Why We're Obsessed With Visiting Oman During Khareef Season

Anti Gravity Point (55 mins from Salalah city)

Drive via route 40 to reach the Anti Gravity Point. Shift your car gear to neutral and then watch in awe as your car moves uphill on its own. The mystery behind this feat is actually an optical illusion formed by nature. Because of the unique positioning of the hills around this point, the human eye visualizes the downhill road as being uphill. Whatever the scientific explanation, it is an amazing experience to watch your car driving itself and picking up speed on neutral gear. If you’ve left the driving seat to watch this feat, make sure your car doesn’t drive off without you.

Mirbat Seaport (12 mins from Anti Gravity Point)

Mirbat was historically known for its trade in horses and Frankincense. The town has a fishing village, old fort, and castle and takes about an hour to drive from Salalah city. We reached the port in time to see some fresh catch of the day being hauled to shore by local fishermen. The deep-sea fishing is done in Dhows. The fish is then transferred to smaller fishing boats and brought to the port. Sometimes the fishermen are away at sea for a couple of days, but if the daily catch is big enough, they return back to port the same evening. Small restaurants around this area offer their most popular fare – you guessed it – fish! Mirbat is also popular for Abalon, a shellfish that is considered a unique seafood delicacy around the world.

Ayn Sahalnaiot (20 mins from Salalah city)

This route took us to one of Salalah’s most beautiful wadis. The first stretch is a drive through mountains on a winding but scenic route. The wadi itself is surrounded by rugged limestone cliffs which are clearly reflected in the crystal clear water. Need to take that mirror reflection photo? Then this is the spot.

Wadi Dirbat (One hour drive from town)

This wadi is found in the Jebel Samhan plateau and is easily the most visited place during Khareef season. At first, we drove through stark landscape, our eyes searching for the famed green valleys of Dirbat we had heard so much about. Some of us wondered if the few rain showers of mid – July had been enough to turn the valley into a green paradise. But as we steadily climbed upwards, our fears were put to rest and we gasped in wonder as the landscape began to display the most beautiful shades of green. We were now driving through the mist and as we rolled down the windows we could see the visiting multitudes camping on the grass and enjoying the weather. In fact, this was the most crowded place we had seen in Salalah so far. It was also the most beautiful with seasonal waterfalls and natural lakes. On one of the lakes, tourists were practicing their boating skills on kayaks and paddle boats. The main road is lined with food stalls and the aroma of kebabs roasting on open fires attracts every visitor. Famished, we gorged on freshly made ‘Fateer’ oozing with melted cheese and washed it down with hot cardamom tea, the perfect complement to the nippy weather.

Prophet Ayub’s (Job) tomb (30 mins drive from town)

Prophet Ayub is also known as Job in the Bible, which means this place has religious connotations for both Muslims and Christians. At first sight, the site of the tomb itself and the surrounding area where Prophet Ayub prayed, seems to be a bit derelict, but then you come to the realization that the futility of death needs no fancy trappings. Even for those who are non-religious, this place is worth visiting as the drive through the Ittin mountains to get here is in itself an experience. We had to slow down a couple of times to allow hordes of camels to cross the road. It was amusing to see how curiously they eyed us as they leisurely ambled across.