Wadi Bani Kharous: Jungle Lake and Pancake Lake

I read about a hike with good pools suitable for swimming but could not really find locations. Than started to see these amazing pictures of the "Jungle Lake" or Khor Al Ghaba on Instagram - but still could not find location. Finally found someone who told me that the lake was in Wadi Bani Kharous - this wadi is one of my favorite wadis: you can reach it below 2 hours from Muscat and it has plenty of great hiking options for all levels - you can read about all our trips here. 

He also said we should not go alone as towards the end, the trail gets tricky which turned out to be a crucial advice. After further research on Instagram I found Ahmed, a local guide from the wadi who agreed to take us. We drove early morning to Al Awabi to meet him at 7.30 - so far so good, right?

We hit the trail around 8.30 and the hike started quite easy from Al Alia village (or Al Ulyah on google maps) towards an old farm called Ad Dar. The trail is marked and the first part is shared with the trail leading to Jabal Akhdar. Once we crossed the wadi bed we had to climb up and this is where the two trails separate -  the Jabal Akhdar one continues to the right climbing ever so higher (we did a part of it during one of our visits, it is a beautiful but very steep hike) while we had to descend back to the wadi bed. The farm is beautiful and lush with falaj and drinking water - we could follow the falaj for some time, which is always fun and easy. Later there were a few boulders to cross - Ahmed helped us up. Eventually we reached a scenic spot with a little waterfall and a wadi-pool and this is where he made breakfast for us. Pancake! Deep into the wadi!  It was yum :).

We had a quite long break and once started to walk again, this is where things got bad. We had to cross a super exposed part - for me it seemed impossible. No grip, no step, literally hanging on the side of the wadi wall. These are the spots where we usually turn back but with Ahmed we convinced ourselves that it was ok to push forwards. Alma easily passed the section with his help, Finn was relatively ok but I honestly panicked - I think he saved my life, somehow he pulled me through. He said there was no other section like this so we continued. Than an other big boulder came where he had to help us - and this is where Finn said it was enough for him, he did not want to go on. Me and Alma decided to continue with Ahmed - guess being clueless sometimes is a bliss. For some time the trek was quite ok, and it was beautiful. Had to walk through high bamboo and climb up along a very old falaj - super nice. But than the boulders started to increase in size and they got bigger and bigger - sometimes like the size of a smaller house. It also seemed that the cyclone redecorated the wadi and Ahmed had to search for a route - here the marks were reduced to the occasional dots. He also had to help us a lot - without him we would had never made it through these huge boulders. And eventually we were there, at the lake - it was stunning, but since it was 1.30pm and we were in the shade and we were exhausted, we did not swim. You need to reach the lake before noon to have it in sunlight - Ahmed said for him it takes 3 hours to reach, for us it was over 5 hours. The earlier you start, the better chance you have!

We turned back and met Finn at the Pancake Lake where Ahmed grilled mishkak for us - it was super delicious! The fire was a bliss since we got wet on the way back - no way I would had gone through the super exposed part again so we swam. It was already quite late, around 5pm when we left our picnic spot and walked back to the car - the last one hour in the dark, we reached the car at 7pm.

For us this was an extreme hike and one probably we should had not attempted, not the second half at least. We were too slow and not technical enough to make those climbs. Without Ahmed for sure we would had not made it - he was great, knew every stone and boulder and he was super strong. He also looked out for us and clearly cared. The hike clearly was not a challenge for him - back at the car, while we packed up he did a few rounds of sit-ups as a finisher to the whole day hike :).

Details and tips

Starting point, you can also park here: 23.1802,57.6489

Follow the direction of the wadi bed, the trail is marked with the usual tricolor flags

Turn towards Ad Dar: 23.1611,57.6742

The trail is 8km one way to the Jungle Lake - the Pancake Lake is roughly half way. For a family hike, Pancake Lake is a perfect destination.

Clothes: best to wear gear for swimming, as unless you are a good climber, there will be sections where it is easier to swim  than climb. For the same reason it is best to have waterproof bag - we did not have one and we were ok, but there were some parts where Ahmed took over the camera bag.

Water: we only carried 750ml bottle per person and we filled them up from the springs. We were ok, did not have issues but Ahmed did spot out where to fill up the bottles. Some spots were obvious like the one pictured below, some less.

Difficulty: Jungle Lake is an extreme hike and do not attempt without guide!

If you do want to go all the way to Jungle Lake, than start as early as you can and find a guide - we can recommend Ahmed, his instagram is @ahmed_alshuriqi. Wear shoes with a good grip, something you can actually climb in. Keep your stops on the way there short - I think our pancake stop was almost an hour, way too much. But again, only do this if you are fit and if you do not have fear of heights. Ahmed said for him the round trip takes 5 hours without breaks - for us it took over 8 hours without breaks. The last bit of the hike is super difficult because of the huge boulders. This video can give you a good overview of what to expect - except the last bit  where they did not film :). Scroll down for our video.

We do have an alternative recommendation - if you want to see something very similar to Jungle Lake, go to Wadi Mangal Lake! Much shorter, much easier but not less stunning. The lake is smaller and the wadi is smaller, but it is a beautiful hike, like a small sister to this one.

Update on Pancake lake, 2023 February 

We hiked to Pancake lake - it was 5km one direction and took us 2.5 hours to reach. It is mostly clearly marked, there were few times where we had to search for the signs, but we always found it. Just right before the lake there is a very exposed part though - it is manageable but you have to be very careful. There is a nice pool just where the falaj ends, if you are with younger kids that can be a fun destination as well!

Difficulty for Pancake lake : because of the exposed part it is difficult. Not for young kids.

Pancake-Lake, you cannot miss it!

Jungle-Lake