Snow Oman, Mena's largest sub-zero park, to open this weekend

The attraction has a Desert Blizzard theme, reimagining the country's cities and sand dunes in icy form

Snow Oman will open in Muscat on Christmas Eve. Photo: Snow Oman

It's going to be a white Christmas in Muscat.

Snow Oman is set to open at the Mall of Oman on Christmas Eve, becoming the largest indoor snow park in the Mena region.

The attraction spans almost 1.5 hectares and has a Desert Blizzard theme, which operator Majid Al Futtaim describes as "a reimagined world where Oman’s cityscapes and sand dunes are covered in real snow".

Inside there will be a selection of family-friendly rides, including the Mountain Thriller, Snow Bullet, Slide Winder, Cloud Climber and Zorb Ball, as well as Cold Town Muscat and a frozen shipwreck and lighthouse. There will also be a 475-square-metre ice rink.

Snow Oman is a sister brand to Ski Dubai and Ski Egypt and, like those two, it will house colonies of king and gentoo penguins in a custom-built penguinarium.

Majid Al Futtaim opened Ski Dubai at Mall of the Emirates in 2005, and Ski Egypt followed in 2017 at Mall of Egypt in Cairo.

In January, Ski Dubai was named the World’s Best Indoor Ski Resort for a record-breaking seventh year in a row at the World Ski Awards, beating other indoor ski centres from around the world, including Germany, Spain, Scotland and New Zealand.

Featuring five ski slopes, a family-friendly snow park and a waddle of resident penguins, Ski Dubai is responsible for introducing more than 80,000 people to skiing and snowboarding each year. It is also a hub for international competitions and races, such as the Para Snowboard World Cup.

“I am incredibly proud that Ski Dubai has won the World’s Best Indoor Ski Resort, particularly given the high calibre of ski resorts nominated, including our sister brand, Ski Egypt,” Mohammad El Etri, vice president of global snow operations and projects, Majid Al Futtaim Leisure, Entertainment & Cinemas, said at the time.

“The World Ski Awards are the ultimate honours in global ski tourism and the fact that they are voted for by the public makes this award win even more special.”

Snow Oman; opening December 24; snowoman.com