Salalah genuinely surprises first-time visitors to Oman — rather than desert, the region around the city turns green and misty every summer when the khareef monsoon rolls in from the Indian Ocean, covering the Dhofar Mountains in cloud forest while the rest of the Gulf bakes. It's also the historic source of frankincense, with ancient trees and trading ruins that once made this coastline genuinely wealthy. Add coconut and banana plantations, dramatic blowhole caves, and beaches that rival anywhere in the region, and Salalah is a completely different side of Oman from Muscat's desert-mountain landscape.