Qurum Natural Park: The Jewel of Gardens in Muscat

Report and Pictures by Dr. Eugene D’Souza, Moodubelle
Bellevision Media Network

Muscat, 07 June 2010: Sultanate of Oman, which is also known to many as a ’desert country’, has some of the most beautiful gardens of the world. Along with other important sites, both natural and historical, a tourist to this Gulf country, especially in the capital city of Muscat can enjoy visiting the public gardens and parks that are situated practically everywhere. Visitor to Muscat will be astonished to see the lush green and colourful gardens and also the floral lining of the highways and byways. The Muscat parks and gardens have become one of the chief tourist attractions in Muscat. There are no entry fees to any of these parks.

Among the many parks and gardens, the Qurum Natural Park can be considered as the Jewel of Gardens in Muscat. The Qurum Natural Park is known for the beautiful fountain, Waterfall Hill and a scenic Rose Garden. The park is the largest in the whole of Muscat. The aim of building the park which was opened in 1993, was to bring into use the natural and topographical features of the area to create an idyllic park for the visitors. The park is the success story of its unique location and artistic design. The total area of the park is 17,15,449 square meters.

In the Qurum Natural Park also popularly known as the Rose Garden, there is a large boating lake with fountain making a wonderful sight to the visitors. Inside the park there is a ’Waterfall Hill’ which looks spectacular especially during the night time when the visitors can view the flow of water through the artificial hill in the background of colourful lights. The Sultan Qaboos’ Rose garden is breath-taking with innumerable variety of roses.

This sprawling Qurum Natural Park and nature reserve is situated by the side of the main coastal road right down to the public beach. It is the prominent park of Muscat. It has large lawns, playing areas for the children with slides of various shapes, water fountains and shady pergolas or shaded passageways. The large fountain shoots water up to 30 metres into the air, and it is even more impressive at night when it is lit up.

The park incorporates a nature reserve, which is made up of tidal wetlands and mangroves. It’s a great place for spotting migratory birds. There is also a mangrove nursery, which yields thousands of valuable mangrove tree seedlings every year. The park also has the City Amphitheatre with a sitting capacity for nearly 4,500 people and is a popular venue for events. On Mondays, the Qurum Natural Park is reserved for families only.

When i was in Muscat in the month of April along with my wife Benny, on one of the evenings, Simon D’Souza, President of Bellevision, Muscat accompanied us to the Qurum Natural Park which by all standards is the most beautiful garden that i had ever seen and was amazed to see its vastness, landscape, verities of flowers and other beautiful plants. One can walk leisurely through the broad walkways encircling the lake with canopies at every interval with seating facilities for those who get tired or who would like to enjoy the evening breeze.

The Qurum Natural Park of Muscat attracts a lot of visitors, especially during public holiday. During the cooler months one can find many people in the park in the early evening; some strolling, some striding, some reclining and some enjoying a picnic. As it was getting darker and we had to keep an appointment, it was not possible for us to spend more time in the park. But the short period of time that we had spent in the Qurum Natural Park has been memorable.