We took the challenging Sarfait road in the morning, which links Salalah with the Yemeni border. It is one of Oman’s many impressive engineering projects. Zigzagging nearly 1000m from the Salalah Plain, it reaches the top of the cliff via 14 steep bends. A few kilometers beyond the road’s summit, there are stunning views back towards Mughsail and inland across some of the wildest wadis in Arabia. Just beyond the turning to Fizayah Beach, an army checkpoint prevents tourist access to the Yemeni border.
The vegetation around Shaat is entirely different from that on the Salalah Plain, with yuccas and succulents clinging to the limestone ledges and frankincense trees in the lower reaches of the wadis. Views from the edge of the cliff are just mind-blowing!
Parking location: 16.764562N 53.601108E