Salalah

The medieval frankincense port, part of the Land of Frankincense inscribed by UNESCO in 2000, with the Museum of the Frankincense Land included and a 2.2km boardwalk over the ruins. Open Saturday-Thursday 8am-2pm and 4-8pm, Friday afternoons only.

The older port, about 40km east near Taqah: walls, gates and the Temple of Sin above a lagoon full of herons and flamingos. Open daily around 8am-8pm, and an hour or two is enough.

The khareef showpiece east of the city: waterfalls off a limestone lip, lakes you can row on, camels loose on the road, and low cloud most of the day in August.

West of town, where the sea is forced up through limestone and fires spray over the boardwalk. Best at high tide with a swell running; nothing much happens on a flat day.

The frankincense market by Al Husn. Hojari from the Hasik mountains is the top grade, alongside oud, bakhoor and burners. Shops shut roughly noon to 4pm and trade to about 10pm in khareef.

Oman Air and SalamAir cover Muscat-Salalah in about 1h40, roughly ten times a day. Capacity multiplies for khareef, with Oman Air running up to 13 flights a day at peak and SalamAir up to 10.

About 1,020km by road via Nizwa, roughly ten hours in a saloon. Mwasalat route 100 leaves Azaiba at 7am, 10am and 7pm and takes about 12.5 hours for OMR 8 one way.

Muscat to Salalah via Sur and Duqm is over 1,400km and around 16 hours, but it picks up Wadi Shab, Ras Al Jinz and a lot of empty coast. Fill the tank whenever you can.

Late June to mid-September for khareef: 20-27C, drizzle, fog, waterfalls and green hills while the rest of Oman is unbearable.

March-May: hottest and quietest, up to about 38C by May, with the lowest hotel rates of the year.

July-August at the khareef peak, when budget rooms jump from around OMR 15 to OMR 60 and up and you book six to eight weeks ahead.

Al Baleed at opening, while the boardwalk is still cool and the lagoon birds are up.

The Museum of the Frankincense Land inside the same park, then east along the coast road.

Fish in Taqah or Mirbat. Both are working harbours and the seafood comes off the boats.

Sumhuram above Khor Rori, then up the escarpment to Wadi Darbat for the falls.

Al Haffa Souq once the shops reopen after four, then dinner on the beach side of town.

An hour east: an old merchant town with carved wooden doors, a fort, a fishing harbour and dive operators working the headland.

Inland through the frankincense groves at Wadi Dawkah to Shisr, the caravan oasis identified with Ubar. Both are part of the same UNESCO inscription, and it is 4x4 country beyond the tarmac.