An Introduction to the Musandam Governorate

The Musandam Peninsula is the smallest and most notherly region of Oman, covering an area of approximately 3,000 square kilometres. It is separated from the rest of the country by the United Arab Emirates and its  rocky headland juts out into the Strait of Hormuz, giving it strategic domination over one of the busiest shipping lines in the world. The population of the Peninsula is approximately 30,000 with the greatest concentration of people living in Khasab, the capital.

The magnificent Hajar mountain range dominates the Musandam landscape, extending about 640 kilometres from Ras al Hadd in the south to Khasab, ending with the Ru'us al Jabal ('Heads of the Mountains') plunging dramatically and dizzily into the sea.

Musandam's highest mountain is Jabal Harim, at 2,087 metres. The entire interior of the region is mountainous, with one graded track stretching from Daba (Dibba) to Khasab that snakes through narrow gorges, up hairpin bends and down into wadi beds.

The isolated and harsh environment has instilled a hardiness and resourcefulness in the people of the Musandam, many of whom migrate to the coast in the summer to fish and harvest dates. The coastline has fingers of fragmented rock reaching claw-like into the sea, creating long khawrs (fjords) and inlets. Small settlements nestle on the little amounts of flat land that borders the tortuous shoreline, most of them only accessible by sea. It is only in recent years that the completion of the graded road through the interior and a surfaced highway skirting the west coast of the Peninsula have made motorised travel in the region possible.

Musandam has much to offer the adventurous visitor. The remoteness of the region and its sparse population make for a great 'get-away-from-it-all' holiday. Dhow sailing in glittering, clear fjords provides a surreal sense of peace and tranquility, snorkelling and diving on the coral reefs surrounding the islands is idyllic, and for the history enthusiast the Peninsula's many ancient settlements, prehistoric tombs and rock carvings provide tantalising clues to the past.