Last Friday, after a relatively short night, I was ready, waiting for Rami and Jenny, two friends canyoners, to pick me up and go to cross a pretty easy and short canyon close to Fins. After about an hour and a half of driving on the coastal highway of Sur, we took the dirt road that goes up to Selma plateau and reached our start line. The sun was beating down, it was a pretty hot day, and the humidity was high.
We parked our car in Al Marfas, a small village where Yusuf al Ghadani, an old friend, lived in the past.
First, we had to hike and abseil down the mountain to reach the bottom of the canyon. This part was the toughest; I don’t recall ever cursing the sun as much as I did that day. Eventually, after a couple of hours of mumbling to myself that I should have stayed in bed instead of joining that ride down to what I could only refer to as hell, we reached the third abseil of the Wadi, the one I was impatiently waiting for because it dropped right into the first of many pools.
Oman's wadis are thrilling to explore due to their stunning natural beauty, where dramatic cliffs meet lush greenery and turquoise pools. These wadis offer adventurous activities like hiking, swimming, and canyoning, making them ideal for all levels of explorers. Rich in cultural and historical significance, they glimpse traditional Omani life. The wadis' unique biodiversity adds ecological interest, while their remote locations offer a peaceful escape from urban life. Accessible year-round, these secluded natural retreats offer a perfect blend of adventure, tranquility, and cultural richness, making them a must-visit for any nature enthusiast.
Back to our adventure, the drop in front of us was around 40m and was superb. The limestone carved by the water over thousands of years is white and the rock is very smooth. From the top of that drop, we could already see the beautiful waterfall sliding down the rocks into a clear turquoise-blue pool some 40 meters below our feet. I could hear the water flowing, calling me to hurry up and dip in it; and so, I did. Once I had reached the bottom, I got rid of my backpack and harness and jumped into the water. As I was sitting there, soaking and watching the rest of the group abseil down that vertical white slide, the first phrase that came to mind was, “I am much better here than locked indoors in my house in Muscat.”
We were so happy to cool down our overheated bodies, and after a short break, we carried on our crossing, swimming through pools and climbing up and down boulders till we reached the place where Rami had to climb back to Al Marfas to get the car and drive to Harima, while Jenny and I continued crossing the wadi to meet Rami downstream. It was already midday when we stopped to have a snack.
After enjoying our food and the breathtaking landscape, it was time to get back to our hike, for we still had about an hour and a half to walk down the canyon to reach the village of Harima and meet Rami.
Further downstream, the wadi was changed following the last heavy rains that the region had received in the past few months.
Many of the pools were filled with gravel. We were progressing quicker because we were walking in places where we used to swim in the past. It took us around one hour to reach the falaj of Harima and another 15 minutes to get to our meeting point with Rami.
Shortly after we arrived, we heard the engine of Rami’s truck echoing in the wadi. A couple of minutes later, we were in the car, driving back to Muscat. Looking back at that day, as hard as it felt for me to get out of bed at 6 am and walk under the burning sun, it felt good to enjoy mother nature and have the opportunity to, once again, explore the beauty that Oman has to offer.
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