Oman Top Things To Do

• Haggle for things you've always wanted and can't afford to buy in the gold shops of Muttrah Souk in Muscat. Chances are you'll leave this labyrinthine market - one of the best in the region - with things you can afford but have never wanted!

• Slip out to sea from Khasab in a traditional dhow, followed by a flotilla of dolphins, and find out where the term 'going round the bend' came from as you contemplate the bewitching calm of the khors - Oman's own fjords.

• Ascend Jebel Shams (Mountain of the Sun) and peer into the shadows of Wadi Ghul - the Grand Canyon of Arabia - pausing to buy a goat-haired carpet from the mountain's itinerant weavers.

• Swim or snorkel from a pristine beach among the ray, tuna and shoals of sardines that frequent the shores of the Arabian Sea, and beachcomb for top shells and colourful, banded pebbles.

• Ride a camel across the Sharqiya Sands on a desert safari, returning to a barbeque of camel and goat kebabs and a night under the starry sky.

• Go birdwatching in the eagle capital of the world at Al-Ansab lagoons and Qurm Natural Park, or look for flamingos, spoonbills and flocks of wading birds at Barr Al-Hickman (website: www.birdsoman.com).

• Take a 4-wheel drive off-road into the fringe of the Empty Quarter, across the interior plains, up vertiginous mountain tracks or through the green pastures of Dhofar's summer meadows.

• Get up close to Oman's world-famous geological attractions by rockclimbing in the wadis (dry river beds) of the Hajja Mountains or by hiking up to Jebel Akhdar, Oman's top of the beanstalk mountain and home to prize pomegranates.

• Enjoy a variety of watersports, including diving (website: www.omandivecenter.com), windsurfing, sailing or deep-sea fishing from one of the many outlets in Muscat and Salalah, or take a trip on the wild side and organise your own fun in the sun off the desert island of Masirah.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.