Built to defend the town against marauding tribes from the interior, 200-year-old Bilad Sur Castle boasts unusually shaped towers. It has been closed for an extended period for restoration, but you can wander around the outside. To reach the castle, turn left off Hwy 23 (Main St) at an elaborately kitsch residence, 1.3km from the clocktower roundabout at the Muscat end of town.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
28.29 MILES
The 90 or so meticulously crafted stone towers scattered across the Selma Plateau are tombs dating back to the Umm An Nar culture of 2000 to 2700 BC…
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29.49 MILES
Home to an extraordinary museum, this private castle houses the personal collection of Sheikh Khalfan Al Hashmi. His great grandfather owned the 250-year…
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25.83 MILES
Justly famed for its natural beauty, this wadi just north of the town of Al Kamil makes a rewarding (and well-signposted) diversion off the Muscat–Sur…
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25.02 MILES
Aptly named in Arabic as the ‘Gorge Between Cliffs’, Wadi Shab is one of the most lovely destinations in Oman, despite Hwy 17 slung across the entrance…
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23.6 MILES
With its string of emerald pools and thick plantations, Wadi Tiwi almost rivals its neighbour, Wadi Shab, in beauty, especially in spring when the…
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25.67 MILES
Most people visiting Wadi Bani Khalid head for the springs that collect in a series of deep pools in the narrow end of the wadi. The pools have been…
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23.37 MILES
There is an excellent museum at the visitors centre, with a video in English and German shown in the cinema and an audio guide. The displays and relics…
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3.11 MILES
Built in Sur 70 years ago and brought back from its retirement in Yemen, this historic wooden fishing vessel has been meticulously restored and now sits…
Nearby Sur attractions
2.01 MILES
Crowning a rocky eminence in the centre of town, this 300-year-old castle is built on a classic square plan with four round watchtowers. It was the most…
3.11 MILES
Built in Sur 70 years ago and brought back from its retirement in Yemen, this historic wooden fishing vessel has been meticulously restored and now sits…
3.11 MILES
The corniche affords a picturesque view across to the village of Ayjah. Dhows used to be led to safety by Ayjah’s three watchtowers, which mark the route…
3.28 MILES
Oman's only suspension bridge, the 240m-long Khor Al Batah Bridge opened in 2009 and cut down the journey from Sur to Ayjah from 20 to just three minutes…
3.36 MILES
An integral part of the landscape of Ayjah, and visible from the corniche in Sur, these three small round towers made of sandstone once guided dhows to…
3.42 MILES
This aged lighthouse is a prominent landmark in Ayjah, including for the goats who for some reason like to congregate under the three-storey stone tower…
3.57 MILES
This renovated fort, which is open somewhat erratically, if at all, seems to have been built as part and parcel of the surrounding merchant houses, with…
12.5 MILES
The ruined tomb of Bibi Miriam is about all that remains of the 2nd-century settlement of Qalhat, one of the most ancient sites in Oman. There’s not much…