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Frankincense & Fortresses

Discover the Sultanate of Oman – an ancient and exotic land


 
 

In Brief

Flight - 1 night. Muscat - 2 nights. Salalah - 2 nights. Nizwa - 1 night. Muscat - 1 night.

Day 1 Fly overnight from London Heathrow to Muscat.

Day 2 Transfer to the 4-star Park Inn Hotel for two nights. Late afternoon tour of the city includes the Bait al-Zubair Museum, the Sultan’s palace and Jalali and Mirani, two Portuguese forts. Drive to the Corniche, which fringes the old part of the city and visit the Muttrah Souk.

Day 3 Visit the Natural History Museum and Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. Continue to Rustaq, Oman’s capital in the Middle Ages famed for its hot springs. Visit al-Hazm fort (under restoration) for a photo stop. Pass along picturesque wadis to Nakhal boasting the highest fort in Oman. Return via the natural springs at Al Thowara.

Day 4 Morning flight to Salalah. Two nights at the 5-star Crowne Plaza Salalah. Late afternoon city tour of Salalah including the Museum of the Frankincense Land, a photo stop at the Sultan Qaboos Mosque, Al Husn Palace and Haffah souq.

Day 5 Full-day tour of East and West Salalah including Taqah, the old frankincense port of Sumharam, Mirbat, the beginning of the ‘Frankincense trail’, Job’s Tomb, Khor Mughsail and see firsthand how frankincense is extracted.

Day 6 Morning at leisure. Early afternoon flight to Muscat for the scenic drive to Nizwa through the Hajar Mountains via the oases of Fanjah and Birkat al-Muz. Overnight at the 4-star Golden Tulip Nizwa.

Day 7 Visit Nizwa’s 17th-century fort and the 17th-century
Jabreen Fort which affords a commanding view over the surrounding plain to the mountains of the Jabal Ahkdar range
beyond. Return to Muscat via Bahla and the oasis of Tunuf, for tea with an Omani family. Overnight at the 4-star Park Inn Hotel.

Day 8 Return flight, arriving Heathrow later the same day.

Route map

Grand Mosque, Muscat

Nizwa