peaks at sharaf al alamayn

Dar's a lazy, sortah hazy/ Feelin’ grips me, thoo an’ thoo;/ An’ I feels lak doin’ less dan enythin’;/ Dough de saw is sharp an’ greasy,/ Dough de task et han’ is easy,/ An’ de day am fair an’ breezy,/ Dar’s a thief dat steals embition in de win’.
Sprin’ Fevah, Ray G. Dandridge

You will get to the peak of the mountain at Sharaf al Alamayn. There is no village here, just a bit of flat ground before the road falls down on either side: north to Haat, Bilad Seet, Wadi Bani Auf and Wadi Sahtan, south to Al Hamra and Nizwa. This is one of the few motorable passes across the Hajar, and it is in the process of being laid over with tarmac. At this point, the southern slope is all asphalt, while the northern one is an extremely steep dirt track that forks at the bottom into Sahtan and Bani Auf, both gravel too.

From the top, where you can park your car, the view north is fantastic, and you’ll soon have a resthouse here, under construction now. The signboard here says ‘Birkat Sharaf,’ but it is wrong, for Birkat is many peaks away, a six-hour hike from Misfat al Abriyeen, through Aqabat al Hamra, and an 11-hour hike above Wadi Sahtan on the other side. Those are big names, destinations in themselves that deserve separate trips. Over their slopes you will discover the charm of juniper trees, stone rooms built for travellers and the mountain tribes who will host you.



Kilometre readings

Zero your odometer at Zamm, where we ended our exploration of Wadi Bani Auf in last month’s issue. This is also the entrance to Snake Gorge, at 18.2km from the motel at the mouth of the wadi, where it meets the concrete road between Al Awabi and Rustaq.

2.7km Turn left to Haat, Bilad Seet. Right takes you to Wadi Sahtan (you can use this when Bani Auf floods)
3.3km Exit of Snake Gorge, on your left
5.2km Turn right to Bilad Seet
Zero your odometer when you return to this junction from Bilad Seet, and turn right towards Haat to continue up the mountain
0km Junction
1.9km Al Hagar
5km Haat
15.4km Sharaf al Alamayn



GPS waypoints in UTM

Entrance of Snake Gorge
40 Q 0539340, 2566973
Elevation 814m

Turn off to Bilad Seet
40 Q 0540066, 2566181
Elevation 930m

Bilad Seet
40 Q 0539683, 2564914
Elevation 985m

Hagar
40 Q 0540363, 2564992
Elevation 919m

Haat
40 Q 0542032, 2564071
Elevation 1,104m

Sharaf al Alamayn
40 Q 0542494, 2562096
Elevation 2,011m

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