Why this ride
It goes by way of Falaj Al-Katmeen, Bahla Fort, Falaj Daris and back through Bahla Fort. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,150 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Falaj Al-Malki and Falaj Daris
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 281 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 13
- 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 50 km this is Oman Jebel Akhdar Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 50 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 Falaj Al-Katmeen.
2. 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.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Falaj Al-Katmeen comes up about 50 km into the recorded legs. Next is Bahla Fort.
3. 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
about 109 km into the recorded legs you reach Bahla Fort. Next is Falaj Daris.
4. 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
Falaj Daris, about halfway. Next is back through Bahla Fort.
5. 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 sits at 155 km, about halfway. Next is back through Falaj Al-Katmeen.
6. back through Falaj Al-Katmeen
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Falaj Al-Katmeen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Falaj Al-Katmeen comes up about 233 km into the recorded legs. Next is Falaj Al-Malki.
7. 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
Falaj Al-Malki closes the day.
Leg by leg
Falaj Al-Malki to Falaj Al-Katmeen
Falaj Al-Malki → Falaj Al-Katmeen is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Falaj Al-Katmeen to Bahla Fort
Falaj Al-Katmeen → Bahla Fort is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
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 back through Bahla Fort
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 back through Falaj Al-Katmeen
back through Bahla Fort → back through Falaj Al-Katmeen is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Falaj Al-Katmeen to Falaj Al-Malki
back through Falaj Al-Katmeen → Falaj Al-Malki is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.