The Wahiba Sands

The Ramlat al-Wihiba (or Wahiba Sands) lies just in the west of the Sharqiya province. Its inhabitants are the Bedouins, nomadic peoples who breed racing camels, which are prized throughout the entire Arabian peninsula. To the south the dunes of the Wahiba extend 200 km to the beaches of the Indian Ocean.

Groundwater reservoirs provide life for many plants and animals in this desert.South of the Hajar Mountains spreads the sand desert Ramlat al-Wahiba, also known as the Wahiba Sands. In the east, the dunes extend to the Indian Ocean, to the west it is prevented from spreading by the regular floods of the wadis Indam and Halfayn. The northern part of this relatively small desert is dominated by mighty, reddish, stratified dunes, parallel and up to 20 meters high. In the southern part of the desert they are replaced by white, sickle-shaped formations. Under the sands along the coast is a huge sea of fossilized sand dunes, which in some places rage above ground, appearing as a bizarrely shaped layer.

► more pictures of the Wahiba Sands

➤ Overnight in the region Sharqiyya