Why this ride
On the way it passes Bahla Fort, Falaj Daris, Falaj Al-Malki and back through Falaj Daris. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,150 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Archaeological Sites of Bat and Falaj Al-Malki
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 428 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 53
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
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.
Scenic road chapters
Oman Jebel Akhdar Road
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 32 km this is Oman Jebel Akhdar Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 32 km
- Named road
- Oman Jebel Akhdar Road
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Archaeological Sites of Bat
There is a ridge in the Omani interior where stone beehive towers still stand in a line against the sky, and they are about five thousand years old. The Bat area, near the oasis town of Ibri on the edge of the Hajar mountains, holds some of the best preserved remains of the Bronze Age in the Arabian peninsula, along with the nearby sites of Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn. The beehive tombs were built in the third millennium BC, in the so-called Umm an-Nar period, from stacked, dressed stones, and the settlement towers beside them watched over a landscape of wadis and date palms.
Read the complete Archaeological Sites of Bat write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Archaeological Sites of Bat is where the day begins. Next is Bahla Fort.
2. Bahla Fort
Bahla Fort rises above the oasis like a mountain made of mud. Its massive walls and towers of adobe and stone, built on a rocky outcrop in the plain below the Hajar mountains, were the stronghold of the Banu Nebhan, a tribe that dominated the region from roughly the twelfth to the fifteenth century. Around the fort, the old town of Bahla is enclosed by a wall that runs for kilometres across the oasis, and the date palms and fields inside are watered by aflaj, ancient irrigation channels that carry water from underground sources and springs. UNESCO listed the fort in 1987, and after years of restoration, it is open to visitors.
Read the complete Bahla Fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bahla Fort comes up about 120 km into the recorded legs. Next is Falaj Daris.
3. Falaj Daris
Water has always been the measure of wealth in the Omani interior, and at Nizwa it arrives through a channel that has been flowing for centuries. Falaj Daris is the largest of the aflaj, the traditional irrigation systems of Oman, and it carries water from underground sources in the foothills of the Jebel Akhdar to the date gardens and fields of Nizwa. The system works by gravity, with tunnels and open channels sometimes running for kilometres, and the water is shared among farmers according to an ancient system of time-based rights, managed by a local official. Falaj Daris is one of five aflaj inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2006, recognising a technology that may go back two thousand years or more.
Read the complete Falaj Daris write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 152 km into the recorded legs you reach Falaj Daris. Next is Falaj Al-Malki.
4. 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.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Falaj Al-Malki, about halfway. Next is back through Falaj Daris.
5. back through Falaj Daris
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Falaj Daris write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Falaj Daris sits at 228 km, about halfway. Next is back through Bahla Fort.
6. back through Bahla Fort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bahla Fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Bahla Fort comes up about 310 km into the recorded legs. Next is Archaeological Sites of Bat.
7. Archaeological Sites of Bat
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Archaeological Sites of Bat write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Archaeological Sites of Bat closes the day.
Leg by leg
Archaeological Sites of Bat to Bahla Fort
Archaeological Sites of Bat → Bahla Fort is 120 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Bahla Fort to Falaj Daris
Bahla Fort → Falaj Daris is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Falaj Daris to Falaj Al-Malki
Falaj Daris → Falaj Al-Malki is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Falaj Al-Malki to back through Falaj Daris
Falaj Al-Malki → back through Falaj Daris is 70 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Falaj Daris to back through Bahla Fort
back through Falaj Daris → back through Bahla Fort is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Bahla Fort to Archaeological Sites of Bat
back through Bahla Fort → Archaeological Sites of Bat is 119 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.