The Musandam Peninsula is the part of Oman that is cut off from the rest of the country by the United Arab Emirates — an enclave of dramatic fjords, cliffs, and fishing villages at the very tip of the Arabian Peninsula, overlooking the Strait of Hormuz. The landscape is unlike anything else on the Arabian Peninsula: deep inlets called khors bite into limestone mountains, and traditional wooden dhows are the principal way to get around.
The capital is Khasab, a small town with a Portuguese fort and a busy dhow harbour. From here, boat trips into the fjords are the main activity — an hour or two from shore and you're gliding between cliffs hundreds of metres high, with dolphins playing alongside the bow and small fishing settlements accessible only by water. The most visited khor is Khor ash-Sham, which cuts deep inland past old watchtowers and the village of Qida.
Musandam attracts snorkellers and divers for its clear water and coral, and the overlanding routes through the Hajar mountain villages are spectacular, if demanding. Getting there from the UAE is straightforward by land; from mainland Oman it requires crossing UAE territory or taking a ferry from Shinas.
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