Oman an overview
Adventures of Oman
Stretching from the lunar-like Hajar Mountains in the north to the lush and temperate city of Salalah in the south, the Sultanate of Oman — with its year-round sunshine and a stable economy — is one of the lesser-known treasures of the Arabian Peninsula.
Oman is hollowed out with incredible natural underground playgrounds, including the second largest underground chamber in the world, called Majlis Al Jinn, or ‘spirits’ meeting place’. Although currently shut indefinitely to the public for redevelopment, there are plenty of others that are suitable for beginners and experienced spelunkers.
Al Hoota Cave, located near Jabal Shams mountain near the northeastern town of Al Hamra, is the only cave that has daily organized tours that are suitable for all adults and older children (book in advance). Al Hoota is a two million-year-old complex comprising two lakes (one an impressive 800m long) and a series of huge underground caverns. Oman’s underground world teems with life, and you will be sharing the depths with more than 100 species of animals including bats, hunter spiders, and water beetles, as well as a rare type of blind fish called. The 45-minute tour whisks you around 10% of the 4.5km below your feet.
If a guided tour is too time, Hoota Cave is a 2.7km tunnel also near Al Hamra that runs under the Hajar Mountains. There are two entrances, Al Fallah and Al Hoota; access to the former is reached by a 20 minute fairly easy hike to the large entrance beneath the Hajar cliff’s overhang, while the latter should only be attempted by experienced spelunkers who have a guide, safety gear, and other climbing equipment. Once inside you will need torches and a sense of adventure, the hardest part is getting there. The tunnel, whichever way you get there, is worth the scramble. The rock strata, stalactites, and stalagmites below reveal the ancient history of the area, through their distinctive red, yellow and pink colored bands, formed as different sediments settled over the millennia and compressed into rock. Eager explorers can continue 1km on through the tunnel to a huge underground cavern called ‘Cairn Hall’, said to be full of bats.
Despite Oman being arid most of the year, the country is pockmarked with wadis (river beds) which can flood very quickly when it rains. To see some of the country’s serious water power up close head to Muqal Cave at Wadi Bani Khalid A’Sharqiyah near Sur in Muscat. This is one of the area’s greenest wadis, with plenty of natural pools and waterfalls to cool off in. The entrance to the cave is a small lateral slit in the rock face; make sure you take torches to see the underground rivers and falls that lie hidden inside the actual cave. This is an easier cave to explore than Hoota Cave, but still difficult to find without a guide.
For a more relaxed experience, Ettein Cave, around 10km from Salalah, is made up of two enormous chambers and is the largest and most well-known cave in the southern region of Oman. The entrance is an easy walk halfway up a hillside off the main Salalah-Ettein road. Anyone who is relatively fit should be able to attempt this one, and once inside the gigantic cave expect to see the colossal stalagmites.