CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
169 km from Nizwá to Nizwá, about 3 h 17 of riding. On the way it passes Falaj Al-Katmeen, Falaj Al-Malki and back through Falaj Al-Katmeen. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,200 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 28 km this is Oman Jebel Akhdar Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Nizwa lies at the foot of the Hajar mountains in the interior of Oman, and its date groves exist because of a method of bringing water that is older than the town. The aflaj, plural of falaj, are channels that carry water by gravity from mountain springs or underground sources to fields and villages, sometimes for many kilometres. UNESCO listed a group of five in 2006, among them Falaj Daris, which feeds Nizwa and is one of the largest in the country. Some aflaj are believed to be very old, perhaps thousands of years, and they are still in use, with the water divided among families by time, measured by sundials in the daytime and by the stars at night.
Read the complete Aflaj Irrigation Systems of Oman write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Aflaj Irrigation Systems of Oman is where the day begins. Next is Falaj Al-Katmeen.
At the foot of the Hajar mountains, near the old town of Birkat al Mouz between Izki and Nizwa, the Falaj al Khatmeen is one of five Omani irrigation systems listed by UNESCO as the Aflaj Irrigation Systems of Oman. A falaj is a channel that brings water from a spring or an underground source, sometimes kilometres away, to villages and date gardens, and this one has been running for centuries. What makes the aflaj remarkable is the system of sharing: the water is divided among the owners of shares by time, traditionally measured by the shadow of a sundial by day and the movement of the stars by night, and the rules are managed by the community with great precision. Walking along the narrow stone channel, with fish darting in the clear water and the shade of the palms overhead, you feel the coolness that comes from water in the desert.
Read the complete Falaj Al-Katmeen write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Falaj Al-Katmeen comes up about 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is Falaj Al-Malki.
The Falaj Al-Malki is one of the irrigation channels that UNESCO listed in 2006 as part of the aflaj of Oman, and it lies near Izki, in the valley below the great wall of Jebel Akhdar. Izki is an old oasis town with palm groves and a ruined mud-brick quarter, strategically placed at the Sumail Gap, the natural pass that has linked the coast and the interior for thousands of years. Caravans, armies and traders all passed here, and the town has always had its share of tribal rivalries and politics.
Read the complete Falaj Al-Malki write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 78 km into the recorded legs you reach Falaj Al-Malki. Next is back through Falaj Al-Katmeen.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Falaj Al-Katmeen write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Falaj Al-Katmeen, late in the day. Next is Aflaj Irrigation Systems of Oman.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Aflaj Irrigation Systems of Oman write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back at Aflaj Irrigation Systems of Oman. That is the ride.
Aflaj Irrigation Systems of Oman → Falaj Al-Katmeen is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Falaj Al-Katmeen → Falaj Al-Malki is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Falaj Al-Malki → back through Falaj Al-Katmeen is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Falaj Al-Katmeen → Aflaj Irrigation Systems of Oman is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.