Ad Dakhiliyah · Oman
Jebel Akhdar
D518Birkat Al Mawz to Saiq Plateau
Oman’s most celebrated mountain road climbs 1,350 m in 32 km of beautifully engineered switchbacks to the rose-terraced Saiq Plateau, the principal ascent of the Tour of Oman and one of the steepest paved roads in Arabia.
The climb begins at the falaj-irrigated village of Birkat Al Mawz and pitches steeply upward, hitting 10% within the first kilometre. A checkpoint around 6 km in enforces the 4WD-only rule. The wide, immaculately surfaced road has 20 sweeping hairpins the Tour of Oman peloton has tackled since 2011; the Saiq Plateau at 2,000 m is terraced with rose gardens and pomegranate orchards.
Jebel Akhdar on the map24.3 mi · point to point
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Character
Corners
busiest around mile 8Elevation
under 4%4–8%over 8%576.8 – 2,124.4 mPoints of interest2 stops
- Jabal Al Akhdar ViewpointViewpoint11 mi in
- Falaj Al KhatmeenViewpointat the start
Hazards
- 4WD mandatory and enforced at a police checkpoint
- Gradient reaches 10% from the start
- Narrow in places with steep drops
Sources
“It's steep and crushingly so, the road hits 10% from the start.”
“The road itself is impressive, high quality tarmac and with long ramps and wide sweeping hairpin bends, a civil engineering delight”
Verified route: mapped from real road geometry and fact-checked by a human editor. How roads get checked
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