Truly epic stretches of tarmac are few and far between in this part of the world, there are some – but you have to really look hard for them. We first found the Salalah hairpins during an idle afternoon zooming around the region on Google Earth.

In a vast expanse of nothingness, they caught our interest. And though they looked impressive from a bird’s eye view, they’re even better when you’re down on the ground driving on them.

Two lines of smooth tarmac cut their way deep into the countryside with a sheer rockface on one side of you and a significant drop on the other. It looked so enticing that we drove for two days to get there in a Rolls-Royce Phantom.

It’s a fair old slog – Salalah is 1300km away from the UAE border in the very bottom corner of Oman. But with a milder climate and plenty to see in the area it’s certainly worth the trip down.

GPS Co-ordinates: 16°45’ 00”N 53°13’ 20”E

Tom Bird
www.carmiddleeast.com