![]() It’s the first project in Oman to be awarded eco-friendly Leed certification the buildings are made using stones excavated from nearby mountains, while solar panels provide up to 60 percent of the resort’s power. Built into the mountain overlooking the dramatic gorge below, it resembles an ancestral Omani village thanks to its traditional architecture. In 2011, everything changed when it was declared a nature reserve, and the Omani government began investing in infrastructure, including roads, settlements and the mountain’s first ever resort, Alila Jabal Akhdar.Īlila Jabal Akhdar is no longer the only luxury resort in the area, but it still takes your breath away – and not just because it sits at an altitude of 2,000 metres. When Sultan Said bin Taimur took control of the area in the late 1950s, it was used as a military base, restricted to all except local villagers. Only 150 kilometres away, Jabal Akhdar was cut off from the rest of the country for decades thanks to its unique geography and governance by local imams. Life in Jabal Akhdar (“Green Mountain”) is in stark contrast to that in the sultanate’s capital, Muscat, a popular tourist destination known for its sandy beaches and glitzy resorts. “See, I told you – traffic!” the driver says with a laugh. Some stop and stare, while others nibble on patches of dry vegetation at the side of the road. I peer out the window to see a horde of mountain goats blocking the road. There is no sign of life in the area, let alone traffic.Īs if on cue, the car suddenly comes to a halt. Ahead of us is a long stretch of dusty road surrounded by endless blue skies, towering rock walls and piles of pebbles and sand. We’ve been driving for almost an hour through the winding roads and hairpin bends of Oman’s Al Hajar mountains, the highest range in the east of the Arabian Peninsula. ![]() ![]() “There’s likely to be traffic up ahead,” the driver tells me as our Toyota Land Cruiser climbs to 1,500 metres above sea level. ![]()
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