How To Celebrate Khareef In Salalah: Everything You Need To Know

Oman is undoubtedly a stunning paradise for the nature lover. The country flourishes in a different charm each season, but there is nothing better in Oman than Khareef in Salalah, that changes the barren land to a lush green heaven! Salalah in the southern Dhofar governorate in Oman is a lesser visited part of the country that is widely popular for its magical monsoon season. Khareef in Salalah is the most awaited time of the year for people like me, living in the scorching heat of Muscat in northern Oman! Foreign tourists, as well as residents of the neighboring countries, visit the short-lived paradise to celebrate Khareef in Salalah.

But what is ‘Khareef’?

Khareef meaning monsoon in English starts from mid-July and continues till the beginning of September. What makes it special is the drastic change in the climate and the overall scenery of the city of Salalah. As soon as the weather Gods become kind to Salalah, monsoon rains start with a dip in the climate making everything extremely pleasant. The barren brown land and mountains of the city turn all green with a constant mist in the environment making it look more dramatic!

A plan to celebrate Khareef in Salalah was longing in my planner for a very long time, but 2018 gave me all the right reasons to pack up and go there! Earlier in May 2018, Salalah was hit by the cyclone Mekunu, which among the destructions surprisingly left behind a more greener and beautiful Salalah! The aftermaths of the cyclone resulted in an early start of Khareef in Salalah and to everyone’s delight, this Khareef was greener and beautiful than ever!

Editor’s Note: Check out The Complete Salalah Travel Guide

How To Get There?

Salalah is located in the extreme southern side of Oman near the Yemen border. The city does have an international airport but not many airlines operate there. Most of the tourists travel to Salalah from the capital city of Muscat. It can be reached from Muscat by air (Oman Air & Salam Air), other international airlines from the Middle East also operates in Salalah, Mwasalat Bus Service, or by your own car. And did I not tell you that leaving Oman without a road trip, experiencing the versatility of this beautiful country is no less than a sin (hinting towards my own experience!).

Confused where to stay in Salalah? Compare Prices: Booking.com I Hotel Combined

But before that, here is some important information you need to know prior to doing the ultimate Muscat to Salalah road trip.

Muscat to Salalah Road Trip Travel Tips:

• Fill up your car tanks whenever and wherever you see a petrol filling station. There are stretches of 100 – 120 km without a single petrol filling station. Also, during the Khareef season, due to a high number of vehicles going to Salalah, it is very likely that you will not find any petrol at the filling station.
• Keep a petrol container filled prior to the start of the road trip. The filling container can be purchased from any petrol filling station
• Loo breaks are going to be really annoying as you will get to experience the worst loo’s in your entire Oman journey. To add to the frustration, you will find a very few of them on the way. So, do not miss any opportunity of taking a loo break at the petrol filling stations or guest houses (very few), that you will find on the way.
• It is completely fine to do the Muscat to Salalah road trip by a saloon car but to get the real taste of Salalah’s muddy mountain trails, a 4×4 drive would be ideal.
• All the road signs are well marked in both Arabic and English
• Due to continuous rains and lots of plantation, you’re very likely to encounter poisonous mosquitoes in Salalah during Khareef. Though there are many mosquito repellant sellers at almost every tourist spot, however, it is always sensible to get covered under insurance.

To satisfy the adrenaline rush in us, we sat out for a nice and long twelve hours road trip, desperate to get a relief from the killing heat of Muscat. Only if the distance of the journey wasn’t enough of an adventure, as soon as the city of Nizwa ends, the highway turns into a single lane road! You’re now set to overtake trucks and dodge cars coming from the opposite side for some nice next 800 km!

That’s how horrible you will end up looking for driving on a sleek road in the scorching heat right in the middle of a desert! There is only golden sand to be seen on the horizon. Not a bad sight though but not good enough to cherish for nine hours!

Travel tip: As of July 2018, there are no street lights on the single lane highway starting from Nizwa to Salalah. It is highly recommended to travel during the daytime.

And that’s what you get to see after driving through a desert for twelve hours. Welcome to Khareef in Salalah!

Finally turning off the car engine in front of our Airbnb apartment, we didn’t have the slightest of the energy to do anything so we planned to call it a night listening to the beautiful sound of the rain.

Travel tip: All hotels get fully booked during Khareef in Salalah. Also, the prices are hiked to almost double the cost from the non-season rates, so make all your bookings in advance.

Get The Cheapest Hotel Rates In Salalah

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Waking up to a lovely misty and beautiful weather in the morning, we finally stepped out to celebrate Khareef in Salalah. Here, I promise to take you through some of the most scenic drives in Oman.

Khareef in Salalah – Ayn Shahalnoot

Ayn Shahalnoot (Spring Shahalnoot) was our first stop of the day. The way to the spring goes through beautiful magical green mountains that eventually take you to the spring. The spring is hidden between extremely picturesque limestone cliffs.

The stream itself has nothing much to offer and the maximum you can do is to click a picture in front of it. However, the drive and the small walk to spring make it definitely worth a visit! Who would mind seeing views like this…

Khareef in Salalah – Wadi Darbat

If you’re celebrating Khareef in Salalah then a visit to the gorgeous Wadi Darbat should definitely be on your list! For us, it was our next stop of the day. Wadi Darbat is the biggest natural water spring in Salalah. The natural spring water flows down all the way through a number of big and small waterfalls.

A bunch of small waterfalls of Wadi Darbat can be seen while reaching the main viewpoint. The sunken dead trees due to cyclone Mekunu were seen lying around the wadi. Also, this will be one of the most crowded places you will visit while celebrating Khareef in Salalah.

The water from the spring natural formed a pond at the bottom of the mountain.

The main big waterfall can be reached by hiking stairs that take you all the way up to the mountain. We didn’t go for that as at this point we were extremely hungry and couldn’t wait to have lunch on the green grass between the gorgeous lush green mountains

Khareef in Salalah – Ad Dahraiz Beach

Ad Dahraiz beach was one of my most favorite spots on the whole trip, which was our final destination for the day. Just a few kilometers from Salalah’s city center, Ad Dahraiz beach was right out of a fantasy! A very sandy white sand beach with coconut trees shying away in the mist that engulfed them from all around, I cannot even express the serenity Ad Dahraiz beach has to offer!

Check out the beautiful shot of Ad Dahraiz beach by a National Geographic Photographer

We woke up the next morning to start our second day of celebrating Khareef in Salalah with some dramatic views…

And an early morning drive in the mountains was nothing short of adventure…

The thick morning fog made driving a real challenge with less than ten meters of visibility. We drove all the way up to the Ittin mountains to have a morning tea within nature! The full plan to enjoy the beauty of Ittin Mountains was scheduled for the next day.

Travel tip: Make sure that your car has fog lights to survive through the dense fog during Khareef

Khareef in Salalah – Ayn Khor

After coming down from the mountain, our first agenda of the day was to visit Ayn Khor. While on our way, we also encountered these cuties!

As a matter of fact, there are more camels in Salalah than humans! Also, how many camels can you spot in this picture?

We continued our journey towards Ayn Khor, a magical waterfall located in the western part of Salalah. The waterfall is not marked accurately on Google Maps so reaching there was a bit of an adventure! However, we eventually reached there seeking assistance from a local shopkeeper.

But the adventure and the drama continued with this long off-road drive. Now you know why I recommended coming in a 4×4 drive earlier in the post?

But the final destination was totally worth the crazy drive!

Note: The main waterfall was almost a kilometer further from this point where this picture is taken. The graded road, flowing spring water and slush made it a bit hard for our car to reach there.

Khareef in Salalah – Al Baleed Archeological Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site)

Our next stop of the day was Al Baleed Archeological Park. Salalah has a thriving history of the Frankincense land as it was the center of the civilization ages ago. Now, the remains of the Frankincense civilization have been preserved at the Al-Baleed Archeological site, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

There is also a beautiful artificial lake in the park

Khareef in Salalah – Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque of Salalah

Visiting the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque has nothing really to do with Khareef in Salalah, but who really needs a reason to visit this gorgeous mosque?

After a nice tiresome day filled with crazy drives, we finally called it a night with a short and sweet stroll in the Husn Souq

Finally, we woke up to another beautiful morning to start off our last day of celebrating Khareef in Salalah. The agenda for this third day was pretty simple.

Khareef in Salalah – Mughsail Beach & Marneef Caves

Our first stop of the day was Mughsail Beach and Marneef Caves which is a nice 40 km away from Salalah. The popularity of Al Mughsail beach is the natural blowholes in the cliffs that splash water from the ground whenever a strong wave strikes the cliff.

The Marneef cave is just the hollow spaces in the limestone cliffs at the beach. The cave is just wide enough for a person to sit or barely stand in it.

Khareef in Salalah – Ittin Mountains

And finally, I got the opportunity to enjoy the mesmerizing view from the Ittin Mountains, which was our very final spot of the trip. Though the mountain was a bit crowded this time than before, but the views there were insanely mind-blowing!

Huge numbers of people were picnicking happily on the green grass and slush on the mountain!

The climax of my experience of celebrating Khareef in Salalah couldn’t get any better than this

Salalah is a secret heaven hidden far away from the mainland of Muscat in Oman. While most of the people do not spare time to visit Salalah; in my opinion witnessing Khareef in Salalah is a unique experience to live and rejoice the natural beauty a desert country like Oman has to offer.

Here Are Some Not-To-Be-Missed Tours To Take During Khareef In Salalah

Check The Best Places To Stay In Salalah

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Oman has a lot more to offer! Don’t forget to check my Oman Destination Travel Guides:

• 6 Amazing Ways To Spend Winter In Oman
• The Best Diving Sites In Oman
• A List Of The Most Adventurous Hiking Trails In Oman
• The Most Beautiful Beaches You Should Visit In Oman
• The Best Day Trips To Take From Muscat

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