Wadi Al Hora - Madha (Oman inside UAE)
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 6.84 mi
- Elevation gain
- 732 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Easy
- Elevation loss
- 732 ft
- Max elevation
- 986 ft
- TrailRank
-
82
4.8
- Min elevation
- 499 ft
- Trail type
- Loop
- Moving time
- 2 hours 10 minutes
- Time
- 3 hours 23 minutes
- Coordinates
- 1413
- Uploaded
- March 7, 2021
- Recorded
- March 2021
near Al Qaţţārah, Musandam (Sultanate of Oman)
Viewed 25393 times, downloaded 557 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
Natural Springs..! Pools..! Abandoned Car..! And much more..!
Since RAK has some restrictions and Fujairah / Hatta areas are flooded with hikers, I ended up hiking in Oman in the last weekend!
And this Oman is inside UAE where you don’t need a Visa to pass!
The place is a hidden gem and least explored by the hikers… As I expected only few hikers were there and all of them were Arabs.
About Madha – Nahwa area:
As some of you know, there is a small area of Oman called “Madha” inside UAE. Madha’s borders are surrounded by UAE and inside this Oman Governate is Nahwa which is a part of UAE (Sharjah). See one of the picture I have attached to get a clear understanding.
The place is located between Wadi shees and Mirbah. You will be travelling from Wadi shees then pass the border and enters Oman (Madha), but shortly you will pass next border and again enters UAE (Nahwa - Sharjah) then again passing border and back to Oman (Madha) once again. If you go straight further you will be back to UAE (Mirbah - Fujairah). In short it’s like: UAE - OMAN - UAE - OMAN - UAE.
There’s no border control in this part of the region. So no stamping / visa is required. However some things can be noticed:
- Mobile network will be in Roaming
- Oman flags on the borders with a picture of Sultan Qaboos
- Oman number plated cars
About the Trail:
Well, as the place is less explored, the trail is less disturbed and kept beautiful. It is similar to Wadi Abadila with some natural pools / springs / greenery etc. In Abadila, the first km is wet and greenish and then becoming dry empty river bed, here the first 4km is dry and so, be patient to walk these first kms before reaching the heavenly spots.
Park your car on the road side (for sedan cars) 25.299566506010237, 56.29734177890819 where the off road starts. And then start walking through the off road path. If you have an AWD car, you can skip this and park close to the wadi 25.30453317862541, 56.287650339368284 (2km further from sedan parking).
The first 2km is waking through the off-road before you enters the wadi. Once you are inside, you can see some big white stones along the route. At about 2.5th km, there is an abandoned old car. Looks like an old Jimny. Check well and ensure safety before sitting inside and posing for picture!
After the car spot, you will have to walk another 1.5km before you hear the first sound of natural spring / falls. I swear you will get excited and will be eager to come close and witness it. It’s beautiful, it’s fresh and natural! There are a lot of frogs in the pool and so the fishes. (Good for fish spa?)
From this point onwards, there are small ponds / pools / greeneries which will refresh you and boost you to go further. You may see small water springs / falls / some trees / greeneries later. I have also seen many dry pools and regret that I should have done this trail a bit earlier.
We went one way till about 5.5km and then decided to come back as the heat is picking up. The wadi still remains further and we never know how many pools / falls are left to explore! Looking forward to do it further in the next reason after some rainy days..!
It’s relatively an easy hike with no serious elevation gain. Wet parts are little bit tricky but you don’t have to remove your shoes (unless you want to do fish spa?).
As I said, the place is less explored... Whoever is going, keep the beauty as it is without littering!
Points to note:
- Mobile network is not available / in roaming – so recommend to download the trial in
advance in case you want to follow
- Most of the areas are exposed to sun. Even if it’s an easy hike, because of the climate
keep enough water / electrolytes.
- Water presence in wadi / pools / springs depend on rain / season. (recommend to do
the trail after some rainy days)
- Check the abandoned car properly before getting inside for pictorial.
- Check the pools and ensure it is safe before getting your foot wet.
- No littering and please don’t spoil it (like what we have seen in Abadila!)
Location : Madha (Oman - Inside UAE)
Parking : 25.299566506010237, 56.29734177890819 (sedan)
: 25.30453317862541, 56.287650339368284 (AWD)
Difficulty : Easy+
Highlight : Abandoned old car, Natural springs / falls / frog ponds / greenish wadi
Note the waypoints and read their description. Please reach out for any further info / clarifications
Since RAK has some restrictions and Fujairah / Hatta areas are flooded with hikers, I ended up hiking in Oman in the last weekend!
And this Oman is inside UAE where you don’t need a Visa to pass!
The place is a hidden gem and least explored by the hikers… As I expected only few hikers were there and all of them were Arabs.
About Madha – Nahwa area:
As some of you know, there is a small area of Oman called “Madha” inside UAE. Madha’s borders are surrounded by UAE and inside this Oman Governate is Nahwa which is a part of UAE (Sharjah). See one of the picture I have attached to get a clear understanding.
The place is located between Wadi shees and Mirbah. You will be travelling from Wadi shees then pass the border and enters Oman (Madha), but shortly you will pass next border and again enters UAE (Nahwa - Sharjah) then again passing border and back to Oman (Madha) once again. If you go straight further you will be back to UAE (Mirbah - Fujairah). In short it’s like: UAE - OMAN - UAE - OMAN - UAE.
There’s no border control in this part of the region. So no stamping / visa is required. However some things can be noticed:
- Mobile network will be in Roaming
- Oman flags on the borders with a picture of Sultan Qaboos
- Oman number plated cars
About the Trail:
Well, as the place is less explored, the trail is less disturbed and kept beautiful. It is similar to Wadi Abadila with some natural pools / springs / greenery etc. In Abadila, the first km is wet and greenish and then becoming dry empty river bed, here the first 4km is dry and so, be patient to walk these first kms before reaching the heavenly spots.
Park your car on the road side (for sedan cars) 25.299566506010237, 56.29734177890819 where the off road starts. And then start walking through the off road path. If you have an AWD car, you can skip this and park close to the wadi 25.30453317862541, 56.287650339368284 (2km further from sedan parking).
The first 2km is waking through the off-road before you enters the wadi. Once you are inside, you can see some big white stones along the route. At about 2.5th km, there is an abandoned old car. Looks like an old Jimny. Check well and ensure safety before sitting inside and posing for picture!
After the car spot, you will have to walk another 1.5km before you hear the first sound of natural spring / falls. I swear you will get excited and will be eager to come close and witness it. It’s beautiful, it’s fresh and natural! There are a lot of frogs in the pool and so the fishes. (Good for fish spa?)
From this point onwards, there are small ponds / pools / greeneries which will refresh you and boost you to go further. You may see small water springs / falls / some trees / greeneries later. I have also seen many dry pools and regret that I should have done this trail a bit earlier.
We went one way till about 5.5km and then decided to come back as the heat is picking up. The wadi still remains further and we never know how many pools / falls are left to explore! Looking forward to do it further in the next reason after some rainy days..!
It’s relatively an easy hike with no serious elevation gain. Wet parts are little bit tricky but you don’t have to remove your shoes (unless you want to do fish spa?).
As I said, the place is less explored... Whoever is going, keep the beauty as it is without littering!
Points to note:
- Mobile network is not available / in roaming – so recommend to download the trial in
advance in case you want to follow
- Most of the areas are exposed to sun. Even if it’s an easy hike, because of the climate
keep enough water / electrolytes.
- Water presence in wadi / pools / springs depend on rain / season. (recommend to do
the trail after some rainy days)
- Check the abandoned car properly before getting inside for pictorial.
- Check the pools and ensure it is safe before getting your foot wet.
- No littering and please don’t spoil it (like what we have seen in Abadila!)
Location : Madha (Oman - Inside UAE)
Parking : 25.299566506010237, 56.29734177890819 (sedan)
: 25.30453317862541, 56.287650339368284 (AWD)
Difficulty : Easy+
Highlight : Abandoned old car, Natural springs / falls / frog ponds / greenish wadi
Note the waypoints and read their description. Please reach out for any further info / clarifications
Waypoints
Photo
555 ft
Intersection
Tree
River
Cave
Comments (40)
You can add a comment or review this trail
Excellent find. Thank you very much for the detailed description. We are going to try this weekend!!!
You are most welcome @giselle.camoens.
Hope you have enjoyed it..
Thank you for sharing
Great trail thanks Muhsain for sharing!, Please be careful as i have seen venomous Omani snake in the end of trail.
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Good trail
Hello Sarju, Ibraheem & Raghda,
Glad to hear that you guys have done it.. more hikes to come..
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Layed out very detailed by Muhasin. We parked in village next to mosque. It's easily reachable by sedan.
Then you can climb down behind the mosque and side of farm down easily.
Hello Husnain,
Many thanks for your review.. appreciated..
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Completed this trail last Friday... As usual excellent info and assistance by Muhasin :)
Thanks Zanfer for the review.. Very much appreciated..
Hi, is this hike mostly covered or exposed? Asking as i am planning to go this weekend
Mostly exposed
Thanks👍🏼
Can I do the hike for exemple tomorrow ? Even if omani border are closed ? (I know you are saying in the description that we don't need a visa but I just want to double check ^^)
Hi Alice,
You can do it... Just be prepared as the weather is hot now..
Enjoiii and have a safe hike
Thank you very much Muhasin !!! I always have extra water with me thanks !!! 3 days ago I went for a hike in fujeirah, it was hot but believe it or no it rain so much 😅, I thought I would die I had to swim at some point 😅😅
Haha.. i dunno if there's rain in the past days in this Madha area..if there was, you are really gonna enjoy it.. the wadi's and pools will be filled 😍
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Scaling Wadi AL hora was a personal challenge, because in first attempt,I could not even find the entrance to the trail. Few things to keep in mind, do not attempt this or any hike in this heat,as it gets to human body sooner than you realise. Like wadi Ghub,this wadi too is full of rocks and uneven surface ,with no trail markings. It appears stright forward but believe me,it is not.
Be prepared to face the firsat challenge of having no communication with outside world. No signal on your phone. your are cut off. So go in groups. Take water but carry isotonic drinks too.
Your google map will stop working once you are near Omani dam. You will have to keep going and the road will end up being dirt road and sloping down. It's a fork and from here you have to take the right side of the rocky trail. If you have a strong 4X4,you could slowly drive up to the end of the rocky path and leave you car there. It is a rock entrance with some ugly graffiti on it. start walking and find the trail past the white rocks.
Just make sure do not leave any footprint of ugly plastic bottles or bags or anything which does not belong to this wilderness. The water pools and fall are gorgeous and theraputic. Enjoy. Worth making a visit.
Is it a good one for an evening hike?
I would say start afternoon and finish around sunset... otherwise how you will see the beauty of the wadi ..? 🙂
Hey Muhasin! Just want to ask is Oman car insurance necessary for this location?
Hi Ann, Not necessary..
As I mentioned, there is no borders control..
But if any accident happens inside this area then I dunno how will be the legal procedures...
I get your point! Thank you for your reply 😀
Hi Muhasin
Is the trail clearly marked?
Hi,
It's a wadi.. not a well laid path.. you just have to follow the wadi...
Hi is this trail suitable for kids?
Hi Fawzia, yes.. as long as they are fit enough to walk through the wadi, and make sure pools are safe before getting into it... Enjoy and have a safe hike.
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Kids had an amazing time exploring. The wadi and springs were beautiful and easy to follow thanks to your directions and advice.
Hi Fawzia!
Glad to hear that you enjoyed it.
Keep hiking...! 🚶♀️ ⛰️
hello, do you get to the starting point from wadi shees or from mirbah?
Hi Amani, you can reach the trailhead from both sides.. Enjoy and have a safe hike...🙌🏻
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Beautiful hike with lots of little streams and waterfalls
Got to see the jayakar Oman lizard towards the 3rd km of the hike
Thanks for the review 🙌🏻
We followed this trail. We took more hours to complete the trails because we have some beginners in the group.
The climate was good, a perfect climate for hiking. Trail is easy. It's all about walking and walking more....As mentioned in description, the first few KM are dry, no greeneries nor streams...but after few KM we started seeing greeneries, streams etc...We actually went lil further than Mr. Muhasin's trail and we found a camping spot at the top of the hill ( I guess it's a private tour agency's camping set up).
Overall we enjoyed the hiking.
Thank you Jisna for the comment
Appreciated :)
Many thanks ! Well described.
Hi guys
Any idea if they are having restriction for dogs
Hi guys, I went there (very stupidly) while it was raining and was thankfully found by a local an hour before a flash flood, I got out in time thankfully.
And no I had absolutely not the slightest clue that it was even POSSIBLE for it to flash flood in this part of the world (very stupid of me i know)
So just know that it's possible.
Moreover, can anyone tell me how to get past the first waterfall and pool???
I looked around but found no way across and a broken bridge
Hi Zain and Muhasin, do you think it's safe to go there tomorrow?
Hi Iwonawo,
Please check the weather updates.. and avoid hiking if there is any rain predictions