Why this ride
The stops in between: Bahla Fort, Falaj Al-Muyasser and back through Bahla Fort. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,100 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Falaj Al-Malki and Falaj Al-Muyasser
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 599 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 8 h 44
- 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 77 km this is Oman Jebel Akhdar Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 77 km
- Named road
- Oman Jebel Akhdar Road
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 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 77 km into the recorded legs. Next is Falaj Al-Muyasser.
3. Falaj Al-Muyasser
Water decides everything in Oman's interior, and the falaj is how people have managed it for well over a thousand years, by some accounts much longer. A falaj is a channel that brings water from a mountain spring, a wadi or an underground source, sometimes through tunnels dug by hand, and divides it among the farms of a village according to a strict timetable of shares. Falaj al-Muyassar in Rustaq is one of five aflaj inscribed by UNESCO in 2006 as examples of this system, which still keeps date palm gardens green at the edge of the desert.
Read the complete Falaj Al-Muyasser write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 300 km into the recorded legs you reach Falaj Al-Muyasser. Next is back through Bahla Fort.
4. 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, late in the day. Next is Falaj Al-Malki.
5. Falaj Al-Malki
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
Back at Falaj Al-Malki. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Falaj Al-Malki to Bahla Fort
Falaj Al-Malki → Bahla Fort is 77 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Bahla Fort to Falaj Al-Muyasser
Bahla Fort → Falaj Al-Muyasser is 223 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Falaj Al-Muyasser to back through Bahla Fort
Falaj Al-Muyasser → back through Bahla Fort is 223 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Bahla Fort to Falaj Al-Malki
back through Bahla Fort → Falaj Al-Malki is 76 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.