WADI BANI AWF: MOST DIFFICULT ROAD in the Middle East?

72 kilometers of adventure, the most famous off-road trip in Oman, and maybe the most difficult dirt road in the Middle East. Join the ride above rough cliffs on spectacular steep roads along deep canyons through the famous Wadi Bani Auf in Oman. It's the start of a beautiful and already hot day of riding, and today we're going from these beautiful mountains here, Jebel Shams, to one of the most famous four-by-four roads here in Oman, which is the road of Wadi Bani Auf. It was hard to leave our idyllic accommodation on top of Oman's highest mountain, Jebel Shams, but adventure was calling. We had heard a lot of things about the four-by-four road that we were approaching, good things and bad things. Good morning, everyone. I'm so curious about this day. We go to Wadi Bani Auf, and we heard many people saying that it's a pretty difficult road to drive, but before we go there, we first have to ride down Jebel Shams again to the valley, which will be an awesome morning ride because the off-road here is super easy and super fun. So already yesterday when we rode up here, the road was not exactly crowded, even though Jebel Shams is one of the biggest and most famous attractions in Oman, but now it's completely empty here. I guess we started before the usual tourist times. We were not bothered at all that this morning we had to ride all the way down that we rode up the day before because the gravel part was just easy and fun, and the asphalt road a curvy motorcyclist's paradise. Indeed, going down was more scenic than riding up because it offered a much more spectacular views. It's so funny. Literally every adventure that you want to go to in Oman starts here at this valley or ends here at the valley, no matter if Jebel Akhter, Misfahd, where we were yesterday, Jebel Shams, or Wadi Bani Aou, where we are going to now. But every adventure at least needs a little preparation, and our preparation is that we have to fill up our tanks before we go off-road, so we need to find some fuel. Here is the petrol station, and there is even a local motorcyclist. I think he's the first one we saw so far on this whole trip. Motorcycles are not super popular here, and I bet you that he will approach my travel partner now because men usually approach men first due to the culture here. Ready for the next adventure. After filling up our bikes, we were starting our real trip of the day, which first took us through the small local roads of the town Alhambra that indeed turned out to be super pretty. So this starts to look about right. We have to go up the mountains again to find the road we are looking for, and here are the mountains, so should be right. This is definitely right. The sign said, well, let's see, 36 kilometers, and that's a town that we drive by on our way through Wadi Bani Aou. Against our expectations, the first kilometers of the 72-kilometer-long road through Wadi Bani Aou were still paved, and like most roads in Oman, in an awesome condition. So we continued the road up the mountain until we reached a point that felt like the top of the mountain pass before we were finally hitting dirt roads, and with them descended the mountain again into the valley. But little did we know what a descent it would be. So here the dirt road starts. I don't know if you see that on the video, but the views are amazing, and so far the ride has been pretty easy. We will see if that continues or if it changes. Wadi Bani Aou offers some of the best off-road driving you experience in Oman, with beautiful scenery and stunning cliffs and canyons throughout. The route connects several villages and extends across the Hajar Mountains, separating the region's Al-Batina from Al-Dakhiliya. And it indeed has some challenges that we were just finding out about. Guys, I don't know if you can see this, but this road all of a sudden became f***ing steep. I think I've never been on a steep road like this. I mean, that really is steep like this for a long time. I think roads like this just don't exist anywhere at off-road places in Europe. Jesus, I'm so scared that the own weight of the motorcycle is just pushing me down. It kind of feels odd. Normally I like going down off-road, but it just pushes the whole bike. I don't know, it feels very insecure. I feel like I have literally no control. This is f***ing steep and my wheels are just slipping. I'm braking, but it's so steep. You hear that? It's just going down. I mean, the bike just slips, even though my brake is full on. Oh, this is f***ing scary. The path became really steep with really tight bends on tough terrain. Sandy curves and the steepest decline I had ever encountered on a normal road. But the feeling of not having control over the bike turned out to be my own mistake. And after I fixed it, the ride became much easier. Oh my God, guys, do you know what just happened? It's embarrassing and ridiculous, but I forgot to put on the off-road mode again after I stopped with a motorcycle in the beginning of the gravel road to take pictures. So the ABS, of course, went nuts going down here and always unlocked my brakes again and again. So I got the feeling of not having control over steering the bike. So stupid. Now, after I put back on off-road mode, this is becoming fun and so much more easy because I feel like I'm in charge of the bike again. So I hope you guys learned your lesson too. After stopping or turning off the bike, always make sure that it's still in the off-road setting when you continue. We came by some small villages, and from this point, the ride started to become real fun. The road went along steep cliffs most of the time, so it might not be for you if you are scared of heights. How cool is this? It's like an oasis here, but that's why this is a wadi too. There are some times of the year where here probably is quite some water, maybe even covering this road, like Wadi Bani Naqar that we went to yesterday. So I think that's pretty cool, and that's actually why there are some green here as well. So this road is definitely a tough cookie. It's very, very steep. I think it's steeper than we're used to, like many roads here. I think I have not really driven roads as steep as here ever before. When we came by the crossroad to the village Balait Zeed, we decided to skip the little detour and just continue because we expected many more kilometers of difficult gravel ahead of us, which in the end turned out as a mistake. So if you drive by the sign, we can highly recommend to take the detour. What is very nice is that basically wherever you go in Oman, there is not too many people, even at the most famous roads and places. And I hope this year continues like this because it's really fun now and really empty. And yeah, just fantastic riding now. When not traveling on a motorcycle, indeed a four-wheel drive vehicle is a must when exploring Wadi Bani Auf. But you should also be a confident driver and be able to use your car's four-wheel drive capability to ensure your safety and the safety of others along the path. You should especially keep an eye on incoming traffic. The elevation change from start to end is from 600 meters to 2,000 meters. And in between, there are a lot of ups and downs on steep roads with partly limited views, especially if you are traveling in a car. Now we're entering a part of Wadi Bani Auf that I think is the most famous one. It's the so-called Snake Canyon. And if you bring more time, you can do very cool adventurous stuff here, like jumping from cliffs in water pools and so on. I could use this because it's quite hot, but we don't have a guide, so we don't know how to do it here. Behind me, you can see the so-called Snake Canyon. And we have only, I think, 12 or 13 kilometers left now until we hit the main road again. So this 72 kilometers passed pretty fast and basically only a very small part of it was gravel. Wadi Bima, also known as the Snake Canyon, is a proper canoeing adventure for outdoor enthusiasts that you should only attempt with a guide. It involves jumping into several water pools that you are unable to climb back from, and you will be exiting the canyon at another end from where you begin with. But as well, riding through it is a big adventure. From here, the road became much less steep, though, but not less pretty. I can't believe this. I'm somehow really disappointed now. To be honest, I thought this off-road adventure would take us the whole day and we would arrive sweaty and completely exhausted in the evening. But the off-road section was much, much more short than I expected. What? Can you see this? And it's not even gravel these last 13 kilometers that I expected to be gravel all the way because the pavement starts here. So sad. I don't even know what to do with the rest of the day. Maybe we should ride back again. Even though the road was paved, the ride from the village Altica was still very scenic before we hit the main road direction, the capital of Oman, direction Muscat. So guys, I have to tell you something. My journey through Oman is not over yet, but my travel partner needs to leave day after tomorrow because he has to get back to work. So we are doing Muscat now together and we will explore the city one day. And then I will take off again because I want to see a few more, especially cultural things here in Oman. So the journey will continue, but you will have to live with me alone from basically the day after tomorrow. Because our ride through Wadi Bani Auf had been so much shorter than we expected, we decided to stop for some sightseeing on the way and to stop at Naqal Fort. So because we felt a little bit strict because our off-road part was so short and we're so much more early than we thought, we decided to look at this fort here. I decided to look at this fort here, which we normally would not have done because you all know my travel partner loves sightseeing. Naqal Fort is surrounded by palm trees. The exact date in which this ancient fort was built is unknown, but many believe that it was built in pre-Islamic times, more than 1,500 years ago, but it was refurbished in the 17th century. Built in the architectural style of the Sultanate of Oman, it is unique in that it was built to fit around an irregularly shaped rock with some rock exposures jutting out into the interiors. The fort houses a museum operated by the Ministry of Tourism with exhibits of historic guns. Unfortunately, the fort was closed at our time of visiting, so we could only get a glimpse on its exterior. So what do you think about this beautiful fort? It's another wonderful sightseeing experience for you and I can sit in the shade and have a seat. But it's very beautiful, no? Yeah, it's a typical Arabic fort. It's very nice. Looks beautiful. Yeah, I can watch the pictures. We are very close to Muscat now, and I think it's amazing that there are still so many mountains so close to the capital. I really didn't expect this at all. I'm actually very curious now about the capital of Oman. Muscat, here we come. Thank you for traveling through Wadi Bani Auf with me. If you liked this episode, leave a thumbs up and a comment. For the next episode, we will leave the dirt roads and explore Oman's capital, Muscat, and its surroundings. And you will get to know my guide, Yusuf, who took me to his fishing village and to the most secret and most beautiful places in Muscat. Like always, tune in next Thursday to not miss out on the next episode.