Wahiba Sands

A mesmerizing landscape

The Wahiba Sands is a long, narrow strip of high dunes and sketchy woodland about 110 miles from north to south and about 50 miles from east to west along the unspoiled coastline of eastern Oman.

In the north of Wahiba Sands are the most incredible sand dunes, some reaching a colossal 300 feet high and separated by enormous depressions. These beautiful dunes stretch as far as the eye can see and it is a spectacular sight especially in the evening and the morning, when the warm colours of the desert become much richer and the long shadows accentuate the splendour of these giant forms. The sands are made of grains of rock, blown in from nearby eroded rocks and marine sediments and they are moving inland at a pace of about 30 feet a year.

Wahiba Sands is not just a desert landscape though. It encompasses areas of woodland as well as the mudflats and lagoons around Barr Al Hikman, where large migrant bird populations congregate in winter. It is also home to around 180 plant species and 200 species of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.

Anybody who chooses to live in the environment of Wahiba Sands must be hardy and resilient to tolerate its potentially harsh climate – and the Bedu are just that. There are over 3,000 Bedu of varying tribal origins who live here amongst the woodland on the fringes of the sands. There are also a number of small settlements along the coast that are lived in by the local fishermen who take advantage of the rich fishing grounds of the Arabian Sea. Evidence of human occupation in the sands dates back as far as 8,000 years.