Saturday 21 / December / 2024
Muscat : Wajma village in Wadi Al Sahtan in the Wilayat of Rustaq is one of the beautiful tourist destinations in the mountain.
Located in the South Al Batinah Governorate, it is a promising tourist spot due to its distinguished geological diversity, and a hotspot for adventurers.
The village is famous for its many water springs flowing between the rocks, as well as the presence of four falajs: Falaj Al-Malaj, Al-Ghail, Al-Khatwa, and Al-Qabil, which irrigate farms. They are used to irrigate terraced farms over a large area of the mountain slope.
Dr. Al Mu'tasem bin Nasser Al Hilali, Director of the Heritage and Tourism Department in the South Al Batinah Governorate, explained that the Wajma village is one of the beautiful villages in the mountains of Wadi Al-Sahtan and Aflaj and its farms are distributed on a steep mountainside.
The houses appear in the upper parts, distributed over the flat region and suitable for urban habitation. Visitors to the village can see the mixture of what remains of the old houses built of stones and mud with the newly built houses of cement, and they stand out due to their height as if they are hanging on the rocks touching the mountain peak adjacent to them.
The Director of the Heritage and Tourism Department in the South Al Batinah Governorate added that the most prominent beautiful landmarks in the village are its small mosques, the general council for the village people, the Aflaj canals, and the brilliantly built agricultural terraces.
He added that visitors can learn about the details of ancient life in the village, about the typical aspect of coexistence with a difficult environment, and how to meet the demands of community life in terms of movement, exploitation of water sources, and communication with neighbouring villages.
Al Hilali explained that those interested in adventures can walk on mountain trails that satisfy the passion of discovery that lead them to each of the villages of Jabal Shams and Misfat Al Abriyyin in the Wilayat of Al Hamra in the Al Dakhiliyah Governorate, and many other villages such as Al Fara’a, Al Hwaib, Al Hoop, Al Wadaym, Al Naid, Al Ghor and Limbo in Wadi Al Sahtin in the South Al Batinah Governorate.
Al Hilali stressed that through the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism’s approach to diversifying aspects of tourism investment, it has provided institutions and citizens with the possibility of investing in small and medium-sized projects that are compatible with the tourism movement. One of these models is investing in guest houses and heritage lodges, which are small and medium-sized projects in tourist lodges that are compatible with the village of Wajma due to the presence of heritage houses and houses based on wonderful views.
They only need to obtain the necessary permits to operate them. Therefore, it will be an attractive venture for tourist traffic and commensurate with the potential of local residents.
Al Hilali stated that investing in such beautiful villages located far from city centres will meet the requirements of accommodation for tourists that has been in high demand in recent years. Investment in such buildings is also reflected in other positive aspects, including preserving the existing buildings in the village by restoring them and continuing their maintenance to sustain the tourism and visitor movement to the village, thus establishing other side projects that serve visitors, creating an additional source of income for the people and providing job opportunities for the villagers.
It is worth noting that those wishing to go to the village of Wajma can take the Wadi Al-Sahtan road, which branches off the main road linking the Wilayats of Rustaq and Ibri on an asphalt path that leads to the beginning of the mountain road to the village, after which the path of the dirt road begins ascending for a distance of 4 kilometres.
This distance of the road is limited to four-wheel drive vehicles. Beautiful villages and towns are scattered along the path of the Wadi Al-Sahtan Road, spread among dense palm oases and diverse geological formations. There is also another road linking Wadi Al-Sahtan to Wadi Bani Awf, which makes it easier for tourists and visitors to travel to many of the villages spread throughout these valleys.
