EXPLORING WADI DARBAT
Camels, cows and crystal clear rivers. That’s what you’ll find in Wadi Darbat. A short 20-minute drive from Oman’s dusty heritage town Taqah and up into the Dhofar Mountains, Wadi Darbat is Salalah’s most treasured attraction, especially during khareef. People travel from all across the region to explore this mighty valley, cut deep into the mountain range.
As you wind along the town’s roads towards the wadi, the temperature drops to a cool 24 degrees, and the landscape changes from a desert plain to a green oasis. Grassy fields slope off into a freshwater river filled with families riding pedalos, while, over on the other side of the bank, cows graze on the bushy hillside.
It’s as if you’re in the heart of Europe’s countryside, rather than the southern tip of Oman – the only reminders are the picnickers lounging around in national dress, the camels grazing next to the cows, and the smell of freshly made feteer wafting from the street vendors near the banks of the river. All of this can be wtinessed during khareef between June and September.