Wadi Tiwi has the wow factor. If you were to imagine a picture perfect wadi - huge canyon walls, crystal clear water and even a beautiful waterfall - you’ve just described Wadi Tiwi. It’s one of those places that is so spectacular that every inch of it could be a painting.
As well as being jaw-droppingly gorgeous, it’s also a lot of fun to adventure through. To visit Mibam Waterfall is easy, but to continue through the canyon requires navigating a few scrambles and one down climb aided by a rope. You don’t technically need a guide, but I was super grateful we had one because I honestly wouldn’t have got down the rope part without him - more on that later in the trail notes below.
Here’s exactly what to expect on the Wadi Tiwi hike and the drive to get there.
The Wadi Tiwi hike
The stats
Distance: 1.05km hiking distance (our watch couldn’t measure the swim/wading in the canyon itself)
Elevation gain: 90m
Difficulty: Moderate, with one tricky bit
Summary: If you only want to visit Mibam Waterfall - then it’s easy enough. There’s a well maintained staircase all the way to the bottom of the falls. Continuing through the wadi involves climbing down a cliff wall with the aid of a rope and then a mix of wading and swimming through the canyon. The wading and swimming part is easy. There are a couple of tiny bits where you have to climb over small obstacles, but nothing challenging.
You can then either retrace your steps back through the wadi, or climb up the ‘track’ from the final pool to form a circuit. The hike up this route is a mix of rocky track and some little rock traverses, which have a chain to use for added security.
It’s worth noting that there is more than one potential hiking route at Wadi Tiwi. We did the one via Mibam Waterfall through one section of the wadi, so that’s the route we’re detailing in this guide. You could also take one of the routes that are much longer if preferred.
To guide or not to guide?
You don’t need a guide for the Wadi Tiwi hike if you’re used to a bit of scrambling or pretty gung ho. We’ll go through exactly what to expect in the trail notes below to help you make up your mind.
We very rarely hire guides unless it’s mandatory, as we always prefer to do things independently, but thank goodness we did for this one because I definitely needed some assistance down the rope climb. I am pretty sure I wouldn’t have got down without my guide!
Most guides (including ours) will see you down to the start of the wading/swimming section and then meet you at the end of the canyon for the climb out. This means that you have a nice mix of help if needed on the rope climb, but also time alone.
For us this was perfect because the bit inside the wadi was easy and we got to enjoy it independently. I am sure if you wanted your guide to come through the wadi with you they would, but most will carry your gear through to the end of the wadi along the dry route (so it doesn’t get wet).
This allows you to have a camera etc for Mibam Waterfall and the final two pools, but doesn’t pose a risk to it when swimming through the canyon inbetween. We literally only took our GoPro through the wadi.
In terms of route finding, there’s no issue navigating to Mibam Waterfall or through the wadi. The track out the other side might be less obvious, but still probably doable.
If you do want a guide we would highly recommend our guide, Ali, who was an absolute star. In case you’re wondering, we paid full price so you don’t need to worry about bias!
Not only did he help me down the ropes like a champ, but also carried our things over the wet section, so we could use our camera at the beginning and end of the wadi. In the final two pools he kindly offered to bring our camera and phone across some of the water (as he was much more adept than us on the terrain).
He’s also just an all round lovely guy and I honestly couldn’t recommend him more highly. If you want to get in touch, you can message him via Whatsapp on +968 9828 0412.
In terms of pricing, we never asked around for prices, so I don’t know how it compares, but Ali or his brother Mohammad (who are both Tiwi locals) charge 10 OMR (approx USD $26) per group - so the more there are of you, the better value it gets. But we still thought it was good just for the two of us.
If you also need a 4WD transfer that’s extra and we’ll talk about that at the bottom of the post.
The elephant in the room
Before we go through exactly what to expect on the hike I thought I should address some of the Wadi Tiwi rumours, stories, bad press…. however, you want to describe it! Basically I read ahead of time that a lot of people didn’t like Wadi Tiwi as they got hassled by locals on their visit.
I honestly can’t talk too much about this as we were with a local and everyone was super friendly and lovely to us. I got good vibes and everyone we met visiting Wadi Tiwi said the same thing. However we weren’t trying to go alone, so I can’t be a good judge in that sense.
Wadi Tiwi has become popular in recent years and it is the locals that maintain the paths and ropes and they don’t charge an entry fee, so I can see why there could sometimes be issues. In most countries an entry fee would cover the costs of maintaining the wadi and bring some money into the community and that would eradicate any problems.
If you’re going to go with a local like Ali, then I am confident in saying everyone will be really friendly. If visiting independently it’s hard to say, everyone I saw going it alone were treated very nicely, but the reviews obviously come from somewhere. What I would say is don’t be put off either way because if you don’t go you will definitely be missing out.
Starting the trail: to Mibam Waterfall
On to what to expect on the trail! From the parking area (full details below) you head along the gravel road (in the opposite direction to the way you drove in). After 150m you’ll come to some stairs leading downhill.
At one point there’s a small break in the stairs, but continuing straight will see you pick up the stairs again. The next set of stairs are steeper, but really well maintained and even have a handrail in place.
Just 520m from the parking area you’ll arrive at the base of the waterfall. And what a waterfall! It’s a spectacular sight, a double drop cascade surrounded by golden cliff walls.
The pool at the base is crystal clear and even when we visited with no sunlight on the water, it was a sublime emerald colour.
Swimming at Mibam Waterfall
The beautifully maintained path stops just short of the pool, and to enter the water you do need to walk (for two steps) down a slippery bit of rock. It’s not difficult as such, but I did slide down it on my bum as the rock didn’t really have any grip.
Once inside, the water is quite shallow throughout much of the pool as there are some pretty big rock shelves inside the water. In that sense it’s more of a place to take a dip than an actual swimming spot. And happily there weren’t any of the little nibbling fish that swarm you like at Bimmah Sinkhole and Wadi Bani Khalid, so you really could relax in the water!
Even if you don’t want to continue through the wadi, Mibam Waterfall is well worth seeing in its own right.
Descending the wadi
From Mibam Waterfall you need to climb down a short rocky section which is only a few steps and was quite easy.
It’s around 100m between the waterfall and the rope section and involves the little climb down and then traversing a bit of the cliff wall (easy enough) before crossing over a small stream.
You’ll then see a couple of ropes and a chain. One rope is thicker and looks more sturdy than the other and this is the one our guide gave us to descend.
I saw several people go down using this rope really easily, but if you’re like me and can find these things nerve wracking, then having a guide makes all the difference.
The cliff wall is quite slippery and though there are always footholds, sometimes they were a bit smaller than I’d have liked and I didn’t always trust my feet.
Our guide went down beside me and if I faltered would show me exactly where to put my feet.
I don’t want to make this sound more scary than it is because I know I am not very good at these things - especially if it’s slippery - so to put it into context, people used to go down this section without ropes in the past! I don’t know how but they did!
Around a metre or so before the pools there’s a bigger ledge and from here you can either jump into the water, or lower yourself in using the boulder inside the water.
There’s a small pool with two waterfalls to the left of the boulder and then a much bigger pool to the right. After a quick dip in the smaller pool you begin the wade/swim through the canyon.
The wadi swim
This next part of the adventure was my favourite, it was easy and incredibly beautiful. I hadn’t seen pictures of this part of the wadi before and I had no idea it would be so stunning. I lost count of the amount of times I had to stop and just appreciate exactly where I was in that moment.
We’ve done a few canyons in the Middle East and I have to say Wadi Tiwi is up there with the best. We’d been having a great trip, but it was going through Wadi Tiwi where I really started to fall for Oman.
Anyway back to the journey. We couldn’t measure the distance through the wadi like we normally do with hikes, but it’s probably not that long.
We spent an hour going through it, but honestly most of that time was taking in the views, not swimming. Though you do have to swim certain sections, there are many bits inbetween that are shallow, so you don’t have to be able to swim for any great distance, but you do have to be comfortable doing multiple swims through deep water.
No photos (especially as we couldn’t bring our proper camera) could ever do this wadi justice. The water is so clear and the mountains which are dotted with date palms tower over you. Parts of the cliff walls are dripping in foliage and the effect is like something from a fairytale.
We visited in the morning, but I imagine in the middle of the day with direct sunlight on the water helping the colour pop, it would be even more sensational.
You’ll start with a short swim before a brief shallow section.
This is then repeated again before you reach a little cascade which you can either skirt round the edge of, or slide down.
This will lead to a huge pool which is where your longest swim will be. The water is deep and cool, so it’s the perfect place to get a proper swim in.
There is one final pool which is separated from this one by a set of huge boulders. You can climb up (easy) on to the edge of the rock wall and skirt that before you have to either climb down a few boulders or down a cascade.
This bit is slightly awkward because the boulders are a bit slippery, especially if people have walked over them leaving wet puddles. I thought going down the cascade was easier. You’re then in the final pool which is another absolute beauty and great for swimming.
There’s a weeping wall at one end which is covered in a plant that I asked the name of and have now forgotten, but looks a bit like a fern. It’s Jurassic Park-esque and absolutely gorgeous.
The view from inside the water looking back is also incredible, with a huge overhang backed by mountains.
The only thing which makes this spot slightly less special is that it can be a bit busier as some people just hike down to this pool.
But even that didn’t stop me declaring it one of the most beautiful places we’ve been to in the Middle East.
The climb out
At this point if you’re here alone you can either retrace your steps through the wadi, or hike out from the final pool using an alternative track. If you’re here with a guide they’ll almost certainly take you up the alternate route as it’s much quicker.
It’s not a long walk, but it’s quite steep and there isn’t much flat track, though you can stop and ‘admire the views’ as often as you want! And they are great views!
You’ll start by skirting the overhang, which is slightly sloped and has a chain in place for stability. You’ll then begin climbing on a mix of big rocks and sometimes something more like a trail, but it’s mainly quite rough.
It’s around 200m into the climb that you reach some more chains and these go for about 100m.
The rock is generally quite good here, much less slippery than the wadi down climb, but as it’s sometimes a traverse rather than a straight climb up, the chains give you more security.
After the chains the walk is still not on a formed track as such, but it’s quite easy. Just climbing up some sturdy rocks and stairs.
You’ll reach the parking area 450m after leaving the final pool.
The best time to visit Wadi Tiwi
First and foremost - as with all wadis/canyons - do not visit if rain is forecast or if there has been recent heavy rain, due to the danger of flash flooding.
Aside from that, whilst Wadi Tiwi is far from being as popular as Wadi Shab and Wadi Bani Khalid (and I mean far from), if you want to get the wadi or at least large parts of it to yourself, you want to avoid weekends (Friday and Saturday).
It’s also much quieter in the very early morning, though the trade off here is the wadi will be in shade for the entire duration. Good for not needing suncream, but not as picturesque for photos and it will be cooler if you’re visiting in winter. Unlike many of Oman’s wadis the water in Wadi Tiwi is actually cool.
We arrived at Mibam Waterfall at 8.30am and though we were the first, it didn’t last long. I think if we’d gone another 30-60 minutes earlier we would have got the whole wadi to ourselves despite really taking our time.
Facilities at Wadi Tiwi
At the parking area you’ll find locals renting and selling life jackets, dry bags, waterproof phone cases and water shoes. It says they take cash and card, but I’d take cash just incase. We bought the dry bag which seemed to work quite well, though I wouldn’t say we really put it through its paces.
I don’t remember seeing toilets at this part of the wadi, though I’ve heard there are some before this point, so you’d want to stop there first if needed.
The road to Wadi Tiwi
The road to Wadi Tiwi is often described as a 4WD track, but in reality it’s not. Locals can and do use small cars to get up the mountain. However, 99% of tourists will be more comfortable in a 4WD because though the road is paved, it’s very steep and at times the paving is damaged.
It’s also very narrow in parts and passing can be challenging. I wouldn’t go up it without a high clearance vehicle, but our driver never engaged 4WD and small cars were up there, so it’s not technically a 4WD road.
If you are driving yourself, I would recommend going early so you go with the flow of traffic and don’t have to worry about oncoming traffic (though you may face it on the return leg).
Passing places are limited and when we had to pass a car it did put us right on the edge of a steep unfenced cliff edge. For this reason you need to be a confident driver to take on this road.
We only had a small car so we always knew we’d need a driver. We hired our guide’s dad (Abdullah) which we organised through our guesthouse in Tiwi.
He was an excellent driver, beeped around blind corners and generally took it slow and steady. We paid 10 OMR (approx USD $26) which is a lot for a short journey, but he waited for us for four hours and it was still significantly cheaper than hiring our own 4WD!
Though there are some sheer unfenced drops along the steep part of the road, the majority of the road is not like this, so it wasn’t a scary road by any means - I am basing this on the fact we weren’t driving though : )
Parking for Wadi Tiwi
There isn’t a huge amount of parking space near the trailhead, but even when we left the wadi close to midday, there was still space. It’s not a proper car park so much as an area which you can pull fully off the road, you can find it on Google maps here. You’ll know you’ve got there because you’ll see the signs for hiring life jackets etc.
This is the parking area for Mibam Waterfall and the route we describe above, there are other parking areas for different routes through Wadi Tiwi.
Where to stay near Wadi Tiwi
You could day trip to Wadi Tiwi from Sur (we’ve stayed in the Sur Grand Hotel which was pretty good) or even Muscat, but we wanted to make an early start so chose to stay in the little village of Tiwi.
Wadi Shab Guesthouse
We stayed at Wadi Shab Guesthouse and would recommend it. The rooms are large and modern with AC, and it’s located right in front of a pebble beach where you can see turtles! There’s even bioluminescence at night (every night, though not always a lot of it).
The bathroom is a typical wet room but it dries very quickly so that wasn’t really an issue. It’s located a few minutes drive from Wadi Shab and close to the start of the steep road up to Wadi Tiwi.
You can check out the latest reviews and availability on:
The host Habib helped me a lot with letting me know the condition of the water at various wadis around Oman, even after we left the guesthouse (as we visited during a time of heavy rains).
You can get in touch with him before you get there via Whatsapp in case you want to know more about the conditions and anything else on +968 9965 8222.
If Wadi Shab Guesthouse is full, you could try this villa in Wadi Shab or Tiwi Sunrise Motel.
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