Start the new year off with a bang! An awesome day trekking up the rocky Jebel Qihwi in the Hajar mountains is perfectly rounded off with dinner on the dhow, highly recommended.
It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.
About Jebel Qihwi
Oman is home to some of the most striking scenery in the Middle East and Jebel Qihwi close to Musandam is no exception. The peak is 1,794m with surrounding views of the Gulf and Indian Ocean. Coming from Dubai we took the border crossing at Dibba, this is not a full border post to check how to make advance permissions at least 7 days in advance, border rules are prone to change to best to check this out.
Trekking up Jebel Qihwi
Jebel Qihwi is a moderate hike that takes between 6-7 hours round trip, some level of fitness is required to cope with the rock scrambling by the peak. We drove to a small car park part way up Qihwi ready to start the hike around 9am.
We hiked along the ridge which is a slight incline and has jaw-dropping views, this part of the walk is long and not too testing. Once we neared the summit, it was time to get the gloves on for the scramble, the terrain definitely got a little tougher.
The final peak requires you to climb between two vertical rocks, I did start the climb but I had a wobble about how I would get down so bottled it. I was a little upset I didn’t get to experience this final peak, apparently you can see as far as Dibba and the Musandam coast. However, it did give me chance to catch my breath, munch on a few snacks and rest waiting for the others to come down. The views were pretty spectacular from where I was standing too.
The walk back seemed never ending, when you think you’ve turned the last corner another one makes an appearance… this game went on for some time. We saw the odd mountain goat hanging out on the rocky slopes looking for food. The final count on reaching the car was the trek took us 6 hours and we covered 12.9km.
Dinner on the Dhow
Made it to Dibba just in time for sunset where we set sail on a traditional Arabic dhow. It was definitely a relief to relax our weary feet and stuff our faces with the dinner onboard. With a 4.30 am wake-up call that morning and the impending food coma I was getting heavy eyelids, the perfect end to a wonderful day!
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>>Trip organised by Trekkup // Photos with Trekkup logo courtesy of Piotr
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