Guaranteed departure - Green Mountain & Golden Sands - 3 nights / 4 days

Day 1: Ahlan Wa Sahlan, Welcome To Oman

Arrival at Muscat International Airport by 07:00. You are met by your English-speaking guide and driven to the Grand Mosque. The short journey gives you a first impression of a green, well-kept capital, and your guide will introduce you to the city along the way. Muscat is an orderly, spotless place, an easy meeting of tradition and modernity, held between a maze of rolling hills on one side and the blue water of the Arabian Sea on the other. It has grown enormously over the past two or three decades and has kept its pride in its own culture and traditions entirely intact. The day opens at the Grand Mosque, an architectural work of great value and now the symbol of the city. The programme continues through the ministries district, where a run of modern buildings carries touches of Islamic architecture, and on to the Royal Opera House, the leading arts and cultural institution of the Sultanate. The Opera Galleria inside it holds some fifty shops of art, jewellery, fashion and perfume. The day carries on to the fishing village of Sidab, in the old part of town, where we meet the Sidab Women’s Sewing Group, a non-profit community organisation inspired and run by local women that helps the women of the village build sewing skills and earn an income. Then into Muttrah Souq, through narrow lanes and colourful stalls where you will find spices, coffee, traditional medicines and perfumed essences. We finish in the old city with the Bait Al Zubair Museum, a real window on Oman’s cultural heritage, and a photo stop at Al Alam Palace, flanked and protected by the two Portuguese forts of Mirani and Jalali. Dinner and overnight at the hotel. Grand Mosque: visitors are admitted Saturday to Thursday, 08:00 to 11:00. Women are asked to cover shoulders, knees and hair, men to wear long trousers. The Sidab Women’s Sewing Group is closed on Friday and Saturday.

Day 2: Majestic Forts And Mountain Villages

After breakfast at the hotel, meet your guide in reception and set off for a day among the real traditions of Oman. We leave Muscat for historic Nizwa, long regarded as the cultural and religious capital of the country and one of the great centres of Omani Islamic history. Here you go straight to the heart of the tradition in the lively Nizwa Souq, known for its local produce, dates, handicrafts and silver worked by old methods, and then in the magnificent Nizwa Fort, whose tower gives a wide view over the town and the mountains around it. The journey continues to the striking village of Misfat Al Abriyeen, a settlement some four hundred years old, set into the mountain rock, with traditional mud houses and terraced farming. You walk the lanes of the village, in the quiet of everyday local life. Lunch is served here, in a setting that has kept its Omani character intact. In the afternoon we continue to the spectacular Jabal Akhdar range, the Green Mountain, known for its extraordinary landscapes, its farming terraces and its cooler air. On arrival, transfer to the hotel and check-in. Dinner and overnight in the mountains.

Day 3: The Green Mountain, A Wadi And The Dunes

After breakfast, a day given over to nature and to the finest landscapes in Oman. We start on Jabal Akhdar with an easy walk through traditional villages, across farming terraces and past the rose gardens from which the region’s famous rose water is distilled. Along the way you see rural life close up and take in wide views over the surrounding mountains. At the end of the walk we come down off the mountain towards the magnificent Wadi Bani Khalid, a natural canyon of clear water and natural pools where you can relax and swim in a setting quite unlike anywhere else. The drive itself is spectacular, through mountains whose rock changes colour along the road. After time in the wadi, we stop for lunch along the way and set off for the Wahiba Sands. On arrival at the tented camp, check-in and a moment to settle. In the afternoon we head out among the dunes, with photo stops in a true sea of sand, and on to a viewpoint for sunset, the finest moment of the day, when the colours of the sand shift and the desert turns through every shade of gold. Back to camp, dinner under the stars and overnight. Wadi Bani Khalid is a public place. Women are asked to swim wearing a T-shirt and shorts over their swimsuit, in keeping with local custom. Men may swim in swimwear.

Day 4: The Desert, The Coast Road And Home

For anyone who wants it, there is something worth getting up for before breakfast: waking at first light, walking barefoot up a dune over sand that is still cool, and waiting for the sun to come over the rim. A moment of complete silence and beauty, in colours that stay with you. Back to camp for breakfast. Then meet your guide and leave the desert. We head for the coastal town of Sur to visit the traditional dhow yards, where Oman’s wooden boats are still built by hand using techniques passed down through generations. It is a close look at one of the most genuine maritime traditions in the country. We continue to the picturesque Wadi Tiwi, where an easy walk of about fifteen minutes leads between thick palms and steep mountains, with fine views of the landscape around you. The day continues to the Bimah Sinkhole, a spectacular round natural crater with clear water at the bottom. A place of real character, counted among the most surprising natural sights in Oman. Back to Muscat, with a stop for lunch along the way, and arrival in the city or transfer to the airport. On request, the trip can be extended with a few days at an exclusive beach resort, or with a flight to Salalah to carry on discovering the Sultanate and spend more time by the sea.