The island is known for its diverse flora and fauna. It hosts all four of Oman’s nesting species of turtles and is world famous as the home of the largest population of Loggerhead turtles in the world.
PRAVASISAMWAD.COM
Masirah is the place where the sunshine is as warm as the hearts of the people, where Nature is at its magnificent best – vast stretches of golden sands kissed by the shimmering blue sea, with those white-capped breakers, craggy brown mountains, lush, cool wadis the undulating sands of trackless desert.
Masirah Island! The name itself conjures up images of exotic enchantment and exciting locales with the promise of an idyllic getaway. The reasons are obvious. Masirah is perhaps Oman’s best-kept secret: A beautiful paradise just waiting to be discovered. Nowhere else can you find such an intoxicating blend of sun, sea, sand, mountains and beaches with a fascinating bounty of flora and fauna that can make Masirah one of the best places in the Sultanate to develop ecotourism. With all this and so much more, it won’t be wrong to call Masirah Island Oman very own Treasure Island. And with so many treasures abounding all over the place, can pleasures of every kind be far behind?
Situated on the east coast of Oman, the island is 95km long from north to south and is around 7.5 – 8.6km in width with an area of 649 square kilometers and an estimated population of 12,000 people in 12 villages, mainly in the north of the island. The main industries on the island are fishing and the manufacture of traditional textiles. Administratively it forms one of the 11 provinces of the Sharqiyah region.
Located about 19km off the east side of Barr Al Hickman, Masirah Island is generally hilly, especially on the east side. Between November and March, the weather on the island is cool and salubrious. During the rest of the year it is hot and often muggy.
Masirah is perhaps Oman’s best-kept secret: A beautiful paradise just waiting to be discovered. Nowhere else can you find such an intoxicating blend of sun, sea, sand, mountains and beaches with a fascinating bounty of flora and fauna that can make Masirah one of the best places in the Sultanate to develop ecotourism.
International tourists coming to the island are mostly from the United States, Australia, the Philippines, Japan and from all the European countries. Here there are a wide number of activities that they can indulge in or see during their stay. These include fishing, wind surfing, landscape photography, kite flying, beach football and turtle breeding.
The island is known for its diverse flora and fauna. It hosts all four of Oman’s nesting species of turtles and is world famous as the home of the largest population of Loggerhead turtles in the world.
Also for travellers with a passion for adventure and thrills, Masirah offers and endless variety of nautical sports, including wind-surfing, deep-sea diving, camping and fishing.
The island is also a paradise for bird lovers. A total of 328 migratory bird species are known to sojourn on Masirah Island. While the resident bird species of Masirah is made up of species from the Arabian peninsula, the place is also a haven for some migratory and vagrant species. Located at the crossroads of some important bird migration routes, Masirah attracts birds from India and Pakistan to East Africa and wintering birdsfrom as far north as Siberia.
Among the migratory birds, there are some species of shorebirds as well, including the Crab Plover, the Lesser Sand Plover and the Greater Sand Plover, Oyestercatchers, Turnstones, and Bartailed Godwit. Besides these all18 species of Terns found in Arabia can be found on the island. Masirah is the only place in the whole region where all the species can be seen together. Another unique highlight of Masirah with regard is that the island boasts of the only breeding grounds in the Sultanate of Oman for the Crab Plover.
Masirah Island occupies a unique place as an unforgettable tourist destination and could easily become a role model for Eco-tourism in the Sultanate
The government-owned Masirah Resort on the island, is being run and managed by OMRAN, with the sole purpose of enhancing and promoting tourism. A spokesperson for the resort says: “Masirah has great potential to become an extremely popular tourist destination”.
“We plan to develop the resort as a retreat centre, where tourists can come and relax and enjoy the natural scenery and landscape of the place. For this purpose we’re in the process of increasing the facilities and amenities for tourists. The initiative also includes increasing occupancy by 80-90 per cent,” the spokesperson added.
The spokesperson added: “Masirah is a unique wildlife experience with turtle breeding grounds, beautiful beaches and facilities for water sports and diving. I see this resort and the island becoming an environmental haven”.
The breathtaking beauty of the landscape makes Masirah Island a paradise for photographers who want to capture the various moods of the island’s unspoilt landscape.
Masirah is the place where the sunshine is as warm as the hearts of the people, where Nature is at its magnificent best – vast stretches of golden sands kissed by the shimmering blue sea, with those white-capped breakers, craggy brown mountains, lush, cool wadis the undulating sands of trackless desert.
That’s Oman, a country in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west and Yemen to the southwest, with a total land area of approximately 300,000 square kilometers.
Further away from the coast, PEP witnesses another exciting facet of Masirah’s rich ecological wealth — a unique array of whales, dolphins and other marine creatures. Besides hosting one of the largest populations of endangered Loggerhead turtles, Masirah Island is also home to diverse species of birds, mammals and other wildlife.