Road trip: Wadi Bani Khalid

After leaving Desert Nights Camp we headed to Wadi Bani Khalid, which is less than an hour from the camp.

The surrounding mountains means that there is a constant flow of water throughout the year, which makes it an oasis in the desert, filled with green and large pools of water perfect for cooling off in.

You can explore the North or South of the wadi, we chose the North, parking up in the carpark and taking the short walk along the falaj system to the first pools. Here is a good high-point to look over both sides of the wadi (and a small cafe for a buffet lunch, if needed).

The first pool was full of people swimming and depending on how far you are willing trek into the wadi there are more pools, each one more secluded.

There is also a cave, about a 15 minute walk away. At this point you can really feel like Indiana Jones, climbing, over, under and through the boulders along the valley. The cave itself isn’t really worth seeing though, it is small and dark and the main attraction inside isn’t much of an attraction. There was a group of local boys hanging around nearby and one guided us through with a torch, which is a must-have because once you move away from the entrance you can’t see anything (he of course followed us back to the car for a tip after). If you fancy testing your courage though, do crawl inside, just be prepared to get dirty and a little scared!

Of all our adventures so far Wadi Bani Khalid has been my favourite. The place is beautiful and next time I would like to explore the South side, which has more water pools, some water falls, and rock climbing to experience.