Khasab Beach Camping

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About Khasab Beach Camping

Khasab was isolated from the rest of the region for a long time. In the 16th century Portuguese troops conquered the peninsula and established colonial structures. After Oman regained control, Khasab was controlled tightly due to its strategic position. The construction of the new road from the United Arab Emirates was itself started by the city to develop its infrastructure and encourage more tourism and investment. It is most popular to spend a weekend off from Dubai or to visit on your way to Muscat, taking the twice a day ferry-boat along the deserted and arid rocky coast of Musandam.

The city is the starting point to explore the little-known Musandam Peninsula and its special and unique traditions and culture. Travellers can enjoy great sights in and around the city that can be seen in two or three days cruising the region.

Khasab is best visited in the winter, as it is one of the hottest places in Oman, with summer temperatures regularly climbing over 45°C. The world’s highest minimum temperature (41.2°C, since broken) was recorded on the airport in 2011, and in 2017 the highest nighttime low temperature recorded (44.2 °C) was recorded.

Access to the area by land was virtually impossible until a modern coast road was built, which allows fast access from the UAE, making Khasab a popular weekend destination for people living in the Emirates. The new road also allows access to the village of Tawi, where prehistoric drawings of boats, animals and warriors can be seen in the rock face. Khasab also has a number of modern shopping areas with imported Irani goods and locally created pottery, and a few hotels, including the Khasab Hotel, Atana Musandam Resort and Atana Khasab Hotel, which sits on a cliff overlooking the Persian Gulf.

Khasab has an interesting trading position, which hinges on its proximity to Iran. Iranians export sheep and goats into the local port, from where the animals are dispatched to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in trucks. On their return trip to the Islamic Republic, the sailors load their boats up with electronic goods and American cigarettes, arriving in Khasab after sunrise and leave before sunset to conform with Omani immigration laws. Since the trading is illegal under Iranian law, they must avoid the Islamic Republic’s coastguard as well as all other shipping in the busy waters of the Strait of Hormuz. The crossing is hazardous since the vessels, piled high either with livestock or with numerous boxes must avoid the path of the scores of oil-tankers which pass through the Strait in a transverse direction daily.