Jabal Akhdar - The hiking trails

March 13, 2022

Jabal Akhdar - The hiking trails

There are many fantastic hikes in Jabal Akhdar - it is just a bit difficult to get information on them so we decided to collect them here. We have not done all of them but we are certainly planning to do!

Many of the treks are not marked and follow ancient donkey passes but thankfully Alila developed a few treks, excellently marked and they even boast great overview maps at the trail heads - very much not typical in Oman. Plus there are a few other marked ones already and the there are more and more new ones - we will keep adding info as we get to know about them! Here there is some excellent info on the available marked trails and if you are staying in Alila do not forget to ask for their leaflets at the hotel reception!

By now we have had many trips to Jabal Akhdar - you can read about all our adventure here!

Trail heads in Jabal Akhdar:

1. Discovery trail - 23.1391,57.5726

An easy hike through the wadi passing by a picturesque small dam and eventually reaching the abandoned village of As Sarab

2. Mirage trail: you can start either opposite of the Alila entrance or around 23.1469,57.5416. This trail also leads to As Sarab.

Best is to combine these two - if you stay at Alila, you can ask to be dropped at the Discovery trail head and hike back to Alila through the wadi as we did. You can also hitch a ride the road is quite busy. We started at the Discovery trail head where the trek drops into the wadi, passes by a small dam before it reaches the village of As Sarab. From there on we opted for the ridge route to reach Alila. Overall the whole trek took little over 3 hours. You can also opt for only hike to As Sarab and be picked up there or just visit the village by car - there is a dirt road to the village.

The small dam is at roughly half way to Alila, the abandoned village is just a short walk from here

The abandoned village of As Sarab - seeing these houses made Alila’s design choices very clear.

3. Lost village hike - 23.1533,57.5386.

A more demanding loop trail, covering 7.5km passing by a cave, abandoned village and waterfall. Total time required is 5-6 hours. Read about our trip here.

4. The village walk - 23.0722,57.6666

The ultimate Jabal Akhdar hike through the terraced fields, following falaj and passing by rose gardens - all marked and easy, even toddler friendly if you do one way. The walk from the last village to Sayq is not worth the effort - instead turn around and walk back to your starting point, there are some alternative routes and gardens to discover to make it interesting ! Read about our trips here an here!

5. Via Ferrata at Alila or Anantara

A super fun not too long route - I am not super good with height, but could manage it. An absolute must and you do not need to be a hotel guest! Read about our trip here.

6. Wadi Bani Habib - 23.0711,57.6042

An easy stroll to discover abandoned mud-brick houses. The marked trail leads to the old village - one part of it you can see from the parking, the other part is a bit further. There are markers leading from both cluster of houses further into mountains - from the first cluster you can walk to Al Jarir (point 7) and from the second cluster down to Kamah (close to Tanuf).

Read more about our trip discovering the old houses of Wadi Bani Habib here and about the beautiful painted houses you can find here.

7. From Al Jarir to Wadi Bani Habib - 23.13511, 57.5371

After the initial and short(er) climb the path is mainly a descent and supposedly provides great views of Wadi Bani Habib. Takes 3-4 hours, it is one way and it is not officially marked.

From Al Jarir you climb up to Ra’s Ash Shaykh (23.0910, 57.5644), than cross the wadi (23.0857,57.5775) and finally cross the saddle before dropping to WBH (23.0735,57.5969). Mostly good path with markers.

8. From Wadi Bani Habib to the mountain mosque of Masjid Shughah - 23.0709, 57.6043

Again the challenge is that on your way out you descend and you need to ascend on the way back. Total time required out and back is around 7-8 hours but you can turn back at any point. See the map above for reference.

You start at Wadi Bani Habib and you aim for the shoulder above the second (more further away from parking) cluster of old houses - 23.0605, 57.5993

Continue towards the col at the top of the wadi - 23.0579, 57.5862

Next stop is the hidden village of Da’an Al Hamra or rather its water-pools and pipes - 23.0597, 57.5750

And finally the mosque tucked away in the mountains - 23.0486, 57.5681

9. From Al Hilayat to Masirat al Jawamid - 23.1336, 57.5596

Maisrat al Jawamid (23.1353, 57.5371) is a mostly uninhabited village tucked away in the wadi, sheltered by caves in the cliffs. It is worth to explore the gardens and secluded pools beyond the village.

The trail is marked and developed by Alila and easy to follow. Round trip without exploring the gardens takes around 5 hours. The stairs leading down to the gardens are surreal - hard to imagine how they got built without advanced machinery. I think this is the best hike in Jabal Akhdar - you can read about our trip here!

10. Wadi Qashah viewpoint - 23.0982, 57.5527 (Al Jarir)

Wadi Qashah is one of the more difficult and beautiful wadis - it is possible to trek in the wadi bed but it requires multiple abseiling. However it is also possible to hike to the balcony above the wadi which provides stunning views - or if someone is up for the challenge they can do the full circuit around the wadi, starting in Tanuf, climbing up to Al Jarir in Jabal Akhdar and descending back to Tanuf. This is a serious undertaking requiring 10 hours or more.

Drive to Al Jarir and hike to Mibant with its beautiful terraces accessible through a series of steps (23.0891,57.5516). Alternatively you can drive to 23.0898, 57.5540. Mibant village is a detour, takes around 1 hour to discover. From the steps continue towards the saddle than towards a ridge of white rocks. You will see a cave village (23.0847, 57.5409) and water pipes. The path leads to a dam and pools and passes by Al Maqul (23.0765, 57.5370). The next section offers spectacular views of Wadi Qashah - the end of the viewing balcony is at 23.0811, 57.5252.

From Al Jarir to the viewing platform it takes roughly 3 hours.

11. Jabal Akhdar - Wakan hike - 23.0894,57.6933

A long and demanding trek from Jabal Akhdar to the beautiful village of Wakan. You can also start your hike at the Cliff Guesthouse they can even help you to organize a multiday trips.

12. Hikes from Manakhir - 23.092346, 57.730737

Manakhir is a pretty little mountain village with beautiful pomegranate and walnut gardens - it is worth just to stroll around the terraces, follow the falaj or just get lost among the old houses. Two hiking routes start here, both marked and you can start from the parking where the road ends. One is w18 which is the classic village hike. Or you can hike up to Wakan, to the other side of Jabal Akhdar - the full trek is 10km, but you can also just chose to the go up to the plateau, which is just a bit over 3km and offers beautiful views.

Overview map of Jabal Akhdar - all maps are from an old hiking book I inherited from someone who left Oman.