“Escape the Dubai heat” they said.
When the temperature on your car dashboard is reading 47 degrees Celsius (about 116F) you begin to plan your entire life around spaces which have great air conditioning. Being inside for such a large portion of your time induces a modern day version of cabin fever. So when I was shared a Facebook Event titled “Escape the heat – Stay in a cliff house, Oman.” by Yalla Yoga & Travels Dubai, this seemed like an ideal solution.
The event itself was organised by Sylvie Prezeplata of Yalla Yoga. Sylvie is from Poland and started creating yoga and retreat style weekends from the UAE. If this trip was anything to go by, she certainly has a knack for finding unique destinations. The itinerary read as pictured below.
I arrived about half past midnight, other parties were closer to 2am 
Due to the late night, the first hike timings on this ended up being much later for Day 2
Mezyad uae border crossing
The border crossing is a seemingly more complex than it needs to be process from the UAE to Oman. In hindsight, registering for the online E-visa may have reduced at least a portion of the in and out of car shenanigans we engaged in. Documentation you will need: Car registration (Mulkiya Card), Driver’s License and proof of Omani Insurance. If your insurance provider does not include this in your cover, you can purchase it at a kiosk on the border for approximately 90AED. On the UAE side, you will pay a 30AED exit stamp (non GCC nationals). It’s worth noting they will not accept cash – something I was made aware of when 2 gentlemen thrust money into my hands and in limited English asked if I would pay for them on my card.
There are a dazzling array of pieces of paper to be exchanged and figuring it out is a mental acuity exercise rivaling that of an Escape Room challenge. A simplified version goes as follows: UAE side; obtain a piece of paper from the official at the first kiosk, pull over and enter the immigration office with aforementioned paperwork plus kiosk official’s paper, pay fees, get another piece of paper, return to car, drive to customs. Here you will pull over, remove sunglasses etc, roll down all windows, turn off headlights and the official will give a quick look, or not as the case may be, give and receive bits of paper. Finally you drive through another kiosk only to repeat a very similar process on the Omani side. Think of it like a kind of Red Tape Christmas Gift Exchange.
On the return journey you will go through a similar process or stamps but without the fees and on the UAE side you do not need to exit your vehicle. It’s helpful to remember the sequence of events… on my way back I mistakenly drove through what appeared to be a lane without any queues. I can only assume it had been opened momentarily for staff. I breezed through to the exit kiosk congratulating myself on how smoothly everything had gone only to have the official ask me where the paper was. no, not that paper, the other one. I had to reverse back only to find out that the magical free lane of lies had been closed. I was stuck in no mans land for about 20 mins trying to convince various officials in their air conditioned offices, clearly not interested in exiting, and who can blame them, to send someone out to help me. Finally, a security guard lifted the barrier and I rejoined the line of vehicles waiting to go through a giant car x-ray and then into customs. I was handed the correct paper and returned to the same exit kiosk. “I’m back!”, I exclaimed excitedly to the official who now had another friend with him. “Where you go?!” he asked, laughing at me. Long story short we are all now Instagram friends.
Jebel Akhdar: Cliff Guesthouse
I’m not going to lie, it’s quite the drive to Jebel Akhdar but it’s a fast road with a speed limit if 129kmph and a 19kmph buffer before you are officially speeding. Gas is slightly cheaper in the UAE. There is a police checkpoint at the base of Jebel Akhdar, by law you cannot enter without a 4WD but there are rental agencies at the base if you need to temporarily upgrade your vehicle. The drive up is fun if, like me, you enjoy those winding corkscrew mountain drives. There is a passing lane on the ascent too so you can bypass slow moving vehicles. We ended up offroad near the end point of our journey. Google Navigation gleefully announced we had arrived, and our destination was on the right. My response was “Hell, no!” At this point it was midnight, pitch black and to our right was a sheer drop to what I can only guess was the center of the Earth’s core. We were at the brow of one of those hills where you aren’t quite sure if there is more road or a cliff drop beyond. Sylvie called the owner Mohammad, who declared he could see our lights and we should keep going. We started to wind our way downwards with faith and I used the GMaps navi to determine how sharp the bends were until we came to the end of the road and parked up.
View from the common dining area 
The hike to/from the Guesthouse 
Balcony outside upper room 
View from the uppermost room and grass platform.
My advice to anyone wanting to stay here is don’t go after dark unless you are familiar with the route, Mohammad guided us to the guesthouse and it was a good 20 minute hike. Another advantage to arriving in daylight hours is that your baggage can be zipped across the valley. I know what you’re thinking… “Zipline!! Yessss! Me too!” but, trust me, unless you are fearless and weigh less than 60kg then you do not want to risk this one. Imagine a blue construction bin, drilled to house two rope handles which are attached to a hook and hand zipped across a valley. Side note, if you visit be sure to ask Mohammed (the Brave) to show you a video of a … erm.. test run of the zip starring him. Needless to say, we didn’t have the advantage of a zip to ferry our belongings so I, who had opted to glamp with my 4-man pop up tent, foam mattress and pillows, had to make 2 trips. Not ideal after 7 hours driving, and here is my second piece of advice. There is a fake grass platform where you may erect a pop up tent but a four man took up 80% of the space and having been there.. the cliff houses are all the charm. Spring a little extra and stay in these beautiful traditional rooms.
One advantage of arriving in the dead of night was the surprise vista of dramatic scenery which greeted you for breakfast. At night you have the advantage of bathing in the light of the stars in a dark skies environment. Waking up at night to peek at stars which have shifted with the Earth’s rotation, is a simple and beautiful joy. In an era of chain resorts and brand names, The Cliff house is a rare and precious find.
hiking jebel akhdar
We hiked on two days, don’t be like us, who having a late night and a late start, began hiking in the midday sun. Even at 10-15 degrees cooler than the UAE it was way too hot for me and we didn’t cover nearly as much ground as I would have liked. We hiked Wadi Beni Habib through some old abandoned villages, pomegranate fields and irrigated crops and it was dramatic and beautiful. We stopped to eat at an Iranian Restaurant and ate the most amazing seafood barbecue platter and freshly made juices.
The second day, we hiked from our guesthouse to caves. I’ll be honest with you, my thoughts were “Seen one cave, seen them all” but was I wrong! For starters we hiked early enough to be in the shade for the most part. I met the cliff rooster who had tried his hardest to keep everyone awake on the first night living in a cliff roost or chicken harem. That rooster has the best view of any fowl, guaranteed. We had a stunning panorama at the top and the caves contained 4 chambers. There are fixed ropes you use to belay yourself down to each chamber and each belay gets progressively shorter with a shallower gradient. There are some stunning stalagmites and stalactites and the final chamber involves a crawl of about 30 meters if you aren’t claustrophobic or doing your own laundry. There was a surprising lack of bats or the pungent smell associated with bat poop. Apparently they are migratory so we were fortunate to come visit when they weren’t home.
I give up looking cool when trying to stay cool 
Masks due to dust and insects at mouth of cave 
Belay to first chamber
unique and genuine omani experience
What made this trip so unique, for me, was the connection you felt through Mohammad to Omani history and culture. These homes have been in his family for over 500 years. They now live in a villa just across the valley before the end of the access road, yet the grapes growing on vines around the houses are from his grandfather’s time, and the delicious breakfast and dinner are prepared by his mother and sister and carried across the valley. The accommodations, while simple, are not basic. The decor is traditional yet will meet the needs of any tourist, the 3 washrooms are shared but spotless and fitted with heated large rainwater style shower heads.. there is even a free-standing bath. You can book directly through the website or on Airbnb (note the write up describes 2 rooms whereas the property has expanded to 4 rooms) and Agoda or simply contact Mohammad by WhatsApp directly and inquire about some of the guided hikes I mentioned earlier and others if you so wish. When you stay here, take a minute to think about what it took for this young man and his cousin to create the first independent guesthouse in the area and get it so right.
