Adventures in Asia: Wadi Bani Khalid, Oman

A night in the desert is lovely, but for many people, ourselves included, after several hours one has had enough of the sand! We woke up and ate breakfast at our camp, then packed up and were on the road soon after. We left the Sharqiya Sands and drove up into the mountains and less than an hour later we were at Wadi Bani Khalid. The lovely pools were quite a contrast to the dry sand dunes!

I understand Oman has many of these lovely wadis and they are popular with tourists and locals alike. Wadi Bani Khalid is among the most popular, but evidently the crowds have put a strain on the surrounding infrastructure. Construction is underway to expand the parking lot and improve the trails and so on, which in the immediate term detracts from the experience, unfortunately. 

Nonetheless, once you have found parking and navigated the construction, you are treated to absolutely lovely water in an incredible setting. You could easily spend many hours here, hiking and swimming and exploring caves, but we limited ourselves to about an hour, including a super refreshing swim!