A private full-day journey with a skilled Omani guide to the most dramatic landscape in the Hajar Mountains. We start in old Nizwa Souq, hunting for dates, pottery and silver, then walk to Nizwa Fort to hear how the imams defended the interior. The 4WD then climbs the graded mountain road to Jabal Shams, Oman's highest peak, where a viewpoint on the rim of Wadi Ghul looks a thousand metres down into the Grand Canyon of Arabia. On the way back we stop in Misfat Al Abriyeen, a village of stone houses stacked above banana and date terraces watered by a falaj that has flowed for two thousand years. Lunch at a local restaurant is included; total duration includes about five hours of scenic driving.