I consider Sinkhole Park (in Hawiyat Najm Park) on the coastal road from Muscat (and Quriyat) one of the best places to visit here in the Sultanate. It’s only about a 1 1/2 hour drive from Muscat and can be seen while visiting any number of other sites such as Sur to see turtles, Tiwi Beach, Fins, Wadi Shab, Wadi Arbeieen, Qalhat, Quriyat to see Quriyat Fort or nearby Wadi Dayqah Dam.
The blue safety railings are a nice touch. They weren’t there on my last trip to the sinkhole more than a year ago.
Those 9 pics were taken with my Canon A810. Here’s a short video from the same camera: Now for pics (and a video) from my EOS 550D:
Made with Panorama 4 Pro
Another panoramic shot
This Omani gentleman didn’t like the rubbish floating on the water either and decided to do something about it!
A few words on directions, as the signs in Oman, even for major tourists sites, are not always “driver friendly”. Reaching the turn off for the sinkhole from Muscat is easy enough. Just look out for signs to “Sinkhole Park” or “Hawiyat Najm Park” which is the same spot! The sign you see below is the sign just before the exit, I believe:
The rest is not complicated but I know several people who got lost at this point and never made it the rest of the way with less than 2 km to go! For the next step, just drive under the bridge, which is actually underneath the Quriyat/Sur highway you should have just exited.
Now pay close attention, ’cause this is the tricky part!!! You will reach a confusing T-Junction with only 2 unclear places to go. This is the sign you should see immediately after crossing underneath the highway:
I can’t believe they have only Dhabab (village) or Bammah (village) listed here! What makes this EXTREMELY confusing and why so many people get lost at this point, I’m guessing, is that the Sinkhole also goes by the name “Bimmah Sinkhole”. “Bammah” sure sounds pretty close to that name and cars head off to the right looking for the sinkhole in the wrong direction! The sinkhole is TO THE LEFT at this point. Why on earth would they NOT have a sign here indicating “Sinkhole Park” to the left?!?!?!? Even one carload of folks getting lost due to lack of foresight by those in the Ministry of Tourism or those responsible for putting up signs is one carload too many! What does one have to do to get a sign posted here I wonder!!!
If you do head out to the Sinkhole and it’s your first time, be sure to quickly jot those pointers down. It might save you from wasting your time on a wildgoose chase. For those of you who have been to this sinkhole between Quriyat and Sur, do you find it as much of a “must see” for tourists as I do?
Andy in Oman 