Wahiba Sands now known as Sharqiya Sands, is a large desert area in Oman. If you want to experience spending a night in the desert, this is the best place in Oman. From Muscat, it’s a 4-hour drive. But from Nizwa, it’s only a 2.5 hours drive.
After visiting Bahla Fort and Nizwa on the same day, we spent our second night of the 3-day tour at the Wahiba Sands. A camel blocking our road on the way to Wahiba Sands.
There is no actual roads to lead into the desert. But our tour guide know his way well. It's about 20 minutes drive from the main paved road into the desert.
Actually, the best time to visit the desert is during winter (October to March). But I went there during the heat of the summer (Eid holidays in June). The temperature is about 42 degrees. So you can imagine how hot it was during my visit.
Arriving in Sama Al Wasil Desert Camp. You can stay at one of these desert camps or do wild camping if you are adventurous.
The desert camp is actually quite nice and has all facilities a hotel guest need.
They even have iced bottled water near the reception area which are free for hotel guests, a welcomed bonus as the summer heat was almost unbearable.
The air conditioner in the room was not really working due to the extreme heat. And the room was a bit sandy. Other than that, I have no real complaints about staying here.
One of the best thing to do in the desert is to climb up to the top of sand dunes and enjoy the sunset or sunrise view. There’s a rope tied to the top of the high dunes behind the resort which will help you climbing up to the top.
My son was laughing so much as his father tried climbing up the dunes. They did not go all the way to the top. The sand was too soft due to heat. It was really an uphill task to climb up the dunes, let alone carrying a toddler.
I climbed up to see the sunset view.
But unfortunately, the sunset view was a ‘blah’ on that day. From the top, I could see that the desert camp is located in the flat areas between high dunes.
The sands got into my shoes and pants. So I would recommend to go bare feet when climbing up the dunes.
After coming down from the dunes, we went to see the camels at a camel farm nearby the resort. The resort also offers activities such as camel rides, dune bashing and etc. We didn’t try it though. We just wanted to rest and relax for the remaining of the day.
Close up photo with the camels. My son was really curious about the camels.
The camels were roaming freely in the desert.
Dinner time at the desert camp.
Guest what we’re having for dinner? BBQ camel meat. We also had chicken and fried eggplant.
The next morning, my hubby climbed up to the sand dunes to watch the sunrise. He told me it was easier to climb up the dunes in the morning as the sands was not as soft in the cooler weather.
Here are some great shots he took at the top of the sand dunes.
The sands look golden under the morning sun. Look at those lines created by the wind.
The desert was quiet and it was an amazing solitude moment to sit on the dunes and do nothing except enjoying the view.
After breakfast, it’s time to bid Wahiba Sands goodbye.
Goodbye, Wahiba Sands. It is definitely an unforgettable experience to spend a night in the desert.
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