Muscat: Oman's Ministry of Tourism is firming up plans to develop one of the world's largest cave chambers into an eco-tourism attraction, the local Oman Observer reported on Sunday.
The Chamber of Spirits (Majlis Al Jinn), a mammoth cave large enough to hold the biggest of Egypt's pyramids, will be developed into a world-class show-cave rivaling that of the sultanate's first cave attraction at Al Hoota in the Interior region.
Majlis Al Jinn, located in the province of Quriyat, about 150 kilometres from Muscat, has long been a magnet for international cavers, base jumpers and other adventure-seekers.
Its domed chamber, standing 120 metres high and 300 metres long, is ranked as the ninth largest in the world.
Extensive studies by local and international experts indicate that the cave is part of a unique karst system – a geological feature created over millennia by the dissolving action of water on limestone.
Tucked away in the Selmah Plateau, where the Majlis Al Jinn is located, is one of the region's longest known karst systems extending some 11.5 kilometres in length and 380 metres in depth.
Unique speleothems and other features of great geological and anthropological value abound in the cave system, say experts.
As part of its plan to develop Majlis Al Jinn into a show-cave, the Ministry will establish a Visitor Centre linked to the cave entrance either via a new road or a cable car system.
Access into the chamber itself is via one of three vertical shafts that plunge some 40 metres through the roof of the chamber.
Options being weighed by authorities to enable tourists access into the heart of the chamber include a free-hanging elevator that descends through one of the shafts, a suspended viewing platform, and even abseiling facilities for experienced cavers.
The show-cave is targeted to be launched in 2012.
