Blog from the Blue: Al Mazara

Wadi Dayqah dam, Lake and the virgin landscape

How would you feel, if you happen to visit a pristine lake surrounded by unspoilt landscape, that too in a scorching dry country like Oman all of a sudden? Wouldn’t it be a pleasant surprise? What’s more could an explorer in Oman ask for, than a visit to Al Mazara – a hidden treasure carefully preserved by nature as a surprise gift to the visitors!

It was not so long after my beginning of life at Muscat that I started to appreciate the beauty of the sunlit naked brown mountains of the country. By that time, I just had some brief orientations of the hot rocky capital of Oman between my busy schedules and lots of surprises of the unknown land were waiting to be explored. Because, as they say Oman is not only about beaches and rocky mountains, it also offers hidden treasures for explorers and nature lovers.

It was November and the climate was beginning to become pleasant when one of my colleagues offered us a trip to Al Mazara without letting us know what it exactly is. I searched all overt Internet but couldn’t find anything. We went ahead and it turned out to be a fabulous trip both the journey and the destination. We thanked them for taking us to this little known gem of nature. Since then, we have been to this place many times. Whenever, we had a guest or a relative, we made it a point to show them this amazing place.

The Lake of Al Mazara

The views: The dam, which was built on the wadi Dayqah to generate hydroelectric power has resulted in opulence of blue water in the lake. It has also dried up the wadi. It is only when the dam releases water, the wadi gets flooded. And when this happens, people in large numbers flock to the wadi to enjoy the cool waters of the wadi.

The Lake of al Mazara

The park at Al Mazara

However, swimming and fishing are not allowed in the lake. Public are not even allowed to go near the lake. It can only be viewed from the park. For this, one needs to enter through the gate of the wadi daqah dam and drive upwards through the slopes. There is ample parking space and a restaurant near the park. The first view from the park is the large blue lake surrounded by majestic brown hills. Moving ahead, one can see the dam and walk over it to reach the view point. The view point offers all encompassing 360° view of the lake on one side and the wadi on the other. The large green vegetation under the shadow of date palm trees which decorates the bank of the wadi can also be seen from there.

Wadi Dayqah Dam

View from Wadi Dayqah Dam

The lake of al Mazara

It is also possible to reach the base of the dam. For this, one needs to come out of the park and drive downwards towards the base area. If you are lucky, you would visit this place on a day when the water is released from the dam. This is the place which offers a marvellous view of the water gushing out of the dam and one can hear the sound of water and can feel the scattering droplets of water all over body. What’s more, it even makes colourful rainbows when the sun shines on the water droplets that moisten and fill up the air that blows all over the place.

Water being released from Wadi Dayqah Dam

Rainbow formation at Wadi Dayqah Dam

In case you want to visit the wadi, you need to come out of the campus of the wadi Dayqah dam and move ahead towards the small Omani village through a narrow road. Once you reach the wadi, you need to park the car and walk down. As I said, there is nothing in the wadi unless they are releasing water on a fine day. However, there are lots to explore in the farmland where the Omani farmers grow varieties of fruits and vegetables such as papaya, banana, eggplant, etc. The farm is protected from the sunlight by a large number of date palm trees and irrigated by water cannels from the lake. I would strongly recommend you to buy some dates and other fruits from the farmers. If you are lucky you will be there in the right season and meet the right person to buy the fresh fruits.

Full flowing Wadi Dayqah

Omani farmland near Wadi Dayqah

A lot of things have been told in details about what Al Mazara could offer to you. However, it is not only this incredible place that would mesmerize you. The journey to this place is equally enchanting. So, now I must tell you about the panoramic path that leads to this place through grand mountains and imposing landscapes.

The journey: It was a Friday morning and we started from Muscat at around 9:30 am. It’s just one and a half hours drive along the ups and downs of the mountain road. Soon after, we took a left turn from the Hatat roundabout towards Al Amerat. It’s an old road which was completely destroyed during hurricane Gonu in 2007. The new road was under construction then. The new elevated road curved in the lofty mountains and connected with tall bridges was opened in the year 2013. This road offers a scenic drive and presents a breathtaking view of the valley and the mountains.

New road to Amerat

After reaching Amerat, we turned left from the 4^th roundabout towards Quriyat. It’s a wide highway surrounded by mountains. The road leads to Sur through a small town called Quriayt. The road from Quriat to Sur offers a scenic coastal drive about which I will write in another blogpost.

For now let’s steer towards the beautiful lake of Al Mazara. After driving for about 80 kilometres from Al Amerat, we would take a right turn just before reaching Quriyat and move towards Hail Al Ghaf (a new signpost “Wadi Dayqah Dam” has recently been enacted). We would then cross a wide bridge over a wadi. The wadi remains dry most of the times but it had clear signs of water flow. Whenever there is a rainfall, the wadi gets flooded with water. A few minutes after crossing the wadi, we would again turn right on the signpost Al Misfah. A few more kilometres and we then turn left on the signpost Al Mazara. We would now ascend for about about 10 kiliomers along the sloppy road and finally reach the gate of the dam.

On the way to Al Mazara

Entrance to Wadi Dayqah Dam

During the whole journey, one thing you can not escape here is the hills that come in different sizes, shapes and colours! As I said earlier,

Oman

is such a jewel of nature that will even make you enjoy the beauty of naked mountains! I do not know how and when these mountains were formed and who has painted them in so many varied colours, but the view was astounding with Black, red, pink, yellow, violet, maroon and so many unknown colours that adored the rocks of the hills. Some of them are marble stones, some looked like a stack of sand papers, some looked like iron hard and some like a brownie ice cream!

At the most I know is that a zillion years is required for formation these natural wonders. Nature takes its own course and creates marvels. Man makes endeavours to create the same wonders in a much less time. The rocks and sands of Oman have tasted time eternal. The natural spring water lake of Al Mazara from where the Wadi Dayqah originates has taken a different course with the construction of the barrier for generation of hydroelectric power.

The pristine Lake and the virgin landscape

Some more views of the Lake

The Lake and the virgin landscape

The view of the resort

View from the top - the lake of Al Mazara

The place has also changed in last 3 years. The good thing is that a small resort with a park overlooking the lake has been built. The bad thing is that access to a part of the lake has been restricted for visitors. There has also been increase in the tourists over the years and nowadays the place becomes crowded on weekends. Many Indian movies have used this place as a backdrop for filming songs. The place is gradually finding a mention in many travelogues and is becoming a must visit attraction.