New cave discovered in Oman

Muscat: The Omani Cave Exploration team has discovered a new cave called ‘Khaslat Safi Sahra’ in Safi Sahra village in Al Jabal Al Akhdar or ‘Green Mountain’ in the Wilayat of Nizwa, Governorate of A'Dakhiliyah.

The discovery of the cave site was made possible by the people residing in Safi Sahra area, where the exploration team was facing some difficulties at the cave’s entry in the form some loose boulders blocking the passage and threatening to fall on to them.

The team first removed the rocks to make a passage and also to prevent them from falling on to them. Entry into the cave was still difficult due to the narrow pathways and at times the team members had to crawl to make their way into the cave. The entire process of discovery, documentation and survey of the cave was lengthy that took 4 to 5 hours.

The cave promises to become a tourist attraction for the region, thanks to its unique and aesthetic touches. Besides, it provides an exploratory adventure due to its variety of living organisms, such as spiders, frogs and other living and non-living objects in large and varied sizes, in addition to having unique calcareous formations.

The cave is formed in sediments of limestone dating back to the Cretaceous period. It contains an impressive cluster of diverse cave deposits and distinctive types of creatures that inhabit the caves.

The Omani Cave Exploration team surveyed the cave and its corridors. It also documented the scientific details.

The second edition of the book, ‘A Guide to the Caves of Oman’ will be released soon and will include the caves documented by the team earlier.