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Nizwa and Jabal Shams Private Day Trip: Explore Oman's Historic Capital and Grand Canyon
4.9
55 Ratings
Nizwa
Discover the rich history and natural beauty of Oman on a private day trip to Nizwa and Jabal Shams. Explore the ancient market, visit Nizwa fort and castle, and experience the breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon of Oman.
Duration:
9 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Nizwa Souk - The tour begins in the morning as we depart from Muscat towards Nizwa. Once the capital of Oman during the Al Yaruba Dynasty, Nizwa is home to the renowned Nizwa Souq. Here, a diverse array of vendors line the streets, offering vegetables, pottery, jewelry, handicrafts, Omani sweets (Halwa), dates, spices, and souvenirs in traditional market halls that are rare to find. The Friday cattle market is particularly fascinating, where locals gather to sell goats, cattle, sheep, and chickens in a lively, open-air marketplace.
Please Note: If you are staying in Muscat and wish to experience the Friday cattle market, you must depart at 05:45 AM. Please contact us after booking or mention it in the special request form, and we will follow up with you.
- Nizwa Fort Oman - Adjacent to the Souq is the Nizwa Fort and castle. The fort, constructed in 1649, and the castle, built in 888, now serve as a museum offering stunning views of the ancient town and surrounding mountains. Explore the impressive fort and castle, with their numerous passages and rooms. The fort stands as an architectural testament to the economic and military prowess of the early Yaruba dynasty in the mid-17th century. It was a formidable military stronghold, designed to withstand even the most powerful attacks of its time, with traps laid along the corridors to deter intruders.
- Jabal Shams - Next, we head towards Jabal Shams Mountain, known as the Grand Canyon of Oman. The mountain road ascends to Jebel Shams at 3009 meters, offering thrilling off-road experiences and breathtaking views. At the 2000-meter mark, we will stop to enjoy the view and take photos. From there, we will return to Muscat.
What's Included
- Pick up and drop off from hotels, port, airport, and residence
- Taxes included
- Private tour
- Transportation by air-conditioned 4WD vehicle
- Bottled water provided
- English-speaking guide
What's Not Included
- Nizwa Fort entry fees
- Lunch
Additional Information
You’ll spend a day exploring some of Oman’s history and culture, Nizwa was the capital of Oman 500 years ago, and it was the capital of Islamic culture in 2015, We will take you on a tour between the ancient market of Nizwa, next to Nizwa Market is Nizwa fort and castle the fort its been build in 1649 and the castle been build in 888, the fort is a museum today. From there we drove up to Jabal Shams (The Grand Canyon Of Oman) 3009 Meters, offering an exciting off-road experience and fantastic view.
- Not stroller accessible
- Infant must not sit on laps
Location
Nizwa Souk
City Center, Close to the fort
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(55 Ratings)
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Josh
Mar 31, 2024
Great and fun day out - Knowledgeable and very friendly tour with Omar as my guide. All very professional and very pleasant day. Learned a lot about Oman.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tracyjgreaves
Mar 20, 2024
The tour of the unexpected 🥰 - Fahad was an outstanding guide. We were picked up promptly in a lovely comfortable air conditioned immaculate car. Initially we had booked to visit Nizwan and Jabel Akhder, however Fahad advised us he thought we would much prefer The green mountain as there was much more to see. We took his advice and had an amazing day filled with surprises!! After a visit and quick shop in the souk at Nizwa we went up a mountain only accessible to 4x4’s. We saw some spectacular views on the way up and on our return stopped at some fabulous ancient deserted village that were so unexpected. He took us to see further amazing places. Fahad was an exceptional host who is clearly understandably proud of his amazing country.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nurhanani_i
Mar 16, 2024
A great experience! - We had our tour to Nizwa Souk, Fort Nizwa and The Grand Canyon with Ferhad. He was a great tour guide, giving us the explaination throughout the journey on the famous lamdmark and history of it. He took time to walked with us to explain their local specialty food and snacks at the souk. Also give us a tour and information of the function of the many rooms in the fort. He took us to one of the restaurant for lunch that has delicious local food.
Overall we had a great time and thanks to Ferhad for the dedication, patience and safe driving to and fro.
Review provided by Viator
Junjie
Feb 21, 2024
Amazing full day tour in Nizwa and in the wild - Highly recommend. Great tour with amazing view of the mountain and Nizwa. Our guide Bu Mashari is very nice and professional. Really enjoyed this full day trip.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Henrylo6551hk
Jan 26, 2024
Enjoying the Great Outdoors of Oman! - We enjoyed a fantastic day exploring the countryside of Oman on this private tour. Our guide Fawzi Muhammad was super friendly, accommodating and knowledgeable. He shared so much about Omani custom and culture on the drive. We were left with a much deeper understanding and appreciation of the country.
After getting picked up at our hotel, we first checked out Nizwa Fort. Had plenty of time to explore and take photos of the beautiful compound. We also got see oryxes and feed a camel in the garden. Nizwa Fort was definitely a highlight of the trip.
Another highlight was Jebel Shams. We drove along paved and gravel roads to experience the rugged mountainous terrain. Enjoyed incredible views from up top. It’s sometimes easy to forget how the Arabian Peninsula isn’t just flat desert. :)
Topping it off were late afternoon photo stops of Bahla Fort and Nizwa Mosque. They weren’t officially part of the tour. We really appreciated Fawzi’s flexibility adding in these stops as they’re architectural gems.
Oman has a diverse array of landscapes - the desert, ocean, oasis, canyons and mountains. After visiting the cityscapes of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, it was great to explore the great outdoors of Oman. Be prepared for a long day. Maybe 10-11 hours. It’s time well spent if you want to leave Muscat to see a different side of Oman. Highly recommend this tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Renata_d
Dec 29, 2023
Well worth the investment! - This was an incredible experience thanks to our excellent guide, Fawzi Mohammed, who showed us additional sights not included in the original program. These stops greatly enriched the experience and the place we stopped at for lunch was the best meal we had in Oman. We are incredibly grateful to have enjoyed this experience during our short time in this wonderful country.
Review provided by Viator
Aleksandar_d
Dec 28, 2023
Ali was amazing.... - Ali was amazing. Puncutal, very helpful and knowledgeable. The sights are really worth seeing and learning more about. We had a great day.
Review provided by Viator
Katharina_k
Nov 1, 2023
Great day - We had a great day. The driver was very nice and told us lots of things about his country. We saw many more things on the road, that were not mentioned in the tour description.
Review provided by Viator
Rikiya_t
Sep 19, 2023
oman trip highlight - The landscape in Mt.James was awesome. In Nizwa, we could enjoy the histrical fort and souq. Our guide was very kind. It was worth to go.
Review provided by Viator
Gregory_g
Dec 29, 2023
An interesting day in the sun - Our guide was knowledgeable about Nizwa Fort. The little spice and date shop was interesting (I ended up buying some karak), but I could have done without seeing the other touristy gift shop. The Yemeni restaurant we stopped at for lunch was good, although it was weird having the server try to recommend the most western stereotypical food to me (I didn't come all the way here for pizza or burgers). As for Jabal Shams, the canyon view was nice, and there were a few goats roaming around the edge, but I thought there was going to be an actual hike of some kind, but it was just a stop for photos and admiring the view.
Review provided by Viator
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