When we came out of the cave and went back on the trail, we realised that we needed to climb about a hundred metres as progressing at a lower level was impossible. Continuing on, we followed the old trail, which soon descended to a spot where we could secure our rope to a natural anchor for a short abseil, allowing us to reach the wadi bed. At that moment, we were confident we would find the anchors that previous adventurers had placed in the canyon's past.
After briefly inspecting the area, we stumbled upon another natural anchor, which we used to descend approximately 18 metres. We were slightly surprised not to find any metallic anchors initially and had to install our own using a drill to enable further progress. This allowed us to make another spectacular descent of about 20 metres, ending in a vast round chamber reminiscent of a cathedral, with light streaming in through two large openings.
Here, we refilled our water bottles from a crystal-clear pool fed by a spring. While doing so, I noticed a small pink snake next to my foot and instinctively jumped back, mistaking it for a juvenile carpet viper. However, after returning home and researching the photo I took, I discovered it was actually a cat snake.
From that point, we continued through the canyon, performing numerous small descents, none exceeding 10 metres in height. Previous explorers had left fixed ropes in good condition, which we used. Our journey proceeded smoothly as we paused at a magnificent spot where the cliff wall was lush with ferns, the perfect place for a brief snack break.
Afterwards, we continued along the increasingly narrow wadi. At one point, I panicked slightly because I could not see how to move forward.
As Rami and Hamood caught up with me, I noticed light seeping under a nearby rock. There was scarcely 5 cm of space between the rock and the water's surface. I reached under and realised it was necessary to swim through a metre-long sump.
Once on the other side, we pressed on through the canyon, swimming through several pools and navigating boulders until we exited the narrow section.
From there, we climbed out of the wadi bed to reconnect with the trail we had followed down from the mountain. It took us roughly an hour from there to return to our car.
On our drive back to Muscat, we paused at a stunning viewpoint on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea more than 1,000 metres below. There, we enjoyed some food and drinks before heading home. This canyon ranks among the most beautiful I have visited in Oman, possibly even ‘The’ most beautiful one.
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