New Delhi [India]: The season of roses has begun in Jabal Akhdar, also known as the green mountain in Oman, where buds are blooming into flowers. Every year, from the end of March until mid-May, the rugged mountain landscape of Jabal Akhdar oozes sweet perfume and transforms into a spectacular shade of dusty pink Damask roses that covers the mountain range.
There has been a significant increase in arrival of tourists during this period. According to the 2017 statistics, during March, April and May, there were 34,559 tourists who visited Jabal Akhdar. With 233,012 visitors by the end of 2017, there was a qualitative leap of 43.4 per cent over 162,499 during 2016. The surge in occupancy since the beginning of March till mid-April this year was between 80 per cent and 100 per cent and during the past two weeks it ranged between 90 per cent and 100 per cent.
Jabal Akhdar is famous especially for its exceptional climate, where the temperature is moderate during summer and falls below zero on some of the days in winter. This also helps in making the environment suitable for multiple agricultural products and increases their yield.
As Jabal Akhdar roses are of superior quality and available in abundance, the rose water industry has become a profession for the locals as they see a huge demand for Omani rose water. Therefore, the season of harvesting roses in Jabal Akhdar has become a major attraction for tourists.
Visitors are free to walk in some of the agricultural areas, watch the locals pluck roses and explore the blooming rose terraces. Tourists can also visit some of the traditional factories to see the old method of manufacturing rose water. Along with this, adventure enthusiasts can trek the mountains and relax with a special rose petals bath available at Anantara Jabal Akhdar Resort and Alila Jabal Akhdar Resort. (ANI)