Oman Empty Quarter

Route Stops: Muscat – Shannah – Al Hawiyah – Wahiba Sands – Umm Adailan – Hamara Ad Duru – Fahud – Wadi Aswad – Umm Al Samim – Qurun Al Fiddah – As Sahma – Ramlat Muqshin – Qitbit – Marsawdad – Ramlat Masah - Ramlat Al Hishman – Wadi Atyah – Shisr – Thumrayt – Wadi Dawkah – Salalah

Requirements: The Empty Quarter’s heat levels remain a challenge to any traveler, which is why we plan our trips only in January and February. We urge you to follow every precaution for travelling in this hot desert, no matter your level of experience in desert travel. As this trip involves extensive time spent in the desert, including eleven nights’ camping, you’ll need to adjust to life without standard toilet facilities. 

Please note that the trip begins in Muscat and ends in Salalah; we recommend that you book your flight arrival and departure destinations accordingly. However, if your departure is from Muscat, we will accommodate your needs by driving you back to Muscat.

We recommend you bring hiking/trekking shoes, trekking poles and clothing suitable for hot weather. Please note that our meals in the desert follow Bedouin recipes and limited resources, so we may not be able to accommodate dietary requirements or substitutes for food intolerances. 

That being said, we promise you that the reward will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, where you’ll enjoy undisturbed nature at its finest! Once you adapt to the rhythm of desert camping, you’ll become enthralled with the desert’s charming solitude and learn much about the history and culture of Oman around the campfire.  

ITINERARY

• DAY 1: Arrival in Muscat: we’ll meet and greet you at the airport and arrange for your transfer to the hotel. Transfer and hotel (twin room) included.

• DAY 2: Muscat tour: We’ll visit Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque at 9.30 AM, after which we will head to Mutrah Souq for lunch. We’ll explore the souq and visit the National Museum, then head back to the hotel. Museum fees, hotel and lunch are included. Please note that the Grand Mosque observes a modest dress code for entry: long sleeves, long trousers or dresses, and covered hair for women.

• DAY 3: Heading out from Muscat to Shanah in the southeast, we’ll begin our expedition with visiting an important prehistoric rock art site, where you will note the engravings of the ibex and the horse riders, which are repeated throughout Arabia, especially around the Empty Quarter in Oman and Saudi Arabia. These sites could provide scientists links on the history of domestication of such horse breeds in the peninsula. Our survey and ability to reach these remote sites has enabled our team to be pioneers in such sightings and observations. We will continue to the desert of Wahiba Sands, which Wilfred Thesiger first crossed in 1949 as the first European. We’ll set up camp in the northern dunes, which reach about 200m in height. B/L/D included.

• DAY 4: We’ll follow a local track connecting north to south along linear dunes. At a suitable latitude, we’ll start crossing towards the west to reach a beautiful area of barchan dunes, where we will set up camp. Nearly all dune formations are found here; more than 20 variants. Also, it’s worth noting that the camels of the Wahiba are famous throughout the peninsula as the fastest racing camels in the whole gulf area. B/L/D included.

• DAY 5: Back on the highway, we’ll drive towards Hamra Ad Duru, camping there. On a previous expedition in 2023, we were kindly invited by an Omani family to breakfast, so we expect that it could happen again. As hospitality is the custom of the desert people, we can’t refuse their invitation! B/L/D included.

• DAY 6: We’ll continue to Fahud, where oil was first discovered in Oman and where we will fuel the cars for the next 600 km desert crossing towards Muqshin, then we’ll continue to Wadi Aswad to camp among small, beautiful dunes. B/L/D included.

• DAY 7: We will pass through Um Al Samim, a quicksand area that intrigued Thesiger for its formidable reputation among the Bedouins. As drainage water from the Hajar mountains used to collect there, salt swamps- also known as quicksand - were formed there. Today, there is a dam in the mountains preventing this from recurring. However, if the area is wet due to rainfall, we’ll either wait or reroute our trip.  After crossing Umm Al Samim, we’ll enter the area of magnificent dunes, where we’ll camp overnight near a recently discovered landmark. B/L/D included. 

• DAY 8: In the eastern and southeastern areas of the Empty Quarter, the principal source of sands was outwash from the major valleys (wadis) of Dhofar and Hajar Mountains. Hard quartz forms the majority of the grains, and their surface oxidization has given them a distinctive orange colour. During a previous satellite images survey, we located a majestic star dune, which we explored several times. This is where we will camp for the night. B/L/D included.

• DAY 9: We’ll head south towards As Sahma Sands, navigating through some stunningly white, baby dunes. We’ll camp overnight in the white dunes close to the main road. B/L/D included.

• DAY 10: We’ll head on the main road towards a fuel station to refresh our fuel and water supplies, then we’ll head towards Muqshin Wadi, which British explorer Bertram Thomas described as ‘the prince of wadis in all Southeast Arabia. For nowhere have I met its like […]’ in his book, Arabia Felix (1932). We’ll camp in the wadi overnight. B/L/D included.

• DAY 11: We’ll continue towards the mega dunes country, where we camp in a spectacular location, enjoying long walks and dune-climbing. B/L/D included.

• DAY 12 & 13: We’ll explore the area and try to cross the dunes to find a new route away from the graded track. B/L/D included.

• DAY 14: We’ll visit the museum in Shisr, then continue to the land of frankincense at Wadi Dawkah, where we’ll note the source of prosperity of ancient Oman. Then we’ll continue to Salalah, stopping for lunch at a restaurant, followed by checking into a hotel for two nights. Hotel is included. B/L included. 

• DAY 15: We’ll visit al Balid Archaeological Park and the Museum of the Frankincense Land, which has an impressive display of Oman’s maritime history. We’ll buy fresh fish from the market and have it grilled in Wadi Derbat. Overnight in the hotel. B/L included.

• DAY 16: Transfer to Airport. Fly to Muscat then back home