Welcome to the Sultanate of Oman - Willayat of Mahdah |
To get to Hatta Pools, you need a passport or UAE ID for the UAE checkpoint, but there are no Omani entry formalities |
Rocky landscape - Willayat Mahdah, Oman |
Al Hajar (Stone) Mountains, Oman |
The Range Rover on the road to Hatta Pools |
Hajar Mountain landscape |
The road to Hatta Pools |
The road to Hatta Pools - passable in a regular car |
One of the Range Rover's last road trips |
Panorama of the road to Hatta Pools |
Picnic by the falaj (irrigation channel), Hatta Pools |
Falaj (irrigation channel) near Hatta Pools |
Falaj (irrigation channel), Oman |
Falaj (irrigation channel) near Hatta Pools |
Falaj (irrigation channel), Oman |
There are actually little fish in there |
Desert vegetation |
Desert around Hatta Pools |
Hatta Pools |
Dennis at Hatta Pools |
It took me 8 years of living in Dubai, but I finally made it to Hatta Pools |
Hatta Pools are about 5 km beyond the UAE checkpoint at Al Fay |
Hatta Pools, Oman |
A dry section of Hatta Pools |
Hatta Pools - Canyon |
Dennis - Hatta Pools |
Reflection - Hatta Pools |
Very interesting eroded landscape at Hatta Pools |
Water-carved canyon, Hatta Pools |
Water-carved canyon, Hatta Pools |
Water-carved canyon, Hatta Pools |
Climbing at Hatta Pools |
Dennis at Hatta Pools |
Canyon - Hatta Pools |
Canyon - Hatta Pools |
Canyon - Hatta Pools |
Canyon - Hatta Pools |
Canyon - Hatta Pools |
Canyon - Hatta Pools |
Hiking at Hatta Pools |
Some people managed to climb down into the canyon but we didn't try too hard |
Canyon - Hatta Pools |
Canyon - Hatta Pools |
Canyon - Hatta Pools |
Canyon - Hatta Pools |
The main area of Hatta Pools above the canyon |
Inviting waterhole - Hatta Pools |
Fish in the desert, Hatta Pools |
Temperature's ok...a little chilly, but refreshing |
Swimming at Hatta Pools |
Dennis swimming at Hatta Pools |
This pool is quite deep |
Is the graffiti really necessary Azerbaijan? |
Hatta Pools, Oman |
Hatta Pools, Oman |
Hatta Pools, Oman |
Hatta Pools, Oman |
On weekends, lots of people from the UAE come for a day trip or to camp overnight at Hatta Pools |
The Omanis have been investing heavily in their roads |
Beyond Hatta Pools, you can drive deeper into Oman while remaining in the visa-free border area |
From Hatta Pools we drove to the southwest on a loop that brought us back to the Dubai-Hatta Road between the 2 UAE checkpoints |
Road from Hatta Pools to Ray and Shuwayhah, Oman |
Explorer's Off-Road UAE is recommended |
Side road from Ray (Oman) leads to another wadi |
Irrigation pool behind a simple dam - Wadi Ray, Oman |
Wadi Ray, Oman |
Road sign Al-Dhaaynah, Oman |
More and more of these former "Off-Road" routes in Oman are being paved |
Willayat Mahdah, Oman |
Willayat Mahdah, Oman |
Willayat Mahdah, Oman |
Willayat Mahdah, Oman |
Interesting rock formations |
Interesting rock formations |
Interesting rock formations |
This area is described in Off-Road Explorer's Shwaib to Ray route, though we didn't follow it exactly |
Mountains of Willayat Mahdah, Oman |
Willayat Mahdah, Oman |
Willayat Mahdah, Oman |
Willayat Mahdah, Oman |
Folded layers of sedimentary rocks pushed upward |
Broad valley of Wadi Sumayni |
Donkey out alone in the stoney desert |
Acacia tree, Willayat Mahdah, Oman |
Beyond the UAE border fence, a palace on a dune, Shwaib - UAE |
Head north to rejoin the Dubai-Hatt Road |