Muscat – The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, in cooperation with Ard Alloban – a hiking group – organised a hike in Dhofar governorate recently to raise awareness on giant baobab trees and promote tourist sites.

Speaking to Muscat Daily, Mandhar Nasser al Zaheen, leader of Ard Alloban, informed that the 1.2km hike started at 3pm in Wadi Hasheer in the wilayat of Mirbat with 45 hikers participating.

“The giant baobab trees are more than 300 years old. Some trees have a circumference of more than 20m,” Zaheen said.

According to the hiker, such events help participants explore varied terrain, including mountainous, and encourage the culture of fitness among people.

Ard Alloban – or land of frankincense – was set up in September 2017 and currently has 234 members. It has organised over 170 hiking events in Dhofar to date. The group is keen to promote Oman’s tourism potential through its activities.

“We organise many hikes through the year. Participants go through plains, wadis and mountains. We chose unexplored sites in Dhofar for most events. Ard Alloban also organises clean-up campaigns and mountain climbing events,” Zaheen said.

The group’s activities involve elaborate planning. Locations are chosen after much deliberation and research. An advance team is sent to study the site and weather conditions. “We are also careful when deciding how many people can be taken for a particular trip,” Zaheen said.

Ard Alloban will organise the fourth of a series of 60km challenges flagged off from Salalah to the wilayat of Thumrait in the coming days, which Zaheen urged citizens and residents to join.