Oman Opens 2026 Rummana Season on Jabal Akhdar

High on Oman’s Green Mountain, the 2026 Rummana season has opened, signaling the start of a prime travel window for visitors drawn to Jabal Akhdar’s cool air, terraced orchards and pomegranate harvest traditions.

Rummana Returns to Anchor Jabal Akhdar’s Summer Peak

Rummana has evolved in just a few years from a niche agritourism experiment into one of Jabal Akhdar’s marquee seasonal draws. Originating as a way to connect visitors with the mountain’s famous pomegranate, fig and pear harvests, the event now forms a central pillar of the wider Al Jabal Al Akhdar Festival calendar.

Publicly available information on previous editions shows a rapid rise in interest. The second Rummana season in 2024 was reported to have attracted more than 51,000 visitors over its summer run, more than doubling attendance from its inaugural year and highlighting strong demand for cooler, nature-focused escapes in Oman’s interior highlands.

Coverage of the 2025 edition pointed to another step up in scale, describing an expanded program of family activities, food stalls and on-site markets at Janaen Farm in the Saih Qatnah area. Reports indicated that the event was integrated more tightly with the Al Jabal Al Akhdar Festival, positioning Rummana as the agritourism heart of a broader cultural and entertainment season on the mountain.

With the 2026 season now open, tourism-watchers expect Rummana to benefit from this trajectory, as repeat visitors and first-time travelers align their mountain trips with the pomegranate-focused calendar.

Cool-Climate Escapes on Oman’s Green Mountain

Jabal Akhdar, often referred to as Oman’s Green Mountain, rises more than 2,000 meters above sea level in the Al Dakhiliyah Governorate. Its height produces a markedly cooler climate than the country’s lowland deserts and coasts, a contrast that becomes particularly appealing during the Gulf’s hot summer months.

The plateau surrounding the main villages is carved into steep, terraced farms where pomegranate, apricot, fig, walnut and rose bushes take advantage of the milder temperatures. Jabal Akhdar’s pomegranates in particular have developed a strong domestic reputation for quality and are now central to Rummana’s identity, providing both a seasonal travel hook and a tangible link to local livelihoods.

Travel forums and recent visitor accounts from 2026 indicate that high summer remains one of the busiest times on the mountain, with travelers seeking hiking, village walks and orchard visits in temperatures that can sit many degrees below Muscat and coastal resorts. Rummana rides this climatic advantage, using the harvest months to bring visitors directly into the working landscape.

The mountain’s elevated location does come with logistics to consider. Access is via a steep mountain road, and official guidance requires that vehicles meet power and safety standards, with many travelers opting for 4x4 transfers offered by hotels or local operators. For visitors who plan around the Rummana calendar, this infrastructure now supports a clearly defined season of activity centered on harvest experiences.

Hands-On Harvest, Orchard Walks and Family Activities

Rummana’s core offering is simple: time spent in Jabal Akhdar’s orchards at the height of the fruit season. Previous editions have featured guided walks through pomegranate and mixed-fruit terraces, with visitors invited to observe or participate in picking under supervised conditions. Reports from recent years describe interactive stations where families can learn about pruning, irrigation and traditional storage methods used by mountain farmers.

Alongside the agricultural focus, the event site at Janaen Farm has grown into a compact festival ground. Past coverage has highlighted children’s play areas, small rides and an open-air stage space where competitions and light entertainment run through the afternoons and evenings. This softens Rummana’s image from a purely educational excursion into a broader family day out, appealing to domestic visitors from Muscat and other cities.

A farmers’ souq has become another defining feature, with stalls selling fresh pomegranates, figs, pears and processed products such as juices, molasses and jams. Small and medium-sized enterprises from the region have used the event to showcase value-added goods, from herbal mixes to locally produced honey, positioning Rummana as a platform for rural entrepreneurship as much as a tourism spectacle.

Food and beverage outlets round out the experience, with simple local dishes, coffee stands and contemporary café concepts all reported in earlier seasons. For 2026, observers expect a similar mix, giving visitors multiple reasons to linger in the cooler mountain air after time in the orchards.

Festival Synergy and Tourism Growth Indicators

The timing of Rummana within the wider Al Jabal Al Akhdar Festival has become a key factor in its impact. In 2025, official festival figures cited well over 150,000 visitors arriving in the first half of August alone, with projections that total attendance would exceed 300,000 by month’s end. Within this wider influx, Rummana functioned as a thematic anchor for travelers interested in the agricultural side of the mountain’s story.

Rummana’s own numbers underline the trend. Reports on the 2024 season noted that around 667 pomegranate trees under the project yielded several dozen tonnes of fruit, and that on-site sales surpassed several thousand kilograms during the event period. The third edition in 2025, according to local news coverage, drew close to 9,000 visitors in just its first four weeks, pointing to strong mid-season momentum.

Tourism planners view these figures as evidence that agritourism is becoming a pillar of Jabal Akhdar’s positioning within Oman’s national tourism strategy. By tying visitor experiences directly to harvest cycles, Rummana extends the mountain’s appeal beyond scenic viewpoints and resort stays, offering a more immersive connection to place. The 2026 season, opening into an already busy summer for domestic and regional travel, is expected to continue that pattern.

For travelers, the synergy between Rummana and the broader festival calendar means that a single visit can now combine orchard experiences with cultural performances, cycling or adventure events, and village-based activities spread across the plateau.

Planning a 2026 Visit to the Rummana Season

With the 2026 Rummana season now under way, the broad pattern established in previous years provides a useful planning framework for visitors. Historically, the event has opened in early July and run through late September, tracking the staggered harvests of figs, pears and pomegranates. Within that window, the peak pomegranate period typically falls from early September into the second half of the month, when fruit quality and volumes are at their highest.

Travelers considering a trip this year are likely to find the mountain at its liveliest from mid-summer through early autumn, when Rummana activities operate alongside the main Al Jabal Al Akhdar Festival program. Published coverage suggests that weekends can be particularly busy around Janaen Farm and key viewpoints, encouraging some visitors to target midweek stays for a quieter orchard experience.

On the ground, Jabal Akhdar’s accommodation base has expanded over recent years, with international resorts, boutique hotels and smaller guesthouses clustered across the plateau. Many properties build harvest-themed experiences into their own schedules, arranging transfers to Rummana, organizing guided walks through nearby villages, or offering tasting menus that highlight local pomegranates and other mountain produce.

For Oman’s tourism sector, the opening of the 2026 Rummana season underscores how a single fruit harvest has grown into a multi-layered destination story. For visitors, it offers a timely invitation: to exchange coastal heat for cool mountain terraces, and to experience Oman’s Green Mountain at the precise moment when its orchards are at their most productive.