It sounds like a cliché, but Omanis really are exceptionally friendly. Everywhere we go, people strike up conversations with us. You can’t walk past someone without saying hello, and they will often add “How are you?”. This afternoon in the pool a small child stopped me to tell me how well I was doing with my swimming, and we had a lovely chat. She admitted that she herself can’t swim, but encouraged me to keep practicing!
Wadi Darbat
Wadi Darbat is one of the most popular sites in Salalah, and, during the Khareef, said to be Oman’s most spectacular waterfall. We drove inland, up fairly windy roads into the mountains. We knew we had arrived when we saw lots of cars and rows of stalls selling everything from ice creams to insect repellant. What a stunning scene – cascading waterfalls, tumbling over moss-covered rocks, and surrounded by dense forest teeming with birds.
Wadi Darbat Again
Wadi Darbat is quite long, and we had noticed an unmarked road leading towards what seemed to be a lower section of the waterfall. We found a small parking area and followed what started as a path but soon became scrambling over rocks – a little challenging for our aging knees & hips but so worth it. I will let the photos speak for themselves, but be assured the colour of the water is just how it looked. Stunning!
This was the path.
Interesting place to fly a kite!
Ayn Athum
With plans to spend the day seeing waterfalls, we headed to Ayn Athum, also promising to be one of the most beautiful and popular waterfalls in Salalah. I don’t know whether this has been a particularly dry Khareef season, but the waterfall was entirely non-existent, dry, waterless, absent. Still, it was an interesting visit, as the years of intermittent waterfalls have created striking patterns in the cliff, a so-called Travertine Curtain. The setting was still green and lovely, so although the lack of water was disappointing, it was still worth the trip.
By now we had been chasing waterfalls for around 5 hours, and we were so hot. It’s hotter in Doha, but I don’t go hiking on summer days there! The hotel pool called us and we spent a delightful afternoon swimming and relaxing by the pool, listening to cricket on the radio. Go Aussies!
