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 
Been here too! Awesome 😉
blossom,
It sure is, isn’t it?! 🙂 I try to make it here at least once a year.
Andy, this place looks really cool! I’ve just arrived from my second visit to the country, but missed the Sinkhole again! Well, I’ve gotta return soon, then! 🙂
Pedro,
I think you’d love this spot. Hopefully you’ll give it a try on your 3rd visit to Oman someday! 🙂 Until then, keep up the great blogging. Looking forward to reading all about your 2nd trip here on your blog. Cheers! 🙂
This place looks amazing, we have driven past it a few times but I never knew if it was worth the visit or not. I will add it on my things to do list 🙂
Ps- nice to see someone picking up the rubbish also!
Heather,
Yes, definitely a place worthy of appearing on “the Duncan Adventures”! 🙂
This has been added to one of places Must see while I’m here in Oman, thanks Andy!
My pleasure, Nicole! One thing I forgot to add. If you go during a national holiday, it can be super crowded here! Best to go on a regular weekend or even on a regular workday if you can to have the place more or less to yourself. This is especially important for ladies if they care to go for a swim.
are there any restaurants neraby? how are the facilities in the park?
No restaurants around at all. The only “facilities” in the park are filthy toilets. They are planning a small resort near this sinkhole sometime in the near future!
are there any restaurants nearby? how are the facilities at the park?
Not really…but there are plans to build a hotel nearby in the near future. The only facilities at the park are the toilets, which I’m told are quite nasty.
when I went there on normal working day. There was no people and I swim alone, feel like so special but all those small fishes want to eat me all the time lol
Waria,
Yes, going on a workday is fantastic, as you mentioned, as there tend to be few or sometimes no people there at all! It’s quite an experience having those tiny fish nimble on your feet, haha!
Andy,
Thanks for post. I recently visited sinkhole along with my family. We had superb time there 🙂
Prasanna,
My pleasure! So glad to hear you had a superb time with your family! 🙂
hey andy, ur posts are a great help for us newcomers! being in sohar i look forward to visiting many of the sites you’ve recommended in the near future.i heard there is a planetarium in muscat. did i miss ur review on that?
thanx for the great reviews and keep up the good work!
Radhika,
Thanks. Good to hear my posts have been a help for you! YEAH! Yes, there is a planetarium near PDO. It’s one of a few dozen places that I’ve always intended on visiting but just haven’t managed to getting around to yet! SO much to see and do in Oman!!! 🙂 I hope you’re enjoying Sohar. You should start up a blog. Sohar could use a few bloggers!
hi i am staying in muscat i want to go to this place but i very new to muscat how long it is from RUWI in kilometers and this park is opened 24 hours or any time frame is there to visit this place
Arun,
I have no idea how many kilometers it is from Ruwi (google it!) but I’d guess that it’s about an hour to an hour ride from there. The park does have a gate that locks so I’m sure it must close each night. You wouldn’t want to walk up or down those steep concrete steps in the dark anyway!
Dear Andy ur posts r awesome.. the way u have explained the roads and turns r remarkable..well done cheerz
Aswin,
My pleasure. Glad to know you appreciate it. I really wanted to explain the directions to this place properly as I myself got lost a few times trying to find it! Cheers!
Hi Andy, I’m heading to Oman in a few hours for a short vacation. I’ve been reading your blog all week and I’ve really enjoyed it. I will be traveling with a female companion, and I was hoping to get your take on whether or not women can swim at places like Bimmah Sinkhole and Wadi Shab? Thanks for all the great blogging!