Musandam: the fjords of Arabia

Why Musandam is a separate journey within Oman

Musandam belongs to Oman but is not attached to it. Between the exclave and the rest of the country lie the Emirates, and that determines everything: you get there by domestic flight from Muscat or by road from Dubai, not as a stop on a tour. Make the effort and you are rewarded with a landscape that exists nowhere else on the peninsula. The outliers of the Hajar Mountains sink into the sea here, and what remains are bare rock walls hundreds of metres high with deep, silent inlets between them.

Khasab, the only town of any size, is the base for everything: the dhow cruises through the fjords, the mountain road to Jebel Harim and the coast road past Bukha towards the border. It is small, quiet and, because of its position on the Strait of Hormuz, has always been a place of trade; in the evening you see the speedboats bound for Iran in the harbour.

What to do in Musandam

• ◆Dhow cruise through Khor Sham: the classic. A wooden dhow with cushions and carpets on deck sails into the seventeen-kilometre fjord, past the fishing villages of Nadifi, Qanaha and Maqlab, reachable only by boat. Dolphins swim off the bow along the way. Halfway lies Telegraph Island, where the British ran a telegraph station in the 1860s, with clear water for snorkelling. Half a day or a full day, with lunch on board.
• ◆Jebel Harim: the highest mountain in Musandam, 2,087 metres. A steep gravel road, 4x4 only, climbs past the Sayh plateau with its fields to just below the summit, where the rock holds fossils of sea creatures. The view stretches over the fjords to Iran.
• ◆Khasab Castle: a seventeenth-century Portuguese fort on the harbour, with a small museum about life in the fjords.
• ◆Kumzar: the most remote village in Oman, at the very tip, reachable only by boat. Its inhabitants speak Kumzari, a language of its own with Persian, Arabic and Portuguese roots.
• ◆Coast road to Bukha: the road from Khasab to the border winds along the coast, with bays, a fort at Bukha and views over the Strait of Hormuz.
• ◆Snorkelling and kayaking: the water in the fjords is clear and calm. From some accommodations you can paddle a kayak into the inlets.

Practical information

Getting there. Oman Air flies several times a week from Muscat to Khasab in an hour. By road from Dubai it is two and a half hours via Ras al Khaimah to the border crossing at Tibat; you exit the Emirates and enter Oman there, with the corresponding stamps and the Omani visa. There is also a ferry from Muscat, but it runs irregularly and takes a day.

Climate. From October to April it is 25 to 30 degrees by day, pleasant on the water and fresh in the mountains. In summer the coast is above 40 degrees and oppressively humid; then only the mountain road to Jebel Harim is feasible. More in the best time to visit Oman.

Current situation. Musandam lies on the Strait of Hormuz. Before booking and before departure, check your government's current travel advice and read our article on safety in Oman, which we update as things develop. We only plan Musandam when the travel advice allows it.

Car. In Khasab itself and along the coast a normal car is fine. For Jebel Harim you need a 4x4; we arrange it with a local driver who knows the road.

Combine with. Dubai as a start or finish, or Muscat and from there the tour of the north.