Muttrah Fort

Muttrah Fort (قلعة مطرح) is a historic fort in wilayat Muttrah in Muscat. The fort sits on a dominating position on the hills overlooking the natural harbor of Muttrah, which would have made it quite an impregnable position to defend Muttrah from attacks while also allowing observation of the surrounding territory from its watchtowers.

The fort is thought to have been built originally in 1507 AD, only to be modified and upgraded with towers and stronger walls by the Portuguese during their occupation of Oman in the 1500s. It remained an important defensive location following that period well into modern times.

Muttrah Fort is relatively small, as its main function has been for observation and defensive weapons, so it lacks any rooms or seating areas and is simply stretched along the hill offering multiple vantage points over Muttrah corniche, harbor and the stunning rocky ophiolite outcrops! A visit to the fort would not take much time, the old cannons scattered on the ramparts are worth checking out, and so are the slightly-more-modern WWII-era artillery guns; however, the panoramic view of Muttrah Corniche alone makes Muttrah Fort a must visit place for me!

Muttrah Fort has been renovated since the 1980s, and has been open for visitors since the late 2010s (we believe since 2018, but we are unsure). Just like most forts in Oman, Muttrah Fort is open from Saturdays to Thursdays from 8:00am to 4:00pm, and on Fridays from 8:00am to 11:00am. Entry fee is 0.5 Rial Omani for adults. Update: As of early 2022, a local company has taken operation of Muttrah Fort and it is now open daily from 8am-9pm with entry fee of 2 OMR for adult non-Omanis.

Note: even though there is an on-duty guard at site and signs indicating the entry fees and timing, I understand that as of this writing, February 2020, the entry fees are currently not formally enforced for visitors at Muttrah Fort).

How to get to Muttrah Fort

Muttrah Fort is right on the hill over-looking Muttrah corniche, you need to drive past Souq Muttrah and take the right turn immediately after it (where “Place and People Museum متحف الزمان والمكان” is located, formally known as Ghalya’s Museum of Modern Art is) and continue on the narrow street uphill – the turn to Muttrah Fort car park will be immediately on your right hand side. Please be cautious of cars coming from the opposite direction on the the narrow street stretch.

Muttrah Fort Gallery