WADI SHAB

It is one of the most famous wadis of the sultanate for its superb freshwater basins of a beautiful emerald. As always, you are advised to take precautions before venturing out. Don't venture out without a sun hat, sun cream and of course water, as the heat can be overwhelming; and above all, check the weather forecast to make sure that no thunderstorms are expected that day, as the risks of flooding and drowning are real in the wadis. To access the more remote pools, you must first swim across the arm of the river or simply go by boat. Some kids propose this crossing of a few meters. Opposite, a dirt path drowned in palm trees leads to the heart of the wadi along the river. Very quickly, the water disappears and we find ourselves walking on the rock, between mountains with steep walls. Big boulders and touches of greenery: a wild and rather masterful environment, especially when the water shows up again, in the form of punctual basins of incredible green! The most beautiful ones are at the bottom, about 40 minutes walk away on a pseudo path that one loses and finds again at random luck (but, impossible to get lost, since one is so to speak "stuck" in the dry river bed). After about 20 minutes, keep to the right and go up a few meters overhanging following the cliff face and in particular a black pipeline. The path goes down naturally and you must then walk until you spot some abandoned stone constructions, a little higher up, on the left. Further on, there are several pools lined with small pebble or coarse sand beaches: an idyllic setting to spend a few hours. The highlight of the walk is there. It's not really a secret: in informed circles, we all talk about "the famous wadi Shab cave". But still, if you don't know, you can't find it! It is by swimming to get there, following the pools to the bottom, where the mountain forms a sort of cul-de-sac. Slightly on the left, a corridor of a few meters offers itself as a notch, which allows only the passage of the head (the rest of the body remains immersed, which allows to progress while swimming). One enters it with a little apprehension, with one's eyes riveted on the light, at the bottom. Suddenly, the reward is there: an open-air cave into which an adorable waterfall falls! A basin of a few meters in diameter, but abyssally deep, set in its rocky setting.