Wadi Sa'al - the staircase to pain and other yummies

We were having a little break from camping after our Salalah road-trip and therefore we are focusing on ticking off few places around Muscat from our to-visit list. Wadi Sa'al is just less than an hour drive from Muscat and offers plenty of hiking opportunities - climbing 630 steps, an impressive sinkhole, hiking on falaj among others - and it seemed like a perfect pick for a full day Saturday adventure.

First we explored the sinkhole - we followed Omantripper's directions. It is a short hike, 20-30 min but at times quite exposed - not really for toddlers. As much as it is impressive from above, Finn and Alma had the most fun exploring the sinkhole inside!

Location for sinkhole: 23.457930, 58.228518

Location for Saal steps, Saal stairs: 23.457985, 58.205989

The rocks around the sinkhole are VERY slippery - please be extra careful! The upper part of the sinkhole is certainly not toddler friendly - when you approach from below, that is ok for younger kids as well.

We parked at the old football ground which probably had been repurposed as we found lots of goat-remains:

Once had enough fun with the sinkhole, we were ready for our last stop of the day: Sa'al Steps. Only in the Middle East: you can climb a mountain by climbing stairs! Well, there is some sort of antenna on top of the mountain so probably the stairs were build for easy access for maintenance  - not sure. But they turned out to be a popular spot  - just before sunset, when we were already coming down there was a huge crowed. People jugging, walking, young and old with and without kids.. So if you prefer less people come earlier than sunset! There are over 600 steps plus the no-step part -and it is steep. We did get sore the next day :).

Toddler friendly sight - it is a lot though, so probably carrying will be necessary :).