Eastern Hajar Mountains

The Hajar Mountains form the central and south-eastern reaches of that 600km rocky spine which climbs out of the sea in the Musandam Peninsula marches, parallel to the Gulf of Oman, until it stutters out south of Sur far to the south-east.

See more information on the Hajar Mountains.

The Eastern Hajar themselves run for a couple of hundred kilometers. There is a plethora of great walks here, from short explorations to multi-dayers. Note that few paths are marked (and indeed often barely exist, often being on faint animal tracks), and, given the contorted nature of the landscape, it is easy to get lost, so walk with care: a guide is a good idea for long/remoter walks.

E35: The path from Wadi Bani Khalid to Wadi Tiwi across the range via the Selma Plateau offers a classic mountain traverse, a fine but demanding trek along ancient donkey trails across the rough Selma Plateau in the Eastern Hajar, from Wadi Bani Khalid to Wadi Tiwi on the coast (or vice versa).

At 28km long, and involving more than 1,800m of altitude difference bottom to top, this is a long and tiring route. While it can be done in 14hours with a day pack, most people will camp up on the plateau and make 2 days of it.

Wadi Bani Khalid: This fine gorge accessed from the south-east of the Eastern Hajar contains some beautiful pools in deep clefts some way downstream from Miqil. A lovely hour’s walk or so each way.

Wadi Shabs: a fantastic swimming gorge, with some walking-in first, so it just about qualifies  for Walkopedia. A swim at the end into a deep pool in a grotto. Magical, unmissable if passing.

Oman Trekking (Explorer) and Adventure Trekking in Oman (Anne Dale and Gerry Hadwin) have worthwhile sections on some of these walks. Recommended. Find relevant books on Amazon.

This page is at an early stage of development. Please help us by recommending your best walks, making suggestions and sending photos! Thank you!

For more information and photos, including detailed practical information and some warnings, see our Hajar Mountains walk page.