Oman

Wadi Darbat

From late June the waterfall comes over the escarpment and camels graze between the pools.

#Wilderness#Family#Couple#Friends#Relaxed#Wandering#Eco

The waterfall should not be here, not in Arabia. The khareef disagrees: from late June the escarpment lip pours, the valley greens under mist, and camels graze between the pools.

Wadi Darbat is where Dhofar's khareef performs: from late June to mid-September the valley above Khor Rori turns green under mist, the seasonal waterfall comes over the escarpment lip, and camels graze between the pools. The season has built its own small world at the water, cafés at the lakeside and rowing boats out on the flat water, at their busiest when the cloud sits low. Outside khareef the valley dries to limestone, pools and grazing, quieter and clearer. The water is flood-prone and the pools are looked at more than swum.

17.109° N · 54.464° E

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Best For

Family

The lake, the boats and the grazing camels hold children as long as the mist holds the hills; the valley does the entertaining.

Couple

Go early in the khareef morning when the mist is lowest and the crowds are not yet in, and let the valley open as it burns off.

Friends

A khareef day out of Salalah: the waterfall, the boats, a lakeside coffee, and the season's traffic as part of the story.

Why This Place

In khareef the wadi runs green under mist, with a broad seasonal waterfall on the escarpment lip.
Camels, cattle and goats graze the valley floor between the pools, Dhofar's pastoral scene at its openest.
Cafés have arrived at the water's edge, and rowing boats work the lake through the season.
Khareef runs late June to mid-September, and the wadi is at its fullest, and busiest, then.