Wadi Tiwi & Mibam Village

Wadi Tiwi (وادي طيوي) is a wadi in Al Sharqiyah region, adjacent to the very popular Wadi Shab but unique in its own way with numerous farms and plantations dotting the wadi, and a stunning pool deep inside towards Mibam village (قرية ميبام). Wadi Tiwi, which is named after Tiwi village at the coast, is a truly beautiful wadi with the lush plantations giving it a different (certainly greener) feel than many other wadis.

A visit to Wadi Tiwi is a unique experience compared to other wadis we have visited previously, in that it combines a great off-road drive right through the wadi mouth, with the ‘typical’ wadi-scrambling-on-foot you’ll need to do to traverse and reach the pools. Due to the road through Wadi Tiwi being right on the shoulder of the wadi, it is entirely up to you where you want to stop your car and start the wadi trek, or whether you want to drive all the way to the end of Mibam village and start from there.

Inside Wadi Tiwi:

We explored Wadi Tiwi through a different way in each one of our two visits so far. In our first visit we drove for approximately 30 minutes inside the wadi and parked near some houses prior to entering the narrow streets of Mibam village (point shown in Google Maps link further down). Walking through the houses, you’ll see some stairs leading you down into Wadi Tiwi. From here, it is a 2-3 hour traverse through mostly large boulder stones, with one or two tricky spots, before reaching the most stunning feature Wadi Tiwi in our opinion: a gorgeous pool at the wadi bend flanked by palm trees and overgrowth onto the wadi cliffs. If you are comfortable scrambling through wadis, you can reach here without having to swim; but you will need to swim the 80-100m distance in this pool to reach the ‘Mibam waterfall’ at the bottom of Mibam village. The climb up from the waterfall area to the village is quite steep and requires ropes; however, if you do want to go to the village, just return back to the pool, and you can make your way to the village through the farms on your left (if your back is to the pool), look for the falaj channel and climb up from there through the village farms.

In another visit, we drove straight to Mibam village and parked there (Google Maps link further down shows the spot) and made our way to the waterfall through the farms. It is not straightforward going down through the farms, so you might need to go back up and try a different path, or just politely ask one of the villagers to walk you down to the waterfall. From there, you will see the ‘Mibam waterfall’ which you reach through a very steep path winding down (we certainly did not try returning back up from the same route, taking the route after the pool instead as described in the previous paragraph). It is only a few minutes walk to the main pool from there, and by parking at Mibam village you can get to enjoy the main attractions of Wadi Tiwi without much trekking – but isn’t that challenge one of the main attractions of visiting a wadi? It is for me at least 🙂

Overall, I really loved Wadi Tiwi and it has become one of my favorite wadis even after the very first visit, simply due to the lush plantations around it and the beautiful pool near Mibam village. The trek inside Wadi Tiwi (at least the one I described above – I are sure you can do more!) is not the longest or the hardest, which can be a turn-off if you’re looking for a challenging wadi, but makes it an attractive wadi to visit in the summer.

Wadi Tiwi Difficulty level:

6/10. Trickier than Wadi Shab & Wadi Bani Khalid, but more straightforward than Wadi Al Arbaeen as the path is easier to follow. Assuming you are able to swim and physically fit.

Before you go:

You will need to have a 4WD car, and below are items for your check list:

• Cap or hat to protect you from the sun as well as sunscreen
• Food, snacks and plenty of drinking water
• Swimming clothes and towel
• Sturdy footwear with good grips: something that can get wet and you may need to swim with (old sneakers or open-toe shoes should do)
• Camera and water proof bag: although there is only one big pool towards the end where you must swim to go through, its always a good idea to put your camera & electronics in water proof bags when you go inside a wadi

How to get to Wadi Tiwi:

Wadi Tiwi is approximately 160 km from Muscat through the Sharqiyah highway towards Sur. You will need to take the exit towards Tiwi village, a couple of kilometers after passing the Wadi Shab exit and immediately after you pass the bridge across Wadi Tiwi (i.e. the second wadi-crossing-bridge as the first bridge goes through Wadi Shab). From there follow the road towards the village, and immediately after crossing the road at the mouth of the wadi near the beach, you’ll need to turn left and head straight inside Wadi Tiwi (same direction as a signpost on your right pointing to E35 Trekking Path, but the sign can be easily missed).

It is under 10 km driving distance inside Wadi Tiwi to Mibam village. The road is initially paved, although it can be deceptively dangerous as it can get very slippery with water and seaweed on it, so be very cautious. Half-way through you’ll be passing through the narrow streets of Harat Bidah (حارة بده) village, be careful as you’ll need drive through some very tight roads while also keeping an eye for incoming traffic on the other side. The paved section ends after this village and the route becomes a mountain path above the wadi to the parking spot where you can start your hike, or all the way to Mibam Village, where you can park near the waste bins . Wherever you stop, you will be passing through another signpost pointing towards the start of the E35 hiking trail which connects to Wadi Bani Khalid (a challenging 2-day trail which I am yet to attempt!).

You will definitely need a 4WD car here. Please be considerate to the villagers living here especially when parking your car, as space is very tight and the roads are narrow.

Below is the Google Maps link showing the above points: