Al Hoota Cave is a natural cave located in Al Hamra, Oman. It's 200 kilometres from the capital city Muscat. The cave measures 4.5 km long. The cave was first discovered by local people several hundred years ago, and was officially opened as a tourist destination in December 2006.
The cave was closed to visitors as it required a lot of maintenance. It had been affected by flooding and was again reopened on 5th September 2016.
There is an electric train service from the visitor center to inside of the cave. This is the only train service in whole oman. The train travels half a kilometre and reaches the entrance of the cave.
The cave, located in the wilayat of Hamra, is believed to be over 2mn years old and was discovered by a shepherd.
The cave is only accesible for 865 metres for visitors. The cave is home to over 100 animal species and has a rich ecosystem of lakes and waterways. It is the only cave in GCC that was open to the public as a tourist destination.
However visitors can discover a lot of the systems’ history and features in the geological museum near the visitor centre near the entrance, which showcases over 150 items of rock, wood, corals and other unique materials.
The exhibition also provides four interactive stations, with a live show for each phenomenon to allow visitors to learn about the formation of this stunning natural phenomenon.
Online bookings can also be done through the website. Except Monday the Opening times of cave is from 9am-6pm.
