The west side of Salalah has some of the best beaches in the world. The drive from Salalah to Dalkut is mesmerizing and is full of amazing beaches all along the road. You can cover stunning Raysut, Eftalqoot, and Mughsail beaches and the pristine Fazayah beach on the way back or on the way to Rakhyut and Dalkut, whichever is convenient for you.

Some people prefer to cover the extreme destination first and then cover the ones that are near. While some travelers like to break the journey in between and cover the places as they go along.

In this post, I am going to list the places in the order on the way. Whatever is the case, you need to start the journey early in the morning to be back to Salalah before sunset. Else you can stay at Dalkut overnight.

The photographs in this post are from 2 different trips to the western side, one time in January and another time in August. The August weather is known as Khareef season, which turns the trees and mountains green. This monsoon season is only in July and August each year. 

Stay near West Side

There is no proper hotel or resort on the west side, so the best choice is to Stay in Salalah. The best and nearest hotel to the west side is Hilton Resort Salalah

If you stay here, you will save around an hour in total on the west journey on both sides. 

Book a Guided Trip to West Salalah

Beautiful Salalah is the number 1 tour operator in Salalah as per the famous website TripAdvisor on the reviews of the travelers. If you want to have a guided tour to west side of Salalah, I would highly recommend them. The trip to Fazayah, Mughsail, Marneef and Eftalqoot can be booked online at TripAdvisor. 

For the other parts, they can make customized tours for you. Contact them by email info@beautifulsalalah.com or via whatsapp +96891206678.

Places to Visit on West Side of Salalah

Below are the places to visit on the western side of Salalah, most of them are beaches and beaches on this side are not only one of the best beaches in Oman, but also in the world. They are pristine and full of stunning landscapes. 

Raysut Beach (Oasis Beach) Salalah

The first one will be Raysut Beach, which is near Port of Salalah. The beach is small, but the landscape makes it wonderful. Being a small white sand beach surrounded by cliffs and a rock in the sea, this landscape makes it a unique beach.

Since many people don’t visit this beach, its less crowded compared with Dahariz and Haffa beaches in Salalah city. Some people also call this beach as Oasis beach.

Bin Arabia Tomb Salalah

There are two more places near Raysut Beach, which can be visited as well subject to the time availability – The Tomb of Bin Arabia (Mausoleum of Bin Arabia) and the Old Lighthouse.

Raysut Light House Salalah

The old light house of Raysut / Salalah is also nearby, which is on the same road of the Raysut Beach.

Frankincense Tree Farm

There is a farm on the left side of the road, towards Mughsail, which has lots of Frankincense trees. The garden is not open to public but from outside of the fence, one can see the frankincense trees.

The other option to see Frankincense Trees is to visit North Salalah.

Ayn Ishat

This is the first spot on the right side of the road towards Mughsail and Dhalkut. Most of the places are on the left side of the main highway.  

Eftalquot Area Salalah Oman

The couple of kilometer ride will lead to Eftalqoot area ( شاطئ أفتلقوت صلالة) where a pristine beach awaits you.

I personally like this place so much as one can see the Arabian sea from the top of a cliff, reminds me of the old Clifton Beach in Karachi where Jehangir Kothari made a Pavilion for the beach sighting.

Although there is no pavilion on the Eftalquot, but has an unmarked view point. The barriers are erected on the edge to prevent drivers to drive further.

In Khareef season (the monsoon months of July and august), a 4×4 vehicle is recommended to go to Eftalqout due to little off-roading on the way and that’s slippery when it drizzle.

Due to mist and fog during Khareef, the landscape is not too much clear most of the days. However, it’s amazing sight from September to May each year.

Mughsail Beach and Marneef Cave Blowholes

Next stop on the way to Dalkut is the Mughsail Beach (Mughsayl Beach), I have made a dedicated post on Mughail Beach and Marneef Cave. This place is one of the most visited place in Dhofar region. The beach is amazing and the blowholes are just unforgettable.

A visit to Salalah is incomplete without going to Mughsayl Beach. Read about Mughsail Beach and Marneef Blowholes

Hidden Secret Beach Salalah Before Fazayah Beach

There’s a hidden beach (not named but sometimes referred as Salalah Hidden Beach) is visible from the main road to Fazayah Beach.

I tried to find the route to go down, but couldn’t. As time was limited, I didn’t spend much time to find the path. Let’s see it next time.

Secret Beach View Points

There are couple of view points for the Secret Beach before Fazayah. These view points have barriers at the edge, so that the car cannot be taken any further to prevent fall off from the cliff. 

Hairpin Bend Roads from Secret Beach to Fazayah Beach

The roads from Marneef to Fazayah beach are like Hairpin bends. There is a descend in hairpin bends first and then ascend. 

Need to take caution, as camels can pass across the roads. 

Also important thing to consider is that there is no street light on this road and when you come back at night, it could be difficult drive. 

Al Fazayah Beach Salalah Oman

Fazayah Beach Oman (sometimes written as Al Fizayah Beach) is a place which has highest rating on TripAdvisor for Salalah visitors. At the time of writing this post, 80% of 167 reviews is Excellent, while 19% is Very Good. Fazayah beach is in pristine condition. An off-road track will take you down to the white sandy beaches of Fazayah (شاطئ الفزايح).

On the off-road route of Fazayah Beach, we met many camels. Assalam o Alaikum ya camels.

As per Andy in Oman, there are 6 beaches in Fazayah and I later on verified it. Some people say there are 5 beaches, some say there are 8. That difference could be because some people count two beaches as one, some could one as two, due to the rock in between. That’s my personal point, I could be wrong on the counting on myself but I will go with Andy’s counting.

To make things clear below are my classification for the 6 beaches in Fazayah.

Just for info, Andy was the first English language blogger who covered Fazayah beach in details, I read that before going to Fazayah beach for the first time. When I first arrived in Salalah in 2013, his posts were quite useful. But now its a little out-dated as the last post was written in 2012.

Shaat Oman

Further towards Western side, the stunning Shaat awaits you. After Fazayah and before Shaat, there is an Army Checkpost. Don’t forget to bring with you the Omani Resident Card, if you are a resident, or a passport if you are a tourist.

Before Shaat left turning, you might see clouds below the standing point. 

The drive is really fascinating. If the day is not cloudy, you may not be able to see the clouds along the drive. 

Shaat Mosque

At Shaa’t Mosque (Masjid Al Shaikh Majid) we prayed Zuhr and Asr together. It is located just besides the Highway 47 – As Sultan Qaboos St.

There are three interesting places to see going South from the Shaa’t Masjid.

Shaat Sinkhole

The Shaat Sinkhole, which is a popular sinkhole located in Rakhyut Wilayat of Oman. Its the third one to see when in Salalah – the other two are Tawi Attair Sinkhole and Teeq Sinkhole, which are on the Eastern side of Salalah.

There is a good walking track around the sinkhole, with 3 viewing galleries.

The first view point is the parking lot, the second one is the smallest, is almost on the mid way. The third one is on the other end of the walkway,

The walk along the sinkhole is a good one in khareef season, in the other part of the year, it’s not crowded and you could be all alone at this place. 

Shaat View Point – The Sea Overlooking Site

Shaat View Point is the second place to be. On a clear day, from this observation point, blue sea can been seen from the cliff. The calmness and the color of the sea is notable. The two shades of blue and turquoise are visible. 

If its foggy due to Khareef, you will not be able to see anything. The walk on the track around the view point huts is quite good in the khareef season.

The above photograph is in Khareef, where there’s a lot of fog and below is the photograph in January. In non-khareef months. the sky is clear and the view is totally different of what is in the Khareef season. 

Along the walkway and huts, there’s a gate and few stairs take you another amazing place, which is not barricaded. Special precaution is required while walking down.

Here is a walking area only you can walk on the knees or like frog. It’s interesting and difficult at the same time. The rock below is quite slippery. Caution !! I didn’t go to the other side, however, many people did. 

Shaat Hidden Secret Beach Oman

The above two places in Shaat can be visited with a saloon car. For the third place, the Hidden Beach of Shaat, 4×4 vehicle (Jeep) is required. An off-road path goes along the cliff from the view point to the hidden beach. I haven’t gone to this beach myself yet, but this is a famous hidden beach to visit.

Shaat the Mid Point of the Journey

To reach to the Shaa’t from Salalah, the drive is through Eftalqoot, Mughsayl, and Fazayah.

From Shaat to Dalkut the drive is through Agdorot, Anzawat, Arafat, Firqat, Kazmim, Muqurah, Kharfat, Huta, Shahab Asaib, Ashkool, Thatiny, Aydam, Airdit, Jeddert, Merdm Asetat, Bal Sab, Rakhyut, Mazahoob, Ergot, Ashkhuriat, and Furious.

After Dalkut, before Yemen border, Khadrfee and Sarfait are located. 

Kharfat Oman

Kharfat (in Arabic written as خرفات) has a cut from As Salam St just before Shahab Assaib Cafe. We drove a little on this road and found many camels. There was no one going on this road and since we were only one on this road we decided not to go any further.

To reach to Kharfat Beach, take the road of Mukroh (مقورح). There is a mosque at Mukroh (Mukroh Masjid) and another one at the shore (Kharfat Masjid).

Shahab Assaib

Although on the way, it’s very difficult to find a big or popular brand restaurant where you can have lunch, there are few small restaurant nearby Muqurooh and Shahab Assaib. Search on Google map by “Shahab Assaib Cafe”. Click here for the location of the restaurants

For Lunch, we ate at a Pakistani Restaurant in this market and for dinner time we ate at Ahla Lebanese Restaurant.

I would recommend to bring some snacks and food from the restaurants in Salalah and eat at one of the amazing beaches.

Rakhyut Oman

Rakhyut is a wilayat in western side of Oman in Dhofar (Zufar) governorate.

To reach Rakhut beach, you can take the turn of Ashqool Mosque from the highway. We tried to go from there but it was not asphalt road. So we didn’t continue on that road and continued on the highway till we saw the below signboard. 

From the main highway, we passed through Hasal, Ambroof, Arqaf, Haar and Safqut before reaching Rakhyut town. This drive is along the cliff as well with amazing views of the mountains and of the Indian Ocean.

Throughout the journey, the scenery was awesome. The clouds were touching the green mountains. Subhan Allah

The view of the Rakhyut beach is mesmerizing from Safqut. The beach is faced by the green mountains.

Rakhyut Fort / Rakhyut Castle / Husn Rakhyut

When we entered Rakhyut, we spotted a castle, which is Husn Rakhyut. I am not sure, if it is to be translated as Rakhyut Castle or Rakhyut Fort as no English sign was there.  

Rakhyut Mosque

Rakhut has a large mosque, besides the castle. It’s a place for Muslims to pray besides the beach. 

Rakhyut Park

There is a park at the start of Rakhyut town, but it was closed. My guess, its closed after Mekunu.

Rakhyut Beach Oman

Rakhyut has a nice beach with tall coconut trees, spread across the beach in a straight row.

Some shaded huts and benches are there to sit, relax and have a great family picnic.

Kids can enjoy on the swings, which are installed besides the hut. I saw few people, who were fishing there. I really liked the grass grown next to the beach due to Khareef season. 

The Old Houses in Rakhyut

These abandoned houses in front of Rakhyut beach shows this place’s history, culture and heritage. 

Where to Stay in Rakhyut Oman?

We found some houses in Rakhyut where board for rent was placed outside. Anyone can rent the rooms there for a night or more. This house seemed the best one if sometime have a mood to stay overnight besides the beach.  

Dalkut Oman

Dalkut (also written Dhalkut and in Arabic ظلكوت) is another wilayat of Dhofar. There are good beaches in Dalkut.

The drive to Dhalkut is also as fascinating as the Rakhut one. There is a small pond also on the hairpin bend road.

We were greeted by cows when we entered Dhalkut. Drive with caution, as animals crossing is common.

Dalkut View Point

From the height, the view of Dalkut Beach is amazing. You can stopover and see the nature before descending from the highway towards Dalkut Beach.

Dhalkut Beach with Helicopter

Notable place to visit in Dhaluk is the beach with the wreck of helicopter that is half buried under the beach sand. There are many stories about this Helicopter.

This beach has many houses along the shore and it’s common to see kids playing there, who are residing in these houses.

I lost my GoPro Hero 6 camera here and I realized I lost it when I had driven 30 to 40 kilometers. After realizing, I came back to Dalkut beach and searched for it, but cannot find it.

Innalilahe wa inna ilaihe rajeoon. We belong to Allah and we will return to him. Al Quran

Baobabs Tree Dalkut

Another place in Dalkhut is to see an enormous old tree known as Baobas or Hiroum Dheeri (the Tree from Far Away).

Dhalkut Sea View Point

This is perhaps the best view of the Arabian Sea on the Western side of Salalah, which is full of best beaches in Oman.

The walkway is along the edge of the cliff, but has a protection wall. The cows have also come to visit the view point and walk on the walkway 🙂

Don’t visit Dalkut, if you have time limitation when you are in Salalah as it will take full day, but the place is worthy to visit if you are in Salalah for a few days. 

Stay Overnight at Dalkut

You can stay overnight at Dalkut and make this journey to the western Salalah in two days, giving ample time to see and admiring the natural beauty of these beaches. Subhan Allah!

To stay, check Dahaq Rest House at +968 9516 5317 and Dhalqoot Furnished Flats and Rooms for Rent at +968 9924 5215. I haven’t stayed in any of these but listed these down on my trip to Dalkut for those who want to stay.

Sarfait Oman

Due to time limitation, we left Dalkhut and couldn’t go to Sarfait (also written as Sarfayt). There is no light on the highway so we started our return journey before sunset, around 5:30 pm.

On the return back, the whole area was covered with clouds and we passed through those. Once we got above the clouds, the scenery was amazing.