There is a code to unlock the best that Oman’s mountains have to offer this summer, and that is W18b. After you’ve pooh-poohed at the Jebel Akhdar - too touristy and too accessibly - and gone on to conquer the further reaches of the Hajar, W18b’s jumble of letters, numerals, flowing water, hidden pools and vegetation will get you back to where you started, to the Green Mountain.

As a first timer, the Jebel Akhdar is a logical place to start, and its flawless, floodlit road ferries every tourist with a day to spare and every resident looking for weekend respite. This is not a good thing if you like mountains for solitude and adventure, and so your logical progression would be to head west to the higher reaches and hiking paths that start off from dirt tracks.

This is not to say that the Jebel Akhdar has nothing to offer. Most tourists would normally move up and down its sole road, perhaps exploring both branches after its sole hotel. But most don’t know of Soqra, the enchanting, fairy tale village perched midway on the side of a cliff, with gardens at its feet and a earthen helipad above. Or Srab, the recently abandoned, perfectly intact village. Or the ancient, gnarled juniper, sitting on the slopes behind Shnoot, its branches, like its trunk, knotted round itself in a frenzy, writhing under the sky.

But, honestly, are these really things you must force yourself onto tarmac for? The junipers you will get at Birkat Sharaf, six hours hiking above Misfah, and the walk will make you appreciate the dry scented leaves better. The abandoned village you will find perched on the inside edge of the Grand Canyon, a location none can beat. And the hiking, from Jebel Shams to Sharaf al Alamayn to Bilad Seet, is the best. The Jebel Akhdar then, is best left for its selling point: green. And, instead of getting bored of asphalt under your feet as you peer down onto faraway slopes beneath, W18b offers you a four to six hour walk, right through those fabled gardens you see from the road.



GPS waypoints in UTM:

Start at Al Aqur
40 Q 0568347, 2551631
Elevation: 1,948m

Water pool
40 Q 0567956, 2551819
Elevation: 1,927m

Blue domed mosque
40 Q 0567947, 2551759
Elevation: 1,928m

Ash Shirayjah
40 Q 0567392, 2551315
Elevation: 1,882m

Turn off road
40 Q 0566687, 2551105
Elevation: 1,950m

Rejoin road, Saiq
40 Q 0565930, 2551170
Elevation: 1,941m



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