In February 2020, just before the COVID-19 lockdown, two experienced canyoners from France travelled to Oman to immerse themselves in the distinct beauty of its wadis. This was not their first visit to the Sultanate, nor would it be their last.
During their third visit in 2023, we embarked on an ambitious undertaking: exploring a significant canyon that begins at Jabal al Sarah and concludes in Yiqa, a quaint village from Rustaq to Ibri. In addition, we discovered a couple of new canyons upstream from the renowned Snake Gorge, ultimately leading to the village of Hat. Having previously identified two potential canyons through Google Earth, I undertook a solo reconnaissance trip one weekend to confirm their starting and ending points.
On the morning of February 21st, my two visiting companions, Guillaume and François, along with Dr. Said, an esteemed radiologist and long-time Omani friend, set off toward Wadi Bani Awf. We reached our starting point at the farthest canyon around 9:30 AM, greeted by clear weather and favourable forecasts for the days ahead.
We planned to make one of the two canyons accessible first, where we would spend the night with Guillaume and François, as Dr. Said needed to return to Muscat due to his professional commitments at the Royal Hospital.
After equipping ourselves with all necessary tools for the canyon opening—such as a drill, drill bits, anchors, hammer, and ratchet spanner—as well as standard canyoning gear, including harnesses, ropes, slings, descenders, and carabiners, we filled our bags with food and drinks and commenced our exploration around 10 AM. We travelled through the bed of a tributary wadi to reach the main canyon.
Shortly after beginning our descent, we encountered an initial drop of approximately 20 meters. We utilized the trunk of a large acacia tree (Talh) to set our abseiling rope. François was the first to descend, followed by Dr. Said, myself, and finally Guillaume. Upon landing in the first pool, we were grateful for our wetsuits, as the water was quite cold for this time of year.
After reaching the main canyon, our progress was swift due to the absence of further drops requiring abseiling. This section of the wadi is notably wide and, after about 30 minutes of walking, we discovered a remarkable undercut in the mountain on the left bank, forming an impressive cave. We decided to name this wadi “The Great Cave Canyon.”
We took a brief break at this scenic point to capture a few photographs, then continued on our journey.
As we advanced, the wadi narrowed significantly, revealing stunning geological formations and abundant tufa deposits, which are porous limestone structures formed by the deposition of dissolved calcium carbonate by local flora. It is common to see calcified plant roots embedded within these tufa formations, which, while beautiful, are never utilized for anchoring.
In many locations, we needed to establish anchors to facilitate our progression. François consistently volunteered to descend first, as he was responsible for setting the next anchors while the rest of us followed. This approach allowed us to move efficiently through the canyon.
One particularly challenging drop required us to navigate under an arch during our abseil. The wadi was quite aquatic, necessitating our passage through numerous small pools, as most of our drops concluded in water.
After approximately three hours, we arrived at a section where the canyon widened once more, necessitating Dr Said's climb out of the wadi to retrieve his vehicle for his return to Muscat.
We paused for a brief rest atop a large boulder in the middle of the wadi before parting ways with Dr Said and continuing downstream.
Once again, the canyon narrowed, and we encountered the first drop, landing in water, followed by five additional drops, none exceeding 20 meters in height.
While standing on a boulder admiring the breathtaking surroundings, I noticed a captivating formation hanging from the mountain on the left bank that resembled a bayonet. Consequently, we decided to name this particular section of the wadi “The Bayonet Canyon.”
By 3:30 PM, we reached the beginning of the falaj at Hat, where we had parked our car.
We then returned to our campsite at the starting point of the second canyon, which we planned to explore the following day.
To be continued...
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