Part of the Jebel Akhdar range, Jebel Shams is the highest point in Oman at just over 3,000 metres. The actual highest point of the mountain is given over to a military radar station with no access allowed – fortunately this is not the main attraction of Jebel Shams. A tarmac road now reaches all the way to an area called “The Balcony”, a flat area of rock not far below the summit which gives way to a 1km straight drop down Wadi Ghul, The Grand Canyon of Oman. As you stand on the edge of this drop, clinging to the barriers, it’s almost impossible to get a sense of perspective and scale, so huge is the drop and so vast are the mountain slopes opposite you. A little further on from here a scruffy mountain village marks the start of the rim walk under the lip of the Grand Canyon.
