Muscat: Three new caves have been discovered in Oman by a group of cave explorers, the Ministry of Tourism has announced.
The caves were named Al Khishil Cave, AlNaqqah Cave and Al Faqa’a of Dima Wa Tayeen province, in the eastern part of Oman.
The Al Khishil Cave is believed to be 400 metres deep. If confirmed it make it the deepest cave in Oman.
Al Khishil is located about 7 km from the village of Hail Al Hareem.
Inside the cave are clear water springs and breathtaking cave formations but the terrain is still too dangerous for explorers to completely traverse due to the multiple vertical slopes and slippery surfaces.
The first vertical ditch of the cave is directly after its entrance and is about 140 metres deep.
This ditch is followed by several consecutive vertical ditches up to 30 metres deep.
While the Al Naqqah Cave is a well-known landmark for the villagers it has never been explored before.
From the nearest existing road, it is a 30 minute walk to the cave and after the cave’s entrance is a 25-metre ditch.
The cave also has a series of crevices and water pools.
The Al Faqa’a Cave is located about half a kilometre on the northeastern side of the village of Hail Al Hareem, in the southern flanks and mountain peaks of Wadi Daiqa.
The depth of the cave is about 47 metres.
Although the cave is relatively simple to access by ropes, the lack of competent rock beds around its entrance make the rope access technically challenging.
The discoveries, scientists say, are evidence that there are many more undiscovered natural formations in Oman.
The new discoveries bring the total number of known caves in Oman to 11.
