Oman

Oman's elegant capital between mountains and sea — the stunning Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, historic Muttrah Souk, pristine wadis, and genuine Arabian hospitality in one of the Middle East's safest cities.

The cradle of Islam in Oman and the country's capital under the imamate from 1624, sitting in a date-palm oasis 1.5 hours inland from Muscat at the foot of the Hajar mountains. The town is dominated by Nizwa Fort, the giant 1668 round tower built to defend the falaj-irrigated oasis, and by its Friday goat market where Bedouin traders parade live animals around a circular auction floor while silversmiths hammer khanjar daggers in the adjoining souq. Half an hour up the switchbacks lies Jebel Akhdar, the green mountain whose terraced villages distil rosewater each April and May from the Damascene roses that bloom on the cliff edges.

Oman's southern Dhofar capital, a tropical anomaly on the Arabian Peninsula where the Khareef monsoon turns 1,000 km of desert green between June and September. While the rest of the Gulf is hitting 45°C, Salalah sits under a cool 25-30°C drizzle, drawing Saudi and Emirati families to its banana plantations, frankincense-scented mountains and Indian-Ocean beaches. The Frankincense Trail UNESCO sites run through the suburbs — Sumhuram on the Khor Rori lagoon, Al Baleed in the city, and the desert outpost of Wubar — and the Hilton and Anantara Al Baleed beach resorts anchor a coastline lined with date palms and old fishing villages.

12,000 square kilometres of classic 1001 Nights desert east of Muscat, officially renamed the Sharqiya Sands but still known to most travellers as Wahiba after the Bedouin tribe whose herds still roam the dunes. Red-orange ridges line up in parallel north-south combs that reach 100 metres at their peak, broken by hardpan flats where camel caravans crossed for centuries. Most visitors arrive overland from the capital, stopping en route at Wadi Bani Khalid for an oasis swim before checking into a Bedouin-style desert camp for sunset 4WD dune-bashing, sandboarding and a stargazing dinner under skies free of light pollution. Peak season runs October to March; summer routinely tops 50°C.