As the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism is conducting the tourism festival in the Wilayat of Al Jabal Al Akhdhar in the Governorate of Al Dakhiliyah, titled “Al Jabal Al Akhdhar Tourism Festival” from August 23 to 27, representatives from the private sector are eagerly awaiting to avail of the opportunities from the festival.
“It is a great opportunity for everyone to know about the various characteristics and seasons of Al Jabal Al Akhdhar. Most importantly everybody from hotels to farms are able to participate in this festival,” said Mohammed al Nabhani from Al Jabal Al Akhdhar.
According to the ministry, the festival, which is first-of-its-kind in Al Jabal Al Akhdhar, comes within the agenda of the initiatives implemented by ministry in cooperation with the government and private entities.
Driving up to the top of the 'Green Mountain' requires care, but today there are transport operators who provide assistance to reach the top. While it is an open destination throughout the year, the festival will have activities as an added attraction and one of them is the horse trail. The festival will include mountain adventures such as horse riding on Al Jabal Al Akhdhar trails. The visitors will also be introduced to the harvest season of pomegranate and the importance of this season to the local community.
Al Jabal Al Akhdhar enjoys mild Mediterranean climate with seasons for pomegranates, apricots and roses. The visitors to the festival are going to enjoy the harvesting of pomegranates.
“There are four types of mountain pomegranates in Oman, and they are known locally as Al Moqdmani, Al Malassi, Erg Al Gharib and Al Hamid,” said one of the residents. Pomegranates are traditionally sold at Nizwa Souq, but one can also buy them from the farmers.
While it is summer in rest of the country, Al Jabal Al Akhdhar continues to be pleasant and the festival coincides with summer vacation for students.
The five-day festival is being held in cooperation with the Office of the Wali of Al Jabal Al Akhdhar and Oman Equestrian Federation.
The objective is to activate tourism development programmes in line with the objectives of Oman Vision 2040 by promoting social welfare and balanced economic development of the governorates.
The distinct feature of Al Jabal Al Akhdhar is the fact that it is located at an attitude of 3,000 metres above sea level.
The festival is expected to feature entertainment and tourism activities showcasing the uniqueness of Al Jabal Al Akhdhar, also known as the Green Mountain. Accordingly, visitors will be able to experience different characteristics of the mountain from nature, culture to adventure.
It would also be a time to know more about this destination especially for domestic tourists.
“Milestones and road signs with descriptions would be perfect for tourists. It would be great to have a tourism office, but now with the festival these requirements will be met. People are friendly, and we enjoyed buying fresh pomegranates from the farm. They were also sold on the roadsides. We saw home-grown grapes and vineyards, figs, peaches, walnuts and apricots. What was fascinating was the harvesting of olives. We could see all these activities and was fascinating to see each house has some of these trees,” said Chris Vaz, who frequently drives up to the Green Mountain for breaks.
“Roads are beautiful to drive. Emergency stop ramps on the road secures the drive. In case of an emergency there are gallons of water bottles kept on the side,” added Chris.
The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism said: “The festival will include a number of entertainment and tourism activities and visitors can explore the Green Mountain, in addition to activate the promotional aspects and innovative initiatives to attract different segments of visitors.”
“There will be also other activities including recreational, cultural and social avtivities,” stated the ministry.
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