After our morning hiking through the canyon of Jabal Shams, we decided to have a winding down day in a little mountain village about 2 hours from the top of the mountain, called Misfat Al Abriyeen, or known as Misfah – that often regarded as one of the most beautiful mountain villages in Oman.
I’ve always been drawn to little towns or villages over big cities – because I think that is where the real everyday life of a country are best preserved. Understand that some town or village are sometimes polished for tourism, but you can still spot the traces of their real culture in every corner. Luckily, my travel mate shares the same preference.
When we learned that this little village nestled in the middle of Jebel Shams and Nizwa, we knew we had to give it a go. Also, the idea of enjoying slow village life after a hiking day are incredibly tempting for people my age – lol.
The travel mate we’d just met for hiking together dropped us off in the village, we had lunch together before going part ways, as she had other plan to catch on the next day. We were so grateful to meet her!
My friend picked a traditional inn in the heart of a village, called Harit al Misfat which turned out to be a cutie patootie kinda stay. Well, staying in a traditional mud brick house had its special feeling like you were thrown to few centuries back but with cozy ambience. The Inn was already included dinner and breakfast so we did not bother to go out to find something to eat.
We spent the afternoon walking around the village and found out that the village was relatively small, it perched in the steep slope of Al Hajr mountain, so it’s like walking through the stairy maze of narrow alleys with some shade of date plantations around it that sustained by Omanian traditional irrigation system called Falaj.
Misfah was once close to becoming an abandoned village since it’s resident left to the cities to seek a better living. Only few families remained to live in the area, but now the village started to regain the life chance, some abandoned old building getting refurbished into guesthouses or restaurants, attracted tourist and traveler to immerse the beauty of the village.
I found myself enjoying to see the simple life in the village, watching locals in their iconic attire wandered through the alleys, kids giggled around the corners, and a local house that seems to always mistakenly wondered as a tourist spot. I also spotted a signage that showing a certain area reserved only for woman! It was just so much fun to see all these little details and get a glimpse of everyday life in the village. Nothing extraordinary but that the authenticity was what actually made it special.
The next morning, we took another short walk around the village before stopping for quick coffee at the famous Rogan Coffee. A modern yet aesthetic cafe tucked just by the garden of date palms. A really good place o sit down before our returning to Muscat.
Luckily, we managed to arrange a transfer from our inn to the bus terminal in Nizwa at a decent price. We just found out that our driver was the brother of the inn’s owner whom told us that the inn actually recently opened after some expensive renovation.
Before dropping us off at the terminal, he suggested stopping by a café along the way. We tried to politely decline because we’d just had coffee at Rogan and didn’t want to risk missing our bus. But he kept insisting, so we eventually agreed, though I was wondering if he only meant to try to sell us something.
He took us to a hidden café owned by another brother of his, who also happened to be involved in running the inn. And the place? Absolutely beautiful. Tucked away in a lush area surrounded by rice terraces and a catnip garden, the café overlooked the whole scene. We would never have found this place on our own, so what a lucky little detour!
To top it all off, he even gave us a discount on our coffee. Such a genuinely kind person.
When we finally reached the bus terminal, he even helped us check the bus schedule, only for us to discover that the bus didn’t seem to be operating at that time. Instead of leaving us to figure things out on our own, he found us a driver who was heading to Muscat and looking for passengers to share the ride.
Buttt, I was wrong! Apparently he brought us to a hidden cafe owned the same brother that own the inn! It located in a super beautiful area in the middle of rice terrace and catnip garden. And the cafe is overlooked the whole landscape! He even gave us discount for the coffee. OMG! I felt really bad that I had such a doubt on his intention.
One thing I hadn’t really experienced much during this trip to Oman was having a proper conversation with a local. So, with him being nice and friendly, I took the opportunity to chat with him and hear his perspective on what life in Oman was like for the locals. What a lucky little detour!
When we finally reached the bus terminal, he even helped us check the bus schedule, only to know that the bus didn’t seem to be operating at that time. Instead of leaving us to figure things out on our own, he found us a driver who was heading to Muscat and looking for passengers to share the ride. We were a little hesitant at first, but we arrived in Muscat safe and sound.
