Spring in Europe is marked by incremental weather warming and blossoming trees. I have always liked the change between seasons and I knew by being in Oman I will not have much of that happening. But you can definitely have spring in Wakan Village!
It happened that the 1st of March was a day off, a public holiday and I knew about this place, Wakan village so I thought would be good to see what’s about.
I knew it is a village at a high altitude, in the Hajar mountains, more precisely at 2000 m above the sea, I have also heard the road there is…interesting. From Muscat is about 150 km and all good road until you get closer…you start going up, you see the name of a few villages including Wakan, which is the furthest one, the highest one. There is a particular place, where the asphalt finishes and you see the slope getting steeper, that is where the fun starts.
We left the car about 1 km from the actual village because it was very busy that day, 2 cars on that road sometimes would make my heart beat too fast, plus all the way up people would park their cars and walk, which made it very narrow sometimes. You DO NEED a 4WD car and experienced driver! Otherwise hire one, there are people with big cars waiting to get tourists up for a fee.
So, by leaving the car we got the chance to have a nice hike, temperature that day was at least 5 degrees less than in Muscat, very nice. Maybe around 24-25 C.
When you get to the “entrance” there is a little parking whit a stunning view:
A short walk from there and you arrive at a beautiful little terrace with a restaurant that after we found out also has accommodation in this heritage homes, restored places in the village.
After a lemonade break we started on the trail that goes higher and follows the irrigation system. That is a must if you go there, you go through the apricots that blossom in spring time and make this place so special. Due to the altitude the temperatures are different and they allow a bit of seasonal change. Trees like apricots, from the Mediterranean region like heat all year round but also like plenty of water, at 2000 m altitude conditions are different than, let’s say …Muscat or the desert. An average graph of temperatures will be similar to Mediterranean areas.
So, going on the natural stone path, you can see the palm trees that frame the mountains, the irrigation system, blossoms trees, beautiful landscape ! It is not a difficult hike at all, children included!
At the end there is a nice resting place, with goats coming to be fed, and there are flagged paths for experienced hikers.
I loved the fact that we went there at the beginning of spring, it felt amazing. Felt a change in seasons!
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