Jebel Shams · Things to do

A cabled route below the rim, run by licensed adventure operators out of Muscat. Helmet, harness and guide are required and it is not a walk-in.

Al Hamra, Ghul, the rim and back is long but doable in a day. Leave Nizwa by seven and allow an hour on the mountain track in each direction.

Twenty minutes below the climb: two- and three-storey mud-brick houses of the old town, some restored, most quietly collapsing. Free to walk through.

It runs 10-15C below Muscat year-round and drops to 2-5C on winter nights. Fleece, hat and a proper sleeping bag if you camp, because nothing is sold up here.

Less crowded than sunrise because the day visitors have gone. The canyon walls hold light long after the sun is off the plateau.