Wadi Qurai: stunning pools without the crowds

Wadi Qurai is stunning. With towering canyon walls and crystal clear emerald pools, it’s hard to believe that it’s not more well known. But I guess in a country full of amazing wadis, many like Wadi Qurai still go relatively unnoticed. Swimming under the shadow of the sheer golden cliffs in the late afternoon was a simply magical experience.

The walk to reach the main pools is gorgeous, but does involve some boulder scrambling and a couple of slippery sections which we’ll go into detail on later in this guide.

Wadi Qurai is just under an hour’s drive from Muscat and 45 minutes from Nizwa, if you’re travelling between the two it’s less than a 15 minute detour. A 4WD is not required and if you have a couple of hours to spare there’s no better way to spend it.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Wadi Qurai hike.

The Wadi Qurai hike

The stats

Distance: 1.2km each way (to the big pool)
Elevation gain: 60m
Difficulty: Moderate

Summary: As is the norm with Oman wadis, there is no set trail as such at Wadi Qurai. The route is marked with coloured dashes and generally easy to follow, but mainly involves walking along the falaj (water irrigation channel) followed by climbing over rocks. To reach the bigger pools requires a couple of short scrambles and parts of the rock can be slippery, so you need to watch your step.

There’s not too much in the way of elevation gain, so the difficulty level is more about the terrain. There’s no perfect way of navigating the wadi, so you’ll end up picking the route that looks easiest to you.

Starting the trail

When you arrive at the parking area (full details below) you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve arrived at the wrong place.

There’s nothing to indicate a walking trail here, but take a few steps towards the wadi ahead of you and you’ll see a coloured trail marker splashed across a rock.

You’ll almost immediately begin following the falaj and there is a cliff wall to the left which helps it feel very secure.

However, 150m into the walk (100m into the falaj section) you will reach a narrow section of exposed falaj which takes you from one side of the wadi to the other.

It’s quite high off the ground and though the falaj itself has not changed, losing the cliff wall suddenly makes you feel very exposed.

It’s not too bad if you take it slow and steady, and it takes less than a minute to cross - but if you suffer from vertigo you would be better off avoiding the falaj entirely and finding a route up the wadi bed.

It will be slower going, but you can easily join the falaj a little further up the canyon. Alternatively you could walk with one foot on either side of the water channel to give maximum stability.

Along the falaj

Making use of the falaj helps you make quicker work of the distance than if you were boulder hopping the whole way up the canyon floor (you’re asked not to walk in the water of the falaj itself, but on the concrete sides).

At points you will bump into some overhanging cliffs and even boulders that make navigating the falaj more tricky for a step or two.

There is always an opportunity to walk around these obstacles, but hopping off the falaj and onto the rocky areas at the side was always easier than trying to crouch under the low boulders!

There is one point as you are getting very close to the main pool (450m away) that the falaj becomes quite steep and the sides get even narrower. It’s much easier to hop off here and climb the rocks instead.

Roughly 1km from the parking area you’ll come to the first small pool.

Reaching the pools and cascades

The first little pool is pretty, but it’s nothing on what’s to come. However, it’s from this point that you need to do a little scrambling.

To the left of the pretty pool is a very stagnant pool and you need to climb up the rocky slope beside it to reach the next set of pools.

The rock slope on the left looks easier but it’s very slick. One slip and you’re heading straight into that stagnant water so we chose to climb up the right side. The one slip into the pool still applies here, but it was gripper rock.

At the top you’ll see another small pool with a cascade and ahead to the right you’ll see a trail marker indicating a scramble up to the next pools. This section is pretty grippy and has good hand and foot holds.

At the top of this climb you’ll see another two small pools. To get to the final small pool with a giant boulder sitting almost on top of it you’ll skirt round some boulders on the right side of the water (which is easy).

This upper pool had the most beautiful clear water and was sparkling emerald despite the fact the sky was fully overcast.

For context in terms of distance, from that very first pool to this one is only 150m, so it’s not far at all.

Finding the big pool

Co-ordinates: 23.1696181, 57.8381683

The biggest pool (that we found anyway) is located above this boulder pool. The easiest way we could find to get past this bit was to get into the pool beneath the boulder, as the rocks all felt too slippery to climb up - although people more confident in boulder hopping might prefer climbing the boulders instead.

Crossing the little pool is easy but it’s slippery underfoot so just watch out for that. You’ll emerge from the pool and have around 50m to go to reach the main pool.

You need to cross a couple of small streams which is easy but for the fact some of the rock is slippery, particularly, but not solely the green mossy rocks. This is where I took a tumble in my excitement to finally reach the big pool, so you definitely want to take care here!

Once you’ve crossed the little water channels it’s an easy flat few metres to the main pool’s edge.

Swimming in the waterfall pool

The main pool is absolutely breathtaking. The water is crystal clear and the setting is sensational. You’re fully surrounded by towering cliffs in every direction and a small waterfall flows into the pool, creating a relaxing soundtrack for your swim.

In any other country this would be a star attraction, but in Oman it’s simply one of many exquisite swimming spots.

I couldn’t get over how stunning the views were and that there was no one else around - the reason I could swim in a bathing suit, as if there are locals around it’s respectful to cover up with a t shirt when swimming.

Entering the pool is extremely slippery so I just sat down and slid in. Once inside it’s perfect, deep and large enough for an actual swim.

The water is pretty warm, so if it’s a very hot day it won’t exactly cool you off, but it’s still quite refreshing. It has the same little dry skin nibbling fish you’ll find in Bimmah Sinkhole, but they don’t bother you if you’re swimming.

I found it easier to get out of the water using the rocks on the left side of the pool, rather than the way I went in due to how slippery it was! Getting out on the rocks is easy as it’s grippy.

Continuing further

You can climb up the rocky ‘trail’ to the left of the pool, which is steep and involves a little scrambling. However, the rock is far more grippy than the trail between the pools, which made it easier.

At the top we could see that there were more small pools and the track clearly continues further. There may be more pools beyond these but we turned around here.

The best time to visit Wadi Qurai

Whilst Wadi Qurai isn’t yet well known amongst international tourists, it is quite popular with locals, so it’s best to avoid weekends (Fridays and Saturdays). Otherwise the other thing to note is the wadi tends to be in shadow quite early in the afternoon, so that will either be a good or bad thing depending on if you want some shade or not. For reference the wadi was in full shadow from 2.30pm when we visited in November.

Safety wise you should never visit a wadi when rain is predicted or after heavy rain. Flash flooding can happen incredibly quickly and is extremely dangerous.

Getting to Wadi Qurai

You do need a car to reach Wadi Qurai, but you don’t need a 4WD. The road is paved all the way. You can find where to park on Google Maps here.

It’s just under an hour’s drive from Muscat and around 45 minutes from Nizwa. It’s less than a 15 minute detour if you’re driving between the two.