I laid out my new sleeping bag on the thick mat under the stars. It was muggy outside, but I still got into the down sleeping bag. Else I felt too exposed. I turned off my headlamp and said goodnight to my fellow travelers going through the same ritual nearby. As I lay there, I was still wondering if my decision to sleep outside of the tent was a sound one, but I tried to calm my worries about scorpions and other creepy, crawly things by instead focusing on the stars above me. An almost unreal twinkle of stars in various galaxies was laid out in front of me in spectacular fashion. What Oman lacks in trees is what it makes up for in stargazing.

A day ago, when I arrived in Oman in the wee morning hours, I watched the sun come up and light up the capital city of Muscat, showing me my first glimpse of the color palette that would grace my vision for the next nine days – white, tan, cream & brown. It was as if the other colors were forbidden from Oman – the color red was most certainly turned away at the border. Even the cars zipping around the modern capital city of Muscat followed the color pattern.

My first day in Oman was packed with new experiences – meeting my new travel partners and my Exodus group leaders, Rob, Khalfan, and Zahir, was only the beginning. Rob briefed us on the hiking itinerary and any cultural rules we needed to know as we toured around Muscat the first morning. After a few key tourist stops, we dove right into the rough stuff – we started hiking.  Rob led us on a short hike, as Rob called it, through a wadi (valley) in Muscat. It was challenging for my body and mind to adjust to the heat and the terrain. The wadi hike was short but challenging, with lots of ups and downs and rock scramble-type hiking. The sun beat down on me, and I looked around for shady shelter – there was none.  This was the beginning of my hiking holiday without trees.

This was my first trip with Exodus, a small group travel company based in the UK specializing in adventure holidays. And this was also my first trip to Oman – a country that I knew very little about when I arrived. Even though most people travel through Oman experiencing the luxurious side of travel in the Middle East, we were going to be roughing it for the next 9 days. Camping, hiking, and driving were the main things on our itinerary.

As I lay there under the stars at our first campsite I finally drifted off to sleep, but was woken up at 3AM when it started to rain. The idea of sleeping outside under the stars all of a sudden seemed like a really bad idea. My outdoor sleeping mates and I groggily got up and started to put up our emergency tent that we originally thought there was a 1% chance of having to use it.

I can now add setting up a tent in the middle of the night with a headlamp in the rain to my list of “strange things I never thought I would do.”

Even though I was off to a rough start to the camping and hiking – like most things with travel, it’s just a matter of getting used to your new environment and getting your body and mind in a rhythm – the Oman rhythm. The next morning, we were up early in the sun, ate our simple camp breakfast, tore down the campsite, and went towards the mountains. The camping and hiking rhythm had begun, and my body soon adjusted to sleeping in a tent, doing its ‘business’ outside in nature, scrambling up rocks, being dirty for days, going to bed at 9 PM and getting up at 6 AM with the sun – all the simplicities and joys of a camping/hiking trip.

Hiking

Hiking in Oman was the star of the show – the headliner – the diva, and it deserves all of the attention.  We did a hike every day for an average of 4 hrs a day of hiking – some days longer, some shorter. Even though the treeless brown landscape felt like it lacked variety at times – there were definite differences between the mountain hiking and coastal hiking we did. The mountains kept us cool at higher altitudes and graced us with bottomless canyons, while the coast brought humidity, rugged coastline, intense sun, and sea air.

The hiking was definitely a medium to hard rating for me – it was challenging since most of the trails we went on were not marked. These unmarked trails can be fun as you are really blazing your own path, but they are not as maintained, and it’s easy to get a bit lost if you lose sight of the group. This also meant that you were left doing some challenging scrambles up and down the wadis, picking your own path.

Even though I did all of my hiking in trail shoes – I would have liked a bit more ankle and sole support – I would recommend proper hiking boots for a serious Oman hiking holiday like this one. Often, we were scrambling over boulders and rocks – there was seldom even ground in Oman! Some of the wadi/canyon hikes took us through water up past our knees, which was refreshing, but it was also a bit nerve-wracking if you aren’t used to that type of hiking. There were also a few narrow sections that challenged my fear of heights each day – however, the canyon views were worth it!

Camping

We were provided with tents and a thick sleeping mat, and I had to bring my own sleeping bag. Even though I was melting in the sun most of the days while hiking, at night, when the sun went down in the mountains, so would the temperatures. They hovered around freezing most nights on Jebel Shams and Jebel Akhdar! My gloves and down coat definitely came in handy. There was no access to a shower for five days, so wet wipes were a lifesaver. This was really what I would call ‘wild camping’ – we were roughing it, and there was nothing glamorous about it. But once I got in the groove of it – I really loved it. I think the best thing you can do for yourself and your vacation time is to simplify – and camping is simplicity at its best.

After setting up camp and our tents, we would gather wood for a campfire and then sit around the fire and relax a bit while Rob, Khalfan, and Zahir cooked up massive feasts for us to eat. I loved our campfire conversations and star-gazing lessons from Rob. We even found marshmallows to toast around the campfire!  This campfire time was also the time that Rob would brief us on the next day’s itinerary.

Our campsites were remote and scenic – some better than others. In fact, the only visitors we saw around our campsite in the mountains were goats – we never even saw another person.  On the days we did coastal hiking, all of our camping gear was delivered by boat “James Bond style”. The beach spots were lovely – there’s nothing better than having the waves lull you to sleep in your tent. Plus – it was nice to have the option to take a dip in the water after a sweaty day of treeless hiking.

Driving

This 9-day itinerary was full of hiking, but it was also full of driving. We did spend a decent amount of time in the cars in order to get from place to place some days. A typical day would take us hiking in the morning and then driving in the afternoon to get to our next spot. This was a great way to see a wide variety of the country as well as the different hiking opportunities.  In addition, this meant that we never had to carry our camping gear – it was always transported by car.

Plus – many times the drives were absolutely stunning as we wound through the wadis and then would go on some intense hairpin climbs and descents up the mountains on little gravel pathways without any guard rails. A 4 wheel drive and nerves of steel was necessary everywhere we went!

Food

Since we really were camping for 8 of the nine days – the food was good, fresh, but simple. Typical camping food of stews, pastas, and rice was the norm. Fruit, coffee, and tea were always in big supply. I personally was thrilled to have cereal (the true American breakfast!) for one of our breakfast options, along with yogurt and bread. Our lunches were normally on the go – a simple spread of pita bread, tuna, hummus, corn, cucumbers, and salad. It was actually quite perfect to eat light during our hiking and then have a bigger camp dinner for energy for the next day.

We also made our share of gas station stops for snacks, soda, cookies and chocolate emergencies! The beauty of a hiking holiday is that you get to eat all the ‘good’ stuff! I was definitely sweating off the calories I took in.

On the last night of camping, we went out with a bang – we had a huge fish BBQ on the beach after our longest and hardest day of hiking. Khalfan, who was from a small fishing village, was responsible for preparing and cooking up the two huge fish we bought at the market. He stuffed the fish with veggies and spices, wrapped them in tinfoil, and threw the packet over the hot coals for 30 minutes.   We had an Omani-style feast, eating with our hands, all picking off the fish in the middle around the campfire on the beach.

People

The guides are the main people you interact with and depend upon on a trip like this, and we were lucky enough to have 3 of them at our disposal. Our Exodus guides were superb at guiding us and providing a helping hand. They allowed us all to go our own paces yet still were able to keep the group together. They offered to carry my day pack when I was struggling with some of the climbs and the water crossings. One of the most memorable moments is when we had finally finished our grueling 8 ½ hour coastal hike and ended up on the beach, the guides had arranged for cold cans of coca-cola to be delivered along with our camping gear by boat. Seriously – Coke never tasted so good! Of course, there were a few times when I was frustrated with not having expectations properly set when it came to the time/difficulty of the hikes – but I can appreciate the complexity of managing a group of 9 diverse people in physical situations. Overall, the guys were thoughtful, helpful, and strong, and they knew the territory well – they really made the trip for me.

My hiking mates were mainly a lovely, diverse mix of people from the UK. There was only one male out of the 9 of us, and he quickly became the fire master – what is it about men and fire? We all varied in age and fitness, but our common thread was our love of hiking – and that’s all that mattered. Five of us were solo travelers and had come to Oman on our own. The group was super at all helping out. The campsites definitely required participation, and everyone chipped in.

Since we were hiking most days, we didn’t really come into contact with many locals – however, our guides certainly provided answers to any cultural questions I had and helped us understand the history and culture of the country and the people.

Is Roughing it in Oman For You?

From my perspective, this is a great trip for the right person – someone who really loves the outdoors and hiking and doesn’t mind really roughing it. If you are going to go, avoid the hottest time of the year and head there at any time from October to April.  The best part about this hiking trip in Oman was that it’s still a destination that is off the beaten path. The hiking and views were spectacular, especially since we had the landscape to ourselves and no trees to get in the way of seeing for miles.

Disclosure: I was a guest of Exodus Travels on this Oman trekking holiday. However, all of the opinions expressed here are my own.

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