Discover the natural beauty of Wadi Al Hoqain and the historic Al Hazm Castle on a full-day tour from Muscat. Swim in the pools of Wadi Al Hoqain and explore the tunnels. Then, visit the Al Hazm Castle, a military stronghold with traditional Omani defensive features.
Start your day with a drive to Wadi Al Hoqain, a natural wonder with deep blue water pools. Walk over the wadi slopes, which are not too high, and take an easy walk up to the end where the tunnels of Wadi Al Hoqain are located. Walk from the tunnels, which include some easy swimming, and then swim in the beautiful water pools.
Next, visit Al Hazm Castle, located in the town of Al Hazm in the Wilayat of Rustaq in the Al Batinah region. The castle is a great military stronghold that makes full use of traditional Omani defensive features such as a huge wooden gate, secret escape tunnels, dungeons, cannon towers, and slots on the upper floors.
The castle was built by Imam Sultan bin Saif Al Yarubi, son of Imam Saif bin Sultan, nicknamed “The Land of the Land,” in 1711 AD. He made Al Hazm his capital when he moved to it from Rustaq. The castle contains his tomb where he was buried and was restored by the Ministry of Heritage & Culture in 1996.
Architecturally, the castle is characterized by the absence of any timber in its ceilings, which are round arches fixed on cylinders columns and the width of one wall the wall is not less than three meters. The fortress has several huge doors that do not meet with a single corridor, and it has several Portuguese and Spanish archaeological cannons with a range of 70 km.
The castle is characterized by the presence of several special stairs for climbing horses, in addition to secret passages, each of which is two meters wide and two meters high. These are passages that spread on the four sides of the fortress to exit after that to the city. The castle also has a number of rooms that were used to teach the Noble Qur’an, science, and religious knowledge.
A falaj, or flowing water channel, runs through the castle. The area of the castle is 40 m in length, 40 m in width, and 1600 square meters in total area.
