Jebel Shams is home to Oman’s Grand Canyon, one of the most incredible sights in the whole country. Many places claim to have a grand canyon and not all live up to the hype. The moment you set eyes on this one, you’ll see it lives up to its name. It’s absolutely magnificent and a true highlight of any Oman road trip.
There are many great viewpoints along the rim of the canyon, which don’t require any walking at all, but even hiking a short distance into the canyon itself offers an even more dramatic perspective.
What’s more, the cool mountain air is absolute bliss, especially if you’re visiting in Oman in one of the warmer months. It’s one of the few places we could wear a jumper in the evening! If you’re visiting between December and February you might actually feel a slight chill up here, as Jebel Shams sits at around 1,900m above sea level and can be a staggering 12C cooler than Muscat.
In this guide we’re sharing details on the canyon walk and where to head for sunrise, sunset and star gazing if you’re lucky enough to spend a night in the mountains.
Tips for visiting Jebel Shams
The lowdown on the viewpoints
There are technically four viewpoints at Jebel Shams, but to be honest, once you hit the road along the canyon rim, everything is a viewpoint! It’s simply stunning all the way from viewpoint to the start of the Balcony Walk.
We’d definitely recommend stopping at viewpoint one (which you can find here on Google maps) for possibly the best view of all the rim lookouts. This is also where you’ll find railings if big drops bring on a case of jelly legs.
The other main canyon viewpoint is at the campsite and offers a similar, but in our opinion, not quite as good a view as lookout one.
Sunset Point doesn’t offer a canyon view and we’ll cover this one in our sunset section.
The final viewpoint - marked as “Viewpoint 3” on Google maps - is slightly off road on the way to the Balcony Walk, which we didn’t personally visit as we’d stopped quite a bit along the road already.
On your first drive you’ll find yourself stopping even when there is no official viewpoint because there are pull outs you can use to see into other parts of the canyon.
Other than these rim top lookouts, there are also phenomenal views along the Balcony Walk, and you don’t have to walk far to enjoy them.
Even heading 300m along the trail will take you to a rustic cafe right on the canyon edge and the view is simply extraordinary.
A further cafe is located 1km into the walk and also has magnificent views, though there is much less seating here.
Where to go for sunrise
Spending a night in Jebel Shams allows you to see the canyon at its most photogenic, during the soft light of sunrise.
By this point in our trip we did not want to wake up for yet another sunrise, but when we reached the canyon rim we were so glad that we did.
The light in the canyon just before sunrise was magical and worth the trip to Jebel Shams alone.
I will admit that we went for the lazy option and visited viewpoint one because it was only an eight minute drive from our hotel, so we didn’t need to leave until 6am.
You’ll get an exceptional view of sunrise from here and you can move to the right - away from the railings - to enjoy an uninterrupted vista.
There are plenty of rock ledges (which are not right on the edge) where you can sit and relax.
However, special as this spot was, later that morning we walked the Balcony Track and I knew then that we should have made a little more effort. Even walking five minutes or so down the trail would have given us a sunrise view where we could feel part of the landscape.
Instead of looking on from the top of the canyon you would be inside it and I think that would have been even more magical.
Having said that the most important thing is not to miss it, whether you want to take the easy option like we did, or put a little more effort in and head to the Balcony Walk, you won’t regret it.
Where to go for sunset
Whilst you can’t watch sunset over the canyon itself, you can watch it over the surrounding mountains. This is when you want to head for the aptly named Sunset Point (you can find it on Google maps here).
Unlike watching the sunrise, which was very quiet, sunset does get a touch busier, but even walking a minute or two away from the car park will see you find your own private spot. It’s a rocky plateau which has many areas you can sit and watch as the sun slowly dips behind the mountains.
The mountains are quite far in the distance, but it’s still a beautiful view and again there is no walking required if you don’t choose to.
Stargazing at Jebel Shams
We’d heard quite a lot of good things about stargazing at Jebel Shams, but unfortunately there is quite a bit of light pollution around. Not only are the hotels scattered along the rim, but you can also see the lights from distant towns. It’s not that you won’t see a lot of stars, but you won’t get a completely dark night sky like you might expect from staying up in the mountains.
We headed to Sunset Point and you could see quite a few stars, just not on the scale we’d been expecting. We heard that heading along the road towards the Balcony Track was good for stargazing, but this is where there was even more light pollution from the towns unfortunately.
It’s possible that heading a little way into the canyon along the walking trail might be best of all as the canyon walls would block some of the light and allow your eyes to adjust better.
Hiking trails at Jebel Shams
Jebel Shams is home to one of Oman’s best loved trails and one I’ve already mentioned quite a few times, the Balcony Walk. I had high expectations for this trail and even then it exceeded them.
At times it really did feel like walking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and we can give it no higher praise than that. It’s a spectacular trail from start to finish and even walking a little way along it is more than worth it.
The full walk is 8.2km return, but you can add on 800m and venture where few people do, to the hidden cave and pool. We detail how to get there in this guide.
The walk is predominantly downhill or flat on the way, so coming back you’ll have a fair bit of uphill walking.
The gradient is rarely steep, but if you’re walking under the intense sun it can feel more challenging (despite the fact the temperatures are a lot cooler as you’re in the mountains).
The track condition is excellent, especially by Omani standards.
There are only a few rocky sections, with much of the trail being smooth and easy underfoot. Some sections are narrow, it never felt precarious to me, but if you suffer from acute vertigo it could be quite unnerving.
The views throughout are exceptional and we both agreed it is one of our favourite day walks of all time.
If you want the easiest possible experience on the walk, you should start in the afternoon (from around 2pm) when the trail falls into shadow.
However, this is not the best time for photos as you’ll have the trail in shadow, with parts of the canyon in the sun.
The best light for photos is in the morning, but it does mean you’ll be walking back under the harsh sun. We started at 8am and we had even light throughout the walk, but it got pretty hot on the hike back up to the rim and I wished we’d started a bit earlier.
There are other less trafficked trails at Jebel Shams, but they are all more significant undertakings than the Balcony Walk.
You can hike to the summit of Jebel Shams Mountain, which is said to take between 8 and 12 hours return and the 6km (each way) Al Khitaym To Wadi Ghul hike, which is best done as a one way hike with transport arranged, so you don’t have to tackle the steep trail both ways.
There are a couple more walks which we only found out about on the signpost when we arrived in Jebel Shams, so we’ve included a photo below to help you plan in advance.
If we knew there were so many different options we would have spent an extra night in the area - I guess it’s another reason to come back to Oman!
Jebel Shams via ferrata
We didn’t do the Jebel Shams via ferrata and I don’t normally like to talk about things we haven’t done, but we did notice something on one of the signs at Jebel Shams that I hadn’t seen written anywhere else online.
If you’re adventurous and have done a via ferrata before (and have, or can rent the gear) then you can actually do the Jebel Shams via ferrata route without a guide.
The signpost clearly states ‘appropriate experience or a guide is required’. It’s accessed via the hidden pool route along the Balcony Walk (W6 blue trail on the map). Red trails are marked as requiring a licensed guide, but blue routes are for anyone.
For everyone else you can book a trip through the Husaak Adventure Centre, although you might be better off asking for assistance from your hotel to organise a guide, as I contacted the Husaak Centre on four separate occasions and not once did they get back to me (I didn’t really want to mention them here, but they are much cheaper than using Viator who are the other company offering trips online).
Where to stay at Jebel Shams
Sama Heights Resort
We stayed at the Sama Heights Resort in one of the Grand Chalets. We didn’t actually want to book the expensive chalet but it was the only room left! However, when we got there we were actually quite glad to have it because it was a really nice stand alone room with a lovely view and so quiet. As in no noise whatsoever which was a rarity in Oman.
The bed was comfy and the shower was decent enough. There was no wifi (or perhaps it didn’t reach the room) but that was a small trade off for absolute peace and serenity. There is AC though I can’t imagine needing it unless it’s the height of summer.
Dinner and breakfast were included in the room rate and were pretty good, dinner more so than breakfast but both were better than several other buffet dinners we had in other hotels.
The other thing that I really appreciated about the hotel was that they kindly let us come back and have a shower after the Balcony Walk when we had already checked out. I wasn’t looking forward to a 3 hour drive in my sweaty hiking gear and was super grateful that they allowed us to do this; especially as it was 1pm and people would have begun checking in an hour later.
You can check the reviews and prices on:
Balcony Walk Rest House
The other place I considered staying was the Balcony walk rest house Jabal Shams. It’s a stand alone chalet and looked pretty basic, but it’s location beside the Balcony Walk trailhead looked remote and wonderful.
I think it’s overpriced especially as you need to bring your own food or eat at their neighbours house (which based on reviews charged the same prices as a relatively high end Muscat restaurant) but if you want to be alone in a spectacular location which even had a fire pit then you probably can’t beat it.
Another great option if you have the gear is to wild camp. We saw lots of people with rooftop tents on their cars and you have a lot of choice as to where to sleep, we even saw people setting up camp at Sunset Point which looked idyllic.
Jebel Shams cafes and restaurants
There’s not a lot going on at Jebel Shams so you’ll want to plan accordingly. There are several cafes, but during our visit they were only serving coffees and other drinks and sweet food, nothing savoury. We tried the Cliff Cafe which had a nice roof top terrace with a good canyon view.
We didn’t try the coffee but the setting was nice. The hibiscus iced tea was a bit sweet, but overall we enjoyed it because of the view - the reviews for the cafe were great, so I probably just ordered wrong.
There were a couple of other cafes at hotels such as the Alstromeria Cafe at the Jebel Shams Resort, but if you’re only after a soft drink which is hard to get wrong, then I would 100% walk 300m along the Balcony Walk to the cafe on the canyon edge, as you aren’t going to get a better view than that.
If you think you’re going to need a proper lunch then book it with your hotel in advance. We didn’t do this and when we asked about lunch the literal only thing you could order at the Sama Hotel was french fries…… and they were possibly the oiliest thing I have ever eaten in my life, don’t do it! Other hotels may be different, but I wouldn’t count on it!
The road to Jebel Shams
As with many dirt roads in Oman, there’s a lot of controversy about this one. The first thing to know is that the gravel portion of the road is only 7km long. Along the canyon rim it’s paved, however, if you’re planning to do the Balcony Walk then you hit dirt road again, for several further kilometres.
The paved part of the road before you reach the gravel is steep in parts but easy to drive.
When dry the gravel road is very well graded and rarely narrow. It’s easy to pass people in all but a few short sections. It’s steep in parts but not hair raising in any way.
You can, and people do, take 2WD’s up here, but we only saw one tourist do so. Everyone else was in a 4WD. A car with some clearance and oomph is preferable on a road like this unless you are experienced in driving gravel roads with a small car.
We had a 4WD, not a hardy one (a RAV4) and it was easy to drive here, so you do not need one of the more expensive ones unless you plan on doing more off road driving elsewhere in Oman.
Getting to Jebel Shams
Jebel Shams is roughly a 3 hour drive from Muscat or 1 hour 45 minutes from Nizwa. It’s around 2 hours 30 minutes from Jebel Akhdar. At time of writing there is no public transport to Jebel Shams, so you’d need to take a taxi or a tour if you aren’t hiring a car.
This post may contain affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, that we will earn a small commission if you click through and decide to make a purchase. This helps towards the costs of running our website. Thanks for your support.
