Jebel Shams also known as Mountain of Sun is located in northeastern region of Oman and north of Al Hamra town. The highest point of this mountain is the third highest peak in the Arabian Peninsula and is the highest peak of Oman. At the highest point (2997m to 3009m) there is a military base which potentially means that the highest point is a restricted place and not open to tourists for sightseeing. However, there are number of viewpoints at varying height that allow tourist to enjoy the magnificent view of the region. Though the name emphasises the heavenly beauty of the range during sunrise, but in reality it also offers mesmerising view during the sunset as well. This is also known as the Grand Canyon of Arabia.
The place is approximately 240 km from the capital Muscat. And like every other place it has excellent motorway upto the main viewpoint except for 7 km. Our driving experience from Muscat to Jebel Shams was amazing. Starting from Muscat till you reach the viewpoint of Jebel Shams you will come across numerous spectacular places. We have stopped in almost all the viewpoints on our way up to Jebel Shams.
It’s better to start to Jebel Shams early morning from Muscat with more time in hand. That will allow you to stop at the places, relax for a while, and do some photography. If you are travelling to Jebel shams, it’s better to plan to stay a night up there. For staying at night there are numerous hotels and resorts at Jebel Shams. If you love raw travelling, camping and adventure, and want to save some money; you may also plan to do some camping at the campsites as well. If you have a big car, you may also make your car a hotel room for the night.
There are reasons for which I am emphasising to stay the night up there. Reason one is I do not want you to miss the sunrise view of the region from here. Other reason is I do not want you to take unnecessary risk of driving all the way from Al Hamra or Misfat in the dark in the early morning.
Now let’s talk about our experience at the Jebel Shams. We arrived the viewpoint before the sunset and we discovered the amazing view of the Canyon during the sunset. Let me give you a secret of the place. Do not stuck only at the viewpoint near Canyon. Walk just a couple of hundred meters to the opposite direction of the viewpoint and see the amazing sunset (check the map/ image at the end). As I love photography, I loved my time up there. Thanks to Almighty, I was there at the right time, at the right light.
By the time it was dark, we started for our resort. We were lucky that we booked with Jebel Shams Resort (JSR). The best part of the resort is its location. It’s just in between Jebel Shams Viewpoint, and viewpoint 5 & 3. There service were amazing. There are couple of Bangladeshi guys working at the resort who all were really professional and they know their job. The dinner they served was delicious and menu was very good. However, breakfast menu was quite good.
In the morning we woke up early and went to the Jebel Shams Viewpoint (see the image at the end) to see the sunrise. It was freezing cold at the viewpoint. I am happy that Arwaa could sustain the situation. Like the sunset, during sunrise also you must go to the opposite side of the viewpoint. That view was one of a lifetime view. After spending few moments up there we drove to the viewpoint 3. We met few more tourists at the viewpoint who all camped there for the night. View from the viewpoint 3 was as beautiful as the view from main viewpoint. However, after spending about an hour we returned to our resort and had our breakfast at the resort.
At around 0900 hours we packed our luggage and started for our next destination Nizwa. As per our previous plan we drove to Nizwa stopping at Bait Al Safah, Al Hoota Cave and Bahla Fort.
Special Tips
Before finishing the blog here let’s have a look on few special tips which seemed very essential to me. These are:
- Get a 4×4 for going to Jebel Shams. On your way up and down you will see people driving regular sedan as well. However, in my opinion it’s better to take a 4×4 as there are steep ascent and also some rough roads in between. If you are travelling from abroad get a car from the airport through airportrentals or rentalcars.
- Try to get a hotel/ resort near the viewpoints. I booked the resort over phone. You may get unexpected discount in such cases. However, you may also get your hotel booked from booking.com or agoda.com or any other booking site.
- You may also plan to do camping at any of the campsite. Oman itself is very secured and people are friendly. There is nothing to be worried about. However, check weather forecast. Take precaution against cold.
- Be sure about your mobile data balance. You will need google map to reach the location. I am sure you do not want to get stuck somewhere en route suddenly if you run out of mobile data.
- Carry dry food and water along with you. You will not find much of restaurants en route.
- While going to Jebel Shams if you want you may stop somewhere at Al Hamra for lunch or a quick meal. There are good restaurants available at Al Hamra.
- Finally hope this image will help you planning your visit to Jebel Shams
