A hike & swim in Wadi Shab and a visit to the Bimmah Sinkhole.
Oman chapter two
I text the tour company to see if we can leave earlier in the day.
Yahya had suggested I as early as possible to avoid the heat. The guide tells me that it’s not necessary to leave at first light. He adjusts the time slightly, but it’s still later than I might have preferred.
Abudllah meets me at the appointment time. The sun is up and the morning is cool, but the temperature is rising. I climb into the car and we begin the drive into the mountains, out of the city, and south to the river.
Along the way we pass the Al Jufainah Dam, a recent project designed to protect residential and commercial areas from flash floods. It had opened just a few months prior, in February.
We continue on, driving for another hour and a half until we reach the parking lot that marks the beginning of our journey up Wadi Shab. Quite a few buses and cars are in the lot, located under a highway overpass. Abdullah points out the restroom and then leads me to the edge of the river where wooden boats are lined up to ferry people across.
It’s not far, the distance between the parking lot and the start of the trailhead and we pay our 1 Omani Rial each to be carried across. It takes but a few minutes to reach the other side.
At the trailhead there’s a bell affixed to a makeshift shelter used to summon the boatman when you’re back from the hike and ready to be ferried back.
The river runs up a rocky canyon. The sun is already high and beats down upon us as we walk the path. Abdullah tells me I can walk ahead, he’ll be taking it a little more slowly than I.
The path alternates between wide swaths of pebbly terrain and narrow rocky bits where I have to scramble over the boulders. Now and again the path is paved where it hugs the canyon walls and here and there are various pools where people take the opportunity to cool off.
The hike through the canyon takes a little less than an hour, ending at a large pool that marks the start of the second half of my journey. Small groups of people dot the shore, float in the water. I’ve walked a little less than an hour, but I’m hot and eager to cool down. I change into my swim trunks and leave my clothes and camera on a ledge.
From here, it’s a mix of swimming and walking up shallow rock-hewn river beds to reach another pool. At the end of the pool is a narrow crevasse. Swimming up to it I see that above water it’s wide enough only for my head to pass through. I wait for some people to exit before floating through and end up in a small cave. The river empties into it via a waterfall on the far side.
A rope hangs by the waterfall allowing people to climb up next to the waterfall and up out of the cave.. I watch a man try and fall back into the water before trying myself. I grab the rope and anchor my feet on the rock wall, walking and and pulling myself up so that my body is practically parallel to the water. I can’t believe I make it to the first pool without falling. The people floating in the cave cheer my progress.
I climb up small rocky pools to the top of the cave and find myself in another smooth rocky pool. I swim to the end and climb up out of it to discover another pool just beyond. I decide not to go further and head back to the cave.
Climbing down through the smaller pools I end up jumping from the last pool back into the river before sliding my way back out of the cave and retracing my steps back to where I’ve left my clothes.
Abdullah sits in the shade on a shelf high above the pools. I join him and enjoy the cool air, fresh off my swim. I’ve brought some naan with me and snack on it while we sit. I offer some to Abdullah but he declines.
Abdullah sets off before me, assuming that I’ll catch up. I sit a while longer and engage in conversation with another tourist who’s here for a few weeks. We compare itineraries and I ask him some questions about where he’s been, wondering where else I should go.
Walking back I catch up with Abdullah near the end of the hike. We walk the last bit together and wait with a small group for the boatman to come and carry us back across to the parking lot.
Abdullah asks me if I’d like to stop for lunch, but I’m not hungry. He doesn’t usually eat lunch and so we pass through the small town where we’d otherwise stop. He brings me to the entrance of Wadi Tiwi to have a look, but we don’t have the time to drive up further to the village or to explore the wadi further.
Driving on towards the Bimmah Sinkhole we stop by the shore to have a look at the ocean. Abdullah tells me you can see sea turtles here and, just as he says it, we can see a few heads peeking up out of the water. I’m planning on doing a snorkeling trip to Daymaniyat Island for the sea turtles, and am excited to have had this sneak peek.
Our final destination of the day is the Bimmah Sinkhole. We drive through a nature reserve en route before finding our way to the parking lot for the attraction.
The sinkhole is in an enclosed park. Picnic tables and gazebos dot the area; paved paths wind their way around them and to the stairs that lead down to the turquoise pool.
I’m surprised at the location, thinking that it would have been in a secluded part of Oman necessitating another hike. I climb down the stairs and swim from one end to the other before coming back out to sun myself dry.
Walking back up the stairs I stop to read the large red sign warning swimmers that the Muscat municipality is not responsible for what may happen as a result of swimming in the sinkhole. It makes me wonder what could happen. Either way, it’s too late now.
On the way back Abdullah stops for coffee and brings me a tea. On the car stereo he plays songs by an Egyptian singer. He tells me she’s one of his favorites. He tells me he’ll play me another one of his favorite songs. I wait to see what classical Arabic singer he might play. It’s “Stuck on You,” by Lionel Ritchie. He tells me he likes slow, romantic music.
It’s a beautiful song. It’s been a while since I’ve heard it and I find myself sinking further into my seat as the song plays on. Closing my eyes, I drift off as the car continues its way homeward. 🇴🇲
— 23 April 2025
