Wadi Shab

Wadi Shab begins under the coast road viaduct at Tiwi, where a boatman ferries visitors across the lower pool for a small fee, and from there a path runs inland for about forty-five minutes over rock and past date plantations and falaj channels to a series of deep green pools. Swimming through three of them, with a dry bag for anything that must stay dry, leads to a narrow cleft in the rock; squeezing through it brings you into a chamber with a waterfall falling into a pool inside, which is the reason the wadi is the most visited in Oman. Coming back is the same route in reverse.

The landscape

• The boat crossing - the short ferry at the wadi mouth.
• The walk in - the path past plantations and falaj to the pools.
• The green pools - the swimming basins in the upper canyon.
• The cave waterfall - the fall inside the rock chamber through the cleft.

When to go

October to April; summer is very hot for the walk in. Weekdays are far quieter than weekends. Never enter when rain is forecast; flash floods run this wadi.

Practical notes

Reaching the cave requires swimming through pools and squeezing through a narrow gap, and is not possible for non-swimmers or with valuables. The walk in is over rough rock in full sun. It is crowded at weekends. Modest swimwear is expected. Litter is a persistent problem.

Nearby

Wadi Tiwi lies south; Bimmah sinkhole is north.

Key facts