Around 195 kilometers (~124 miles) southwest of Muscat's sand-fringed coastline, Oman's dusty plains rise into the limestone folds of the Jabal al Akhdar, a massif 2,980 meters high. This maze of twisting valleys and deep canyons is one of the country's most remote corners and as the road loses its asphalt, the only way forward is on foot, by mule, or by all-terrain vehicle.