Daymaniyat Islands Nature Reserve

Oman

A protected reserve of nine rocky islands off Oman's Batinah coast near Muscat, known for coral gardens, walls and seasonal whale shark migrations.

The Daymaniyat Islands are a chain of nine small islands off the coast near Muscat, designated Oman's sole marine nature reserve in 1996. The surrounding waters offer walls, drop-offs, swim-throughs and caves with mild currents, depths rarely exceeding 25 m. The reserve protects nesting sea turtles, seabird colonies and coral formations, and is known among divers for seasonal whale shark encounters, typically September to November.