Sleeping under the stars, which play hide 'n seek with clouds moving fast in the vast expanse of the bluish sky, has been at the top of Natasha's 'to do list' for quite some time.
Today, in Oman's Wahiba Sands, camping in one of the majlis-colored tents amidst the vast dunes, she, along with her parents, is realizing that it is a dream come true for the terminally-ill 16-year-old. For her parents, it was not too late to fulfill one of their only daughter's dreams.
Just like Natasha and her parents, who traveled from Australia, there are hundreds of adventure-loving tourists who make it to Oman's arid deserts for camping, as well as to try their hand at adventure tourism, thanks to the highly salubrious weather and easy entry process at international gateways.
"People travel from across the world seeking Oman's deserts, as they are internationally popular, and there are clients seeking adventure tourism in the deserts more than any other form of tourism," says Mohammed Nishad of Muscat Caravan Tours, one of the major desert tourism planners.
Oman offers a range of rich and diverse desert tourism avenues, with Rub Al Khali, also known as the Empty Quarter, topping the list, while Wahiba Sands is equally in demand globally. The best time to visit a desert in Oman and to camp there is from October to April each year.
Oman's tourism offers heterogeneous activities in which leisure, adventure, and nature are aptly combined. Visitors can trek, take on a safari, and pedal a sit, boasting several tourist spots varying from the green of wadis and endless sand dunes to impenetrable rocky mountains with ancient villages.
Rub Al Khali, the largest continuous sand desert on Earth, covers much of the south-central portion of the Arabian Peninsula and is a hotbed for desert adventurers, covering an area of about 250,000 square miles (650,000 square kilometers). It sprawls across southeastern Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates.
Wahiba Sands, also known as Rum Al Sharqiya, is approximately 210 kilometers away from the capital city of Muscat. The desert spans 100 kilometers from North to South, featuring rich sand dunes measuring 250-300 meters in height, which change shapes throughout the day due to blowing winds.
Wahiba Sands is the most popular spot in Oman and hosts a number of camps run by different tour operators, including 1000 Nights Camp, Al Raha, Desert Nights, and others. There is a wide variety of camps and tents, primarily to ensure guests can stay overnight without disturbances, according to tour operators.
A large number of inbound tour operators are also available for immediate processing of tours, and one can reach out to local companies such as Zahara Tours, Bahwan Tours, Mark Tours, Travco, Mazoon Travel, Oman Orient, and others.
"We have a number of tourists from most countries, with the majority coming from Germany, France, Italy, Australia, and Denmark, besides from the rest of the world," says Abdul Fathah, a representative of a tour operator.
Oman Discovery, a tour operator run by an Omani citizen, is one of the companies that help tourists experience adventure tourism by offering clients rides on horses and camels in the desert, besides 4X4 excursions in the desert.
"We have designed sand tours up to 10 kilometers deep into the sand. During these tours, we climb the high dunes with excitement and suspense, observe the camels and their offspring, and stop in an area high above the dunes to watch the sunset. After sunset, we return to the meeting point and the place where you parked your car," he said, adding that there are intermittent stops in between for photography before the caravan continues.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
