Here I am with my last post about my recent holiday in Oman. After showing where we stayed (here) and what I wore (here) the third post is all about what we visited.

I need to make a note before to proceed with my story. I had a lot of expectations regarding Oman because everyone talks about this country so well. My opinion is that Oman is a beautiful country but not as much as I thought. Probably my expecations were really high and because everyone always highlights the beauty of mountains and green landscapes in Oman I imagined a scenario similar to “somewhere” in Italy. Nothing more wrong, and it was my mistake of course.
Further, the weather was not on our side. Days were foggy and rainy and we all know that visit a place with the sun makes totally another impression.

Anyway, said that, Salalah seems to be a nice destination for a short getaway from Qatar. Certainly it’s worth a visit for the climate. Much more better than that one in Qatar. It’s humid but temperatures are lower so you can actually live outdoor.

I put together a list of best places to visit in Salalah (and around).

SALALAH DESERT

At the beginning I was a bit disconcerted of all these chats about how Oman was green. It took me two days to understand that it’s actually green but not everywhere. Along the seaside there is desert. I found the desert here different from the one that I used to see in Qatar because in Salalah the ground is reddish (and around Doha it turns yellow). It’s also more rocky and it’s not flat so there are points like the one below where you can really have an amazing view over the desert.

AL MUGHSAIL BEACH & MARNEEF CAVE

Travel’s guides list Al Mughsail Beach as one of the most beautiful beaches to visit around Salalah. Unfrtunately that day the weather wasn’t good enough to let us stay at the beach but I suggest to visit it because few kilometers after there is Marneef cave. The cave itself is not particularly nice but in front of it there are rocks  where the sea digged holes. So everytime the sea waved against the rock there is a show of natural fountains which is quite nice.

TAQAH & WADI DARBAT

On the third day of our holiday we finally found mountains and “the green”!! Taqah is a small town not far from Salalah. Following road signs to Wadi Darbat you reach mountains. There is nothing in particular to see but the nature is beautiful and with a sunny day I guess it would be also nice to walk in the forest or to make a picnic.
In Taqah there is also a castle to visit.

AIN RAZAT CAVE

Last day we went to visit another cave, Ain Razat cave. This place was my favorite one. The little lake was adorable and the view from the cave wonderful. We spent not more than 30 minutes there because it was raining. But I’m pretty sure that there would be many other spots to see around. The nature was really amazing here.