Detour

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WILD KINGDOM The Jebel Akhdar, or Green Mountains, exert a mythical appeal both over locals and tourists. Every Omani will tell you how beautiful the mountains are, though few have actually made the day trip. Locals warn that it's risky to try to get to the fabled mountain villages, where terraced gardens bloom. They mention an unyielding police check-post, treacherous roads and hint at other, mysterious dangers. But my companions and I were not discouraged, not least because Arabs have a charming knack for hyperbole.

The three-hour drive from Muscat to the foothills alone is worth the trip. A paved road winds through a dramatic landscape of wicked escarpments, jagged hills and further evidence of a geologically restless earth, before passing through the town of Birkit al-Mouz. The ominous check-post was in fact an old fort and jail turned museum. Built in 1640, it has been beautifully restored, and affords majestic views of the mountains and the picturesque town, known for its banana orchards. The necessary permit was a mere formality, and the guards waved us on with a smile.

The road up the mountain was steep, but well maintained. Road crews were even in the process of paving over the gravel, in anticipation of more tourists. But before the throngs arrive, the government will need to post road signs. We drove for hours along unmarked roads. Just when it looked like we would have to be satisfied with views of mountain goats and sheer canyons, we spotted a solitary structure. The Al Jabal al-Akhdhar Hotel fed us a sumptuous Omani meal and sent us on our way with a detailed map of the area. Almost immediately we found the villages of Saiq, Al Qisha and Al Shrijah. Here, adobe and stone houses are built into the hillsides, terraced orchards burst with apricots, pomegranates, olives and grapevines, and curious children come out to greet visitors. The real risk you take in the Jebel Akhdar is that you may never want to leave.