 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 |