The town’s main fort is now derelict despite being the site of the well-documented Battle of Mirbat. Nine soldiers kept 300 insurgents from taking Mirbat during this battle in 1972, during the Dhofari insurrection. The British armed forces were called in by the Sultan to assist and two British Victoria Crosses were earned by the Special Air Service (SAS) but not awarded, to help keep the war out of the public eye.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
7.78 MILES
The upper plateau of Jebel Samhan suddenly ends in a vertiginous drop more than 1000 meters to the coastal plain below. Barely a ledge interrupts the…
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17.6 MILES
A popular picnic site during the khareef and a great place to enjoy the jebel in any season, Wadi Darbat is a grassy plateau in the hills marked by Oman's…
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17.33 MILES
Looking across one of Dhofar's prettiest bays at peacefully grazing camels and flocks of flamingos, it’s hard to imagine that 2000 years ago Khor Rori was…
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18.08 MILES
Every few years, steady rains across the jebel result in a torrent of water racing across Wadi Darbat and falling over the edge, 300m to the Salalah Plain…
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19.74 MILES
This small but well-preserved castle was built in the 19th century. With a furnished interior, good signage and an accompanying booklet explaining the…
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0.75 MILES
Housing the remains of Mohammed Bin Ali, a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, this tiny tomb, with its two distinctive onion domes, marks the old…
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23.15 MILES
Just before reaching a spring of the same name, a small car park appears on the right-hand side of the road and a paved path disappears mysteriously into…
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17.05 MILES
A celebrated local beauty spot, this khor (inlet) is often partitioned from the sea by a sandbar that shrinks and grows according to the season. In the…
Nearby Dhofar attractions
0.23 MILES
Of passing interest in the town of Mirbat is the old quarter, where some merchant houses still stand proud along the beach front. Some are still lived in,…
0.28 MILES
Recently restored, this old crenellated castle is set square to the sea as if designed to repel invaders. It's closed to the public but makes a photogenic…
0.75 MILES
Housing the remains of Mohammed Bin Ali, a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, this tiny tomb, with its two distinctive onion domes, marks the old…
6.97 MILES
Botanists may be surprised to find a small stand of baobab trees gracing the thickets just above the Salalah Plain. These magnificent giants, their trunks…
7.78 MILES
The upper plateau of Jebel Samhan suddenly ends in a vertiginous drop more than 1000 meters to the coastal plain below. Barely a ledge interrupts the…
12.01 MILES
Identified in 1997, this 90 million cu metre–sinkhole is one of the largest of its kind in the world. Elliptical in shape, it has a depth of 250m and is…
12.03 MILES
This deep sinkhole (1 million cu metres), known as the Well of Birds, gapes without warning in a corrugated landscape of rock, covered in thicket. A small…
17.05 MILES
A celebrated local beauty spot, this khor (inlet) is often partitioned from the sea by a sandbar that shrinks and grows according to the season. In the…