriorating home

Up here, there is little to no vegetation and the sun is beating down on us.  Luckily there is a bit of a breeze.  However, with the loose and jagged rocks underfoot and the steep climb, it is rough going.  We are panting and sweating.  We come to the ridge, which we walk along for a while, until we see the painted signs leading us down into a valley and up another higher ridge.

the view of the patchwork fields from above the old village of Ghul

the view of the patchwork fields from above the old village of Ghul

fields of green

fields of green

view of fields from old Ghul village

view of fields from old Ghul village

Once we start climbing the higher ridge, we find it quite strenuous.  There are some areas of smooth rock, but most of the terrain is made of more loose jagged rock which moves under our feet as we walk.  I am so exhausted I can hardly lift my legs to climb and I am gasping for breath.  Either I’m really out of shape or this is a really arduous hike.  Most likely, it’s both factors combined.

a section of An Nakhur Gorge

a section of An Nakhur Gorge

the view into Wadi Ghul from above old Ghul village

the view into Wadi Ghul from above old Ghul village

I comment to Mario that I have decided I’m not a big fan of Jebel Shams.  I find Jebel Akhdar to be much more user-friendly.  On Jebel Akhdar, there is a lot of green, and beautiful scenic views on relatively short (2-hour long), well-marked, and easy hikes.  Photo opportunities abound on Jebel Akhdar.  Once you’re in the heart of Jebel Shams, it’s just brown & gray and tough, rocky terrain.  The photos are not especially interesting.  For me, as I love photography, I find it’s a lot of work for too little return.

plant life on the W6a trail

plant life on the W6a trail

rough terrain on the trail

rough terrain on the trail

plant life and my beat-up shoes

plant life and my beat-up shoes

a flowering tree in the middle of rocky terrain

a flowering tree in the middle of rocky terrain

Mario and I decide to walk until 12:30, at which time we’ll turn around.  Slowly, slowly, we make it to the ridge of An Nakhur Gorge by about 12:15, but by this time I’m wiped out and I have no idea how I will make it back down over that terrain.

Finally, the ridge of An Nakhur Gorge, Oman's "Grand Canyon"

Finally, the ridge of An Nakhur Gorge, Oman’s “Grand Canyon”

We admire the gorge from the top.  We can see the meandering gray dirt track below, where we drove a couple of hours earlier.  We wonder how much further Al Khitaym, the end of the trail, is, but we don’t really have the energy to find out.  Al Khitaym is also the start of the Balcony Walk, which goes to the abandoned village of As Sab, deeper into An Nakhur Gorge (the balcony walk from al khitaym to the abandoned village of as sab. {jebel shams}).  Maybe Mario has the energy to find out, but I certainly don’t!

the wall above the old village of Ghul

the wall above the old village of Ghul

Finally, we head back down.  I think the way back will be slower because we will have to step gingerly over the loose rock on a downhill slope, but most of the loose rock is lodged among other loose rock, so it doesn’t slide out from under our feet as readily as we think it will.  At one point, I do slip and fall, hurting my right knee, the one with the partial knee replacement.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve fallen on that knee since I had that surgery.  I manage to get up and dust myself off, but I’m not happy about the fall.

coming back down to Ghul: the view

coming back down to Ghul: the view

Finally, we make it down the bottom and back to the car.  By this time it is 1:40, so we’ve been hiking for 3 hours.  It feels like it was a 6 hour hike!  By this time our bottled water is warm and of course the extra water we left in the car is warm as well.  We head to Al Hamra, where we stop at a restaurant for a late lunch.  We pour ourselves some cold water.  In addition, I order a cold orange Fanta and a fresh banana juice.  I am so thirsty and tired I can hardly move.

The heat has begun in Oman and we’re unlikely to have much reprieve from it in my remaining time here.  I don’t think any more long hikes are in store for me in my last 110 days.  Maybe some off-road drives or some short walks, but no more of these long hikes over rough mountainous terrain.

When I return home around 3:00 today, I take a shower, put on my pajamas and lie on the couch, exhausted.  I promptly fall asleep and wake up close to 6:00.   What a day!!

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the balcony walk from al khitaym to the abandoned village of as sab. {jebel shams}

09 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by nomad, interrupted in Al Khitaym, An Nakhur Gorge, As Sab, Balcony Walk, Jebel Shams, Jebel Shams Motel, Oman

≈ 37 Comments

Tags

Jebel Shams, Oman, Travel

Friday, November 9:   I hiked this ancient donkey path before, in March of this year, on a much hotter day than today (the balcony walk at jebel shams).  On that day, eight months ago, I never made it to the abandoned village of As Sab.

Today we make it.

me with the field of cairns along the Balcony Walk at Jebel Shams

the path ahead. If you look hard, you can see the path along the “balcony” etched about halfway between the bottom of the top cliff and the cliff below….

Sultan & Mario on the path ahead!

the mountain above the path

This time, it’s Mario, Sultan and me. We drive over an hour on windy roads, some paved, some not, from Nizwa, beginning at 8:30 a.m. At 10:00 we begin our hike. The weather is crisp and breezy atop Jebel Shams, possibly 25 degrees Celsius, highly unusual for Oman. Not a single cloud is evident, but a heavy haze blurs the air.  The views are stupendous, looking over the precipice into Wadi An Nakhur, “The Grand Canyon” of Oman.  We walk mostly downhill from Al Khitaym (altitude 1,900 meters), along the west flank of the canyon.  It takes us 2 1/2 hours to reach the abandoned village of As Sab because it’s slow going downhill.  We stop for photos, exclaiming over the view.  With the sheer drop-offs along both sides of the gorge, the path ahead looks treacherous, but once we come upon the spots we see from afar, we find the dangerous looking trail is an optical illusion.  It’s actually relatively easy-going.  And not as scary as it looks.

this is the view looking back from whence we came!  The path is somewhere at the top of this cliff.

the “Grand Canyon” of Oman

me on the precipice! 🙂

one of the many cairns along the way

right above this arch carved in the rock is the abandoned village of As Sab and its dried-up agricultural terraces

the terraces of As Sab

We finally reach the abandoned village of As Sab. This village, formerly known as Sab Bani Khamis, was home at one time to about 15 families.  It was well-protected against enemies and had a good supply of water.  The houses, which remain in dilapidated condition, were built primarily of stone.  Local woods include spina christi, juniper, acacia, and olive. The crops produced on terraces on the mountainside included watermelon, onion, chili pepper, tomato, wheat, pomegranate, lemon and basil.  The families also had livestock herds, including goats, sheep and donkeys.   I don’t know the date the village was abandoned but, according to Explorer Oman Trekking, the former inhabitants now live in Wadi Ghul, a village at the bottom of the wadi, and Al Hamra, a larger village about 37 km away.

Sultan & Mario near the entrance to the village of As Sab

the old stone houses

more rudimentary houses

the village

a doorway into the past

more of the village

the neighborhood

more of the village

the village watchtower

After poking around in the village, Mario and Sultan build a cairn (a man-made stack of stones) to mark that we were here.  We’ve passed literally hundreds of other cairns along the Balcony Walk.

Mario & Sultan build their own cairn

Mario & Sultan’s cairn

We check out the stone houses, the terraces, the rock overhang, and the little goats wandering around in the village.  It’s difficult to imagine people actually farming on these steep & narrow terraces.

the terraces

a little goat friend

another little friend we meet along the way

the view from the village looking back down the canyon

We have a plan to eat lunch at the Jebel Shams Motel.  They stop serving lunch at 3:00, and it’s 12:30.  We figure we better hurry to make it there in time.  The return trip is all uphill.  Believe it or not, though it took us 2 1/2 hours to get to As Sab, we make it back to the start in 1 1/2 hours.  The guys have left me in the dust most of the way, and I find myself constantly gasping for breath.  I don’t remember it being so steep on the way down!!   Every muscle in my body is aching and my knees are killing me. I have on new hiking boots and sharp pins and needles are stabbing my toes.  What’s the deal with that?

walking back (quickly!) along the path

Sultan & Mario take a rest… they’re really waiting for me to catch up!

goats eating leaves from a tree

colorful woven key chains and bracelets sold by the local villagers of Al Khitaym

Finally, we have a mediocre lunch at the hotel; we are famished so it doesn’t matter that it’s nondescript.  We drink fresh-ground coffee at a picnic table in the middle of the hotel grounds.  On our drive back to Nizwa, Mario and I chat about the university and all our frustrations while Sultan takes a nap in the backseat.   At my flat in Nizwa, we hang out many more hours, drinking wine, laughing, eating cheese and crackers, and simply enjoying each others’ company.

some of the rooms at the Jebel Shams hotel. Some of the rooms are tents….

Since I returned to Oman, I’ve felt very depressed about being here for another year. But today is a happy day.  I feel content and alive.  I love it when the weather is nice enough to get outdoors for a vigorous and scenic walk, when I’m in the company of fun, lively, and dear, friends, and when I’m energized with exercise and exploration.

Oh happy day. 🙂

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the balcony walk at jebel shams

02 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by nomad, interrupted in Al-Dakhiliyah Region, Balcony Walk, Jebel Shams, Khateem, Middle East, Oman

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Jebel Shams, Oman, Travel

Friday, March 3: Today I hike with my friend Moo along the spectacular Balcony Walk, probably the most famous hike in all of Oman.  The hike begins near the summit of Jebel Shams, at 3005 meters the highest mountain in the country.

Near the summit of Jebel Shams

It’s quite a long drive from Nizwa and up the mountain to the start of the hike, climbing steep winding roads, sometimes paved and sometimes not.  It takes a good hour or more just to get there.  The main road up the mountain finishes at the Jebel Shams Resort where the road turns to dirt and gravel.  This road finishes at the small village of Khateem, which is just a handful of tiny houses perched on the edge of the canyon.  Local women and children have tables set up and they try to sell us traditional black-&-red rugs, along with colorful key chains, bracelets and other trinkets made of wool from the long-haired goats that putter around the mountains.

me ready to tackle the Balcony Walk on Jebel Shams

Khateem is the starting point for the Balcony Walk, which winds along the edge of kilometer-high cliffs up the rim of Wadi Nakhr to the abandoned village of As Sab.  It is supposed to be a three-hour round trip hike to As Sab, but I don’t know this at the time and Moo estimates a much longer time.  We pass other groups along the way who warn, “Turn around!  It’s just more of the same and very hard!” Because of Moo’s estimate and these naysayers, we end up turning around one hour into the hike.

the balcony walk

the balcony walk

When we return to Khateem after our hike, I run into my friend Maurio, who is just beginning the hike.  He later tells me that it if I had continued one-half hour more, I would have made it to the village.  When I hear this, I regret not going all the way.  I guess I will have to go back and attempt the entire hike!

You can see the path, called Balcony Walk, about halfway between the top and bottom of this picture

Despite the fact we don’t make it to the village, the hike in itself is astounding enough.  The path goes along the cliffs, overlooking a precipitous canyon.  Most of the time the path has a sloping drop-off on one side; below this steep slope, the cliff drops off dramatically into a deep & perpendicular chasm.

looking up the cliffs from the path

As we walk around a bend we can see the path along the cliff on the other side.  It looks from that angle like it is terrifyingly steep and I’m a little nervous about walking on it as I have a fear of heights.  However, it’s deceiving because as you actually walk on the path, there is that seemingly protective slope leading to the cliff edge, where it drops off to a perpendicular wall.  The slope is steep, so I guess it is possible you could tumble down the slope and then over the cliff, but the slope makes me feel a little safer.

piles of hiker wishes

the hiking marker and a hiker’s rock “sculpture”

Anyway, the pictures tell it all, as we just hike silently and enjoy the scenery.  It really is amazing, this landscape in Oman, a lesson in distortion, in prehistoric upheaval.  Oman is a geologist’s heaven, with its gargantuan sedimentary limestone formations, the color palette ranging from sandstone oranges and reds to chalky grays and greens.

looking into the chasm

along the Balcony Walk

a little friend we meet along the way

Simply stunning.

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  • Fairfax County Emergency Information
  • ~ wander.essence ~
  • Living in Paradise...
  • SterVens' Tales
  • PIRAN CAFÉ
  • Word Wabbit
  • Cardinal Guzman
  • Pit's Fritztown News
  • Fumbling Through Italy
  • Empty Nesters on a Green Global Trek
  • snowtoseas
  • Cornwall in Colours
  • Slovenian Girl Abroad
  • Let Me Bite That
  • Running Stories by Jerry Lewis
  • Finding NYC
  • The World according to Dina
  • Cornwall Photographic
  • snippetsandsnaps
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Fairfax County Emergency Information

Official Fairfax County Government Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery Website

~ wander.essence ~

where travel meets art

Living in Paradise...

SterVens' Tales

~~~In Case You Didn't Know, I Talk 2 Myself~~~

PIRAN CAFÉ

Word Wabbit

Wrestless Word Wrestler

Cardinal Guzman

Encyclopedia Miscellaneous - 'quality' blogging since August 2011

Pit's Fritztown News

A German Expat's Life in Fredericksburg/Texas

Fumbling Through Italy

Empty Nesters on a Green Global Trek

snowtoseas

Cornwall in Colours

inspired by the colours of the land, sea and sky of Cornwall

Slovenian Girl Abroad

A blog about travel adventures written by an Slovenian girl living in Switzerland

Let Me Bite That

Can I have a bite?

Running Stories by Jerry Lewis

Personal blog about running adventures

Finding NYC

exploring New York City one adventure at a time

The World according to Dina

Notes on Seeing, Reading & Writing, Living & Loving in The North

Cornwall Photographic

snippetsandsnaps

Potato Point and beyond

SITTING PRETTY

Fairfax County Emergency Information

Official Fairfax County Government Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery Website

~ wander.essence ~

where travel meets art

Living in Paradise...

SterVens' Tales

~~~In Case You Didn't Know, I Talk 2 Myself~~~

PIRAN CAFÉ

Word Wabbit

Wrestless Word Wrestler

Cardinal Guzman

Encyclopedia Miscellaneous - 'quality' blogging since August 2011

Pit's Fritztown News

A German Expat's Life in Fredericksburg/Texas

Fumbling Through Italy

Empty Nesters on a Green Global Trek

snowtoseas

Cornwall in Colours

inspired by the colours of the land, sea and sky of Cornwall

Slovenian Girl Abroad

A blog about travel adventures written by an Slovenian girl living in Switzerland

Let Me Bite That

Can I have a bite?

Running Stories by Jerry Lewis

Personal blog about running adventures

Finding NYC

exploring New York City one adventure at a time

The World according to Dina

Notes on Seeing, Reading & Writing, Living & Loving in The North

Cornwall Photographic

snippetsandsnaps

Potato Point and beyond

SITTING PRETTY

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