Wadi Tiwi, nature's playground

We opted for a light weekend - only a shorter hike on one day and we choose Wadi Tiwi. Wadi Tiwi is one of the most popular wadis - it is only 1.5 hours drive from Muscat, there is paved road all the way and the site is very accessible since the staircase was built to the wadi. All this means it was super crowded. There was a queue for the main attraction, the abseil in the waterfall! But it just takes one glimpse to understand why this place is so popular  - it is absolutely beautiful. Truly, Eden-garden like. So if you want to enjoy this fantastic spot in piece, probably best to come during weekdays.

We decided to go with a guided tour as we wanted to do the waterfall abseil - sadly, this we had to skip, but we did abseil elsewhere and we had a great time anyway. As usual we opted for Omatripper and they did not disappoint. It is possible to hike the wadi without a guide - you can read Omantripper's instruction here .

There are 3 options really:

1. The stroll version: you drive to Mibam village, park the car, explore the village and take the stairs to the main waterfall - from here you can see some of the wadi and the main pools. This version is toddler friendly. The road is paved to the village, although at parts it is steep - we have seen salon cars and if you are a good driver probably you can make it but I frankly would not take my car here :). 

Length: as long or short as you wish. The walk to the waterfall taking the stairs takes like 5min.

Source

2. The short hike where you have three options.

2a You can take the stairs and hike through the wadi, jump into the pool and swim. After the waterfall there is a drop where a rope is attached permanently and with the help of that you can descend to the pool. Everything is very slippery and while we have seen all sorts of people successfully doing it - I would not allow my daughter to try. But it looks fun and certainly doable. Once you passed this part you have 2 more pools to explore, a bit of boulder scrambling to do - the water is beautiful, and the scenery is amazing. You will walk up to the village through the gardens at the end.

2b You can also take the route the other way and start from the village where you have to walk through the gardens and cross a very steep part - here there are chains fixed permanently which are certainly helpful. You will arrive to the biggest pool and you will need to make your way to the main waterfall meaning you will need climb up the section with rope.

2c Finally, you have the option we did - go with an organized tour. That is basically 2a as described above but instead of the fixed rope you abseil with the right safety equipment and if you are more lucky than us, you even abseil the main waterfall!

Non of this options are toddler friendly, but if you go with a guide, it is certainly kids friendly!

Length: 1 hour and up , depends how much time you want to spend in the pool

3. The long hike to the waterfall from the entrance of the wadi as described in this article - it is a couple of hours hike one way and you will end up doing 2b at the end. You will scramble through boulders and see beautiful gardens and depending on water levels some smaller pools.

In this area there are many other wadis to explore:

- Wadi Shab - this is probably the most well known wadi in all of Oman - it is easy access, relatively easy hike and offers great views with pools and a cave. It is also usually very crowded, we yet to try it out on a weekday.

- Umq Beer: the hike covers the section of Wadi Tiwi beyond Mibam village and connects the wadi with Jabal Bani Jabil plateau. It is a very demanding hike and supposedly takes over 10 hours with abseiling and swimming - some tour companies even organize it as an overnight trip. 

- Wadi Taab (aka Wadi Fin) - looks stunning based on the pictures but apparently requires abseiling. 

Disclaimer: I did not have the camera with me since we were swimming - pictures were taken by our group members and our guide, Majid.

Mibam village from the distance

Our wonderful guide, Majid - this was our third trip with him!

We did not get to abseil from the big waterfall but even the shorter abseil was fun

That is Alma who is hanging there :)

Alma also jumped from this rock - it is 4-5m high!

The lovely Omani son and mother duo from our group - even now, when there were others with camera around, we did not manage to score our own family picture... we are helpless :)