Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
to Rusayl roundabout (a journey of about an hour), and 500 baisa to/from the Barka junc-
tion (30 minutes). A taxi charges about OR5 for the same trip if you can find one that
doesn't only travel locally.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Wadi Bani Awf
This spectacular wadi often flows year-round and looks particularly gorgeous when
mountain rain causes the
falaj
to cascade over its walls. That said, the trip (currently 4WD
only) should be avoided if there is any hint of stormy weather. It is possible to reach the
rock arch
(a fissure in the cliff, about 17km into the wadi) as a day trip from Muscat or
Sawadi. If you follow the graded road through the rock arch into neighbouring
Wadi Sahten
,
you will eventually emerge in Rustaq but beware, this is a long journey. If treating the
wadi as a side trip en route from Muscat to Sohar, you probably won't have time to penet-
rate the wadi for more than 5km or 6km.
To reach Wadi Bani Awf, turn left 43km from Nakhal, off the Nakhal-Rustaq road.
There is no access by public transport. Discreet wild camping is possible in the upper
reaches of the wadi but this may soon change. Major construction has begun on a sealed
road through the entire length of the wadi which will in turn lead to greater development
around the upper wadi villages, making camping inappropriate.
Wadi Bani Awf can also be reached via the mountain pass from Al-Hamra on the other
side of the Western Hajar Mountains.
OMAN'S GEOLOGICAL HERITAGE
If geology seems like a frankly 'anorak' pursuit, then a trip through the wadis of the Western Hajar Mountains
might change your mind. Seams of iridescent copper minerals; perfect quartz crystals glinting in the sun; stone
pencils and writing slates loose in the tumbling cliff; walls of fetid limestone that smell outrageously flatulent
when struck; pavements of marine fossils, beautiful for their abstract design and the pattern of history they reveal
- these are just a few of the many stone treasures of Batinah's wild wadis.
Although many of these features can be spotted in Wadi Bani Awf, it is neighbouring
Wadi Bani Kharus
that
excites geologists. They go in search of the classic unconformity that is revealed halfway up the canyon walls a
few kilometres into the wadi. At this point, the upper half of the cliff is a mere 250 million years old while the
lower half is over 600 million years old. What created this hiatus, and what it reveals about tectonic forces, is the
subject of speculation in numerous international papers. For the layperson, what makes Wadi Bani Kharus re-
markable is that it appears to have been opened up as if for scientific study: the opening of the wadi comprises the
youngest rocks, but as you progress deeper into the 'dissection', some of the oldest rocks in Oman are revealed,
naked and without the obscuring skin of topsoil and shrubs. While you're inspecting the rocks, look out for petro-
glyphs - the ancient images of men on horseback are a common feature of all the local wadis.
