Oman’s Turtle season is about to begin. Here’s what you need to know

Muscat: The period from June to September each year is the best time to watch turtles nesting in Oman, with experts saying that more than 41,000 visitors to the Ras Al Jinz turtle reserve in South Al Sharqiyah Governorate last year 2017.

According to official statistics, 41,244 tourists visited the turtle nesting site at the Ras Al Jinz turtle reserve in Ras Al Hadd state in Wilayat of Sur in 2017, where the percentage of foreign tourists was 76 per cent, equivalent to 31,412 tourists.

The rate of growth in the number of visitors to Ras Al Jinz turtles reserve was 37 per cent in the past seven years, with the total number increasing from 30,002 visitors in 2010 to 41,244 visitors in 2017.

"The Reserve is a popular destination for visitors throughout the year, frequented by tourists from inside and outside the Sultanate," said Nasser Al Ghailani, Director of Ras Al Jinz Reserve, "The average number of visitors in the normal days ranges from 300 to 500 visitors, and on weekends and public holidays between 500 and 700 visitors."

Ras Al Jinz Reserve is famous for its green turtle habitat. It is the most important region where rare turtles are located in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. It is the only place where visitors can see the process of nesting sea turtles.

The Sultanate is home of four different types of turtles: green, olive ridley, hawksbill, and loggerhead. The period from June to September each year is the best time to watch turtle nesting where visitors can watch the scene.

“Many people may think that it is too hot to come to Oman in the summer and see the turtles, but temperatures in the Sharqiyah region are 15 to 20 degrees cooler than in Muscat, so, it is the ideal time for people to visit,” explained Vijay Handa, the general manager of the Ras Al Jinz Turtle Reserve.

The Museum of the Scientific Centre at the turtle sanctuary in Ras Al Jinz is a scientific museum that is rich in information about turtles and their way of life. It is equipped with the latest technologies and activities to familiarize the visitor with its contents, especially the turtle life cycle, and offers presentations in Arabic, German and English.

The museum showcases five types of turtles. In addition to the four that lay their eggs on the shores of the Sultanate, the fifth type — leatherback turtles — are sometimes seen in Omani waters, but lay their eggs elsewhere in the world.