Walk Muscat along the Mutrah Corniche

Muscat is a string of small towns between rugged mountains and the sea, linked by roads and old mountain paths. FOG hides the map until you walk it, and the corniche and the trails over the hills make striking lines.

Mutrah

The Mutrah Corniche curves around a bay, lined with white houses and a fish market, with mountains rising straight behind. The Mutrah Souq, one of the oldest markets in the Arab world, has a maze of covered alleys selling frankincense, silver and textiles.

The Mutrah Fort stands on a rock above the corniche.

Old Muscat and the hills

Old Muscat, a few kilometres east, is a small walled town with the Al Alam Palace, flanked by the Al Jalali and Al Mirani forts on the rocks above the harbour.

Marked hiking trails cross the rocky hills between the towns, including a route from Riyam to Mutrah over the ridges. The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, west of the centre, is open to visitors at set times.

Heat

Summer is extremely hot, and hiking is only sensible from October to March, starting early with plenty of water.

The towns of Muscat are separate on the map, joined by the corniche and the hill trails, which makes for an unusual shape.

The character who walks with you

FOG puts a small explorer called Wander on your position. Pick one of five paths (two are free, three come with FOG Unlimited) and every two levels on a path hands you a new piece of gear, earned only by the ground you cover. Twenty five pieces in all, and none of them can be bought.

Under the character it is a plain, permanent record: every street you walk in Muscat is cleared and stays clear, the app works in the background, and the map is stored only on your phone with no account and no cloud. You can export it as GPX at any time.

Questions people actually ask

Start with a dark map.

FOG is free to explore. No account, no subscription, and your map never leaves your phone.

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