Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
West of Salalah
Mughsail
Mughsail is 48km west of Salalah on Oman's most spectacular bay, ending in a set of
sheer cliffs that reaches towards the Yemeni border. Immediately below the start of the
cliffs (turn left opposite Al-Maha petrol station) the rock pavement is potholed with
blowholes
that are active year-round, but particularly volatile during the high seas of the
khareef
. An enterprising teashop has opened at the entrance offering magnificent views of
the coast from a shady terrace. Toilets are available here too.
Sarfait Road
If you have your own transport, it's worth continuing from Mughsail towards the Yemeni
border. The road is an impressive feat of engineering, zigzagging 1000m to the top of the
cliff. Look out for a wadi full of
frankincense trees
8km from Mughsail. Three or four kilo-
metres after the top of the road, there are stunning views back towards Mughsail and in-
land across some of the wildest wadis in Arabia. The vegetation in this area is entirely dif-
ferent from that on the Salalah plain, with yuccas and succulents clinging to the limestone
ledges.
At 13.5km from Al-Maha petrol station in Mughsail, there is a small sign for
Fizayah
,
6km down the cliff face from the Sarfait Rd. It's just about possible in a 2WD in the dry
season. The effort will be rewarded by one of the most dramatic spectacles in Dhofar:
lunging cliffs and limestone pinnacles, decorated at the base with perfect sandy coves and
grazing lands for the numerous camels owned by
jeballi
(the indigenous residents of Dho-
far's mountains).
The Sarfait road continues to the Yemeni border, a two-hour drive from Salalah along a
sealed road, passing the endearingly dubbed
Sea Overlooking Site
, 31km from Al-Maha petrol
station. There is no accommodation between Salalah and the border crossing and no facil-
ities at the border itself. It wasn't advisable to use this route to Yemen at the time of writ-
ing.
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