Visiting Wadi Shab and Bimmah Sinkhole is an easy day trip from Muscat, Oman. It is completely doable yourself if you would prefer to rent a car, but we opted to book transportation and a guide through our hotel, although we did the Wadi Shab hike on our own.
What to wear and bring: For women, I recommend wearing swimwear underneath athletic quick-dry clothing along with good athletic shoes for the hike. I left my leggings and athletic t-shirt on for the swim (most women remained mostly covered in the water), and they dried quickly on the hike back. For men, I would suggest wearing swim shorts and an athletic t-shirt. Also, I HIGHLY recommend that you bring water shoes to change into once your reach the pools - the rocks are pretty painful to walk on without them, and they also help with traction in slippery spots. Another item I loved having was a waterproof iPhone cover + neck strap. This way, you can take your phone and credit cards/ID with you on the swim rather than leaving them on the rocks with your other belongings. Definitely bring water and sunscreen as well.
The drive from Muscat to Wadi Shab was under 2 hours on well-maintained, paved roads. The parking lot is underneath a highway overpass, and you would never guess that you were less than an hour away from canyons filled with natural turquoise pools. There are restrooms in the parking lot, just watch out for all the goats that hang out in the area!
The start of the hike begins on the other side of the lagoon, and you will need a small amount of cash (was 1 OMR per person when we went) to pay for the small boat that takes you from the parking lot to the trailhead. Your ticket also includes the return trip when you are done with the hike.
Crossing the lagoon by boat to get to the trailhead
The trail from here is easy to follow as you are hiking through a narrow canyon. After some time, you will hit the first water pools, which you will hike up and around, as these pools are not for swimming (there are signs that mark this).
Eventually, you will hit a water pool that you cannot hike around, and that means it is time for the swimming part of this adventure! It took us under 45 minutes to reach this part of the hike. At this time, you can take off your shoes, backpack, etc. and leave them on the rocky beach near the water. We changed into our water shoes here and only brought our phones/credit cards in waterproof cases into the water.
The water was fairly warm and felt so refreshing after the hike. The next few pools varied in depth, and there are stopping points and rocky areas to climb over between the pools. I am not the strongest swimmer, and was lucky that my husband was able to swim ahead to let me know how long each swim would be before I could touch again. I ended up making it through the first pools with no issues.
The last pool is the deepest and also the longest swim. This is where I stopped, but my other half made the trip and captured some great photos so that I could see. I wish I had brushed up on my swimming skills before this trip!! After swimming the length of this pool, there is a narrow cave area that people must swim through one at a time as only your head fits above water, and depending on water levels, you may need to swim underwater the whole way. On the other side, there is a beautiful hidden pool with a waterfall.
We had some more fun swimming around in the shallow pools before heading back to the trail. Even though it was nice to have more shade on the hike in, the hike back was more enjoyable as the color of the pools became more vibrant when lit up by the sun. Overall, we spent ~2.5 hours at Wadi Shab, but you could easily spend more depending on how fast you hike or how long you want to spend in the pools.
We met our guide back at the parking lot, and he took us to a small nearby mountain town to stop for lunch. Not only was it fun to get to know our guide better, who was so friendly and easy to talk to, but we also got to sample some delicious local specialties. A nearby school had also just ended its day, and we learned that instead of school busses, locals pick up the kids everyday and fill up their trucks and cars to take them all home. Was fun to wave at all the smiling kids driving by while we ate on the patio.
Our last stop was Bimmah Sinkhole, which is a large natural sinkhole and pool. It was quiet when we arrived, and is a very short walk from the parking lot. You can view the pool from above and also walk down the staircase to the pool at the bottom. If you get in the water, be aware that there are tiny little fish that will come nibble on your skin!
Bimmah Sinkhole is beautiful, and you don't need to stay for long unless you plan on hanging out in the water for a while. Head back to Muscat, and you will have plenty of time to rest up before dinner once you get back!
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