Salalah is a beautiful city in the south of Oman. It is located in Dhofar region. The whole region is famous for Frankincense (Arabic: Luban). You find Frankincense everywhere, in hotels, houses, shops and even airports.

This city experiences the natural phenomenon of Khareef between July and September where the yellow-brown landscape changes to lush green. It rains almost every day. It’s misty most of the time and the temperatures drop to as low as 25-degree centigrade. The fact that Khareef happens only in a strip of 100 kilometers of land makes it even more fascinating. People from all over Oman and even neighboring Gulf countries come here during the period. Although I live in Oman, I was not able to visit Salalah during Khareef time. I found this video on youtube to give you an idea of what Khareef looks like.

I visited Salalah in October 2014. I was able to visit quite a few touristy landmarks.

Located 35 kilometers east of Salalah is the historical town of Taqa. Taqa is famous for its hill-top Taqa castle and an idyllic white sand beach.

It was Friday and the castle was closed.

So I just turned around and took this photo of Taqa town and the beach. 

A mere “beautiful” can’t do justice to this beach! 

..and, some super interesting rock formations. 

Another worth mentioning beach is in Dhalkut, located 200 km west of Salalah. The road is long and winding and it rises about 2000 meters into the mountains.

Make sure you start off in the morning. Since you are heading towards the Yemen border, you need to get your documents checked at an army checkpoint so don’t forget to carry your official travel documents and return tickets(if you here on a visit visa). An hour into the drive from Mughsayl, you can stop by at Rakhyut.

There are small roadside restaurants where you can get a quick lunch. One striking thing about the road trip from Salalah city to Dhalkut is that you see camels everywhere.

There is a second army check post an hour from Rakhyut. A fascinating journey along limestone rock formations starts here.

Drive for another hour…and here you are in Dhalkut. It is a long journey but its completely worth it. The beach is beautiful beyond belief. You see lots and lots of crabs around. I mean seriously, you can sit around for hours at a stretch and not get bored.

..and last but not the least; yours truly! 😉

Please drop in two lines or more 😉 if you enjoyed the trip to the two beaches. More highlights from Oman are on their way.

I love you all! xx