Sa'al Mountain

There is a great blog called Omantripper that details great activities to do in Muscat and Oman.  This blog currently describes 3 hikes within Muscat that I plan on doing.  I did the first with a ladies hiking group we've just started.  Only 4 of us were able to go the first day on this hike, but it was a lot of fun.  This group will give me a chance to hike during the day while the boys are in school, and maybe I will get a feel for what hikes will be good for our family.

Excited to make it tot he top of the stairs... finally!

Sa'al Mountain is in Sa'al which is about 35-40 minutes from where I live.  There is a dirt path that leads to concrete stairs (giving the hike the nickname Sa'al Stairs) that leads to another dirt path that takes you to the top of the mountain where there is a satellite dish and wonderful views.

View from near the top of the stairs.

Waze can guide you to Sa'al Stairs.  What you do is follow the directions, then you leave the paved road to follow a dirt road that winds around the mountain on your right.  Follow that road until you see a dirt walking path on your right.  There are a couple of rock cairns set up to mark the beginning of the trail.  The dirt road is actually pretty smooth.  I think we will have no problems navigating it in our Honda Accord, but we will need to park somewhere other than just opposite the walking trail since it is a decent ridge up to that area.

This hike is a bit intense because it is uphill constantly.  The stairs seemed especially intimidating because some are steep and it is hard to see where they end.  Basically, they feel endless.  There are supposedly between 600 and 700 stairs, though it is obvious that there has been some washout from floods.  (When it rains here, flash floods happen.)  You can stop and rest and enjoy the view anywhere along the path, but like most hikes here, there is no shade.  Just take water, sunscreen, maybe a light snack, and pick a step to rest.

In this photo, you can see the rocks and dirt that have washed onto the stairs.

The views at the top are worth every step!  You can see down into valleys on both sides.  It is supposedly very nice at sunset, but I went during school time.  Maybe when I feel like the boys can handle this hike, we will try one evening.  We may have to start early since kids may want a break or two during the stairs.

A view from the top.  You can see for miles!

A view from one side of the top.

A view from the other side at the top.

It's hard to capture all you can see.

The trip down isn't bad at all unless your knees give you problems.  Mine were starting to ache by the end.  There were a couple of spots where I stepped carefully due to loose rocks, but it really wasn't bad.  No special shoes required, though mine did let in a lot of dirt.