Jebel Shams Balcony Hike W6 and Via Ferrata Grand Loop

Jebel Shams Balcony Walk W6 and Via Ferrata Loop.
Please note that the elevation gain is recorded erroneously, it should be within 450 meters.

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Please note that Via Ferrata climbing activity needs good amount of fitness, upper body strength, stable footing, balancing, manouvering, climbing using the wire ropes, managing the edges of the cliff, no fear of heights and endurance.
There is no plan B.

Best to be done with the guidance of proffessionals.

You need proper Via Ferrata kit with good quality harness and slings.
Safety is of highest concern here.

As we had only 1 car with us, we had to hike and climb in a loop fashion, so we ended up walking the plateau road between the Hayl village (Via Ferrata end point) and the Khityam village (The Balcony hike start point)
We stayed at a guest house in Al Hayl village of Shams plateau.
The end point of Via Ferrata lands at this village area.
So we walked on the road all the way to Al Khityam village which is the starting point of W6 Shams Balcony hiking trail.

The W6 trail is one way 4.5 Kms all the way till Al Sab Khamis village which is now abandoned.
The whole trail is well marked with Omani hiking trail paint markers.

The views while walking this section is impressive, you can see the whole of grand canyon and Wadi Nakur and its villages down below.

At the village, the trail markers will lead you up steep towards the waterpool and further upwards steeply to the start of Via Ferrata, which is nicely fixed and well maintained.
The start of the via ferrata is over an uphill climb to the right of the Jebel Shams Lake of the Balcony walk. The lower and first part of the via ferrata is a medium to difficult 80m ascent.

You then move on to the second part which then leads you to the final climb up to a wadi, where you head up to the main road.

I can hardly believe that local shepherds used to climb this 200-metre vertical wall bare foot with no gear whatsoever to look for their goats running off in the mountains.
Their risky chore has been turned into an exhilarating adventure: a stunning via ferrata with the greatest canyon of the Middle East as its backdrop.

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Do Not Try Any Mountain adventure activities If You Do Not Understand The Mountain Terrains, Dangers From Wildlife, First Aid, Hydration And Snacks, Your Own Fitness, Remote Activity Preparations, Communication Tools, Mountain Geography, Topography, Risk Factors, HSE Requirements, Hiking Risks, Fitness Level Of The Group Members.
Study All Above Matters Well Before Following Any Trails That You Find Online. Please Do Not Over Estimate Yourself.
Better Be Safe Than Put Yourself / Group In Danger And Regret Later.
Lately We Have Seen A Lot Of Unwanted Hiking Incidents That Could Have Been Avoided With Better Preparation.
Wish You All The Best.
Wikiloc is only For Reference. There Can Be Errors On The GPS Recording Due To GPS Jumping In The Wadi Sections or Erroneous Recording.