03Cities and regions

The far north

Musandam

Musandam is Oman's northernmost governorate, a peninsula jutting into the Strait of Hormuz and separated from the rest of the country by Emirati territory. It covers about 1,800 square kilometres and had about 49,000 inhabitants at the 2020 census. The coastline is wildly indented because the edge of the Arabian Plate is slowly sinking here, letting the sea flood the valleys between the mountains. The longest of these inlets, Khor Ash Sham, runs for 16 kilometres between cliffs 1,000 to 1,250 metres high and is often compared with a Norwegian fjord, which is why Khasab is called the Norway of Arabia. Khasab is the governorate's capital, and its harbour is full of wooden dhows that take visitors into the inlets, out to Telegraph Island, where a telegraph relay station worked from 1865 to 1868, and to watch the dolphins common in these waters. The highest point, Jabal Al Harim, reaches 2,087 metres. You can fly in from Muscat, take the fast ferry, or drive in from Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE. Set aside a full day for a dhow trip and start in the morning, when the sea is calmer.

about 1,800 km²

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Length of Khor Ash Sham

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Jabal Al Harim