Majlis Al Jinn

Majlis Al Jinn is a single chamber under the Selma plateau in the eastern Hajar, roughly 310 by 225 metres in plan with a roof around 120 metres above the floor, which places it among the largest cave chambers measured anywhere. There is no walk-in entrance: the chamber is reached through three holes in the plateau surface, and entry means a free-hanging abseil of well over a hundred metres with a jumar ascent to get out, which puts it firmly in the hands of experienced vertical cavers with permits. For everyone else the site is the plateau itself, where the entrance holes can be looked into from the rim. The plateau drive gives long views over the eastern Hajar.

History

The entrances were found in June 1983 by the American hydrogeologist Don Davison and his wife Cheryl Jones, working for Oman's water authority; Davison abseiled the 118-metre First Drop on 23 June 1983, Jones made the first descent of the 158-metre Cheryl's Drop on 1 March 1984, and the third entrance, the Asterisk, was descended on 22 April 1985. Jones named the cave after the Omani belief that jinn live in caves; locals call it Khoshilat Maqandeli (Wikipedia, Majlis al Jinn).

The landscape

• The entrance holes - the three openings in the plateau surface.
• The chamber below - visible as darkness through the shafts from the rim.
• The Selma plateau - the high limestone tableland and its views.
• Vertical caving - the abseil route, for those qualified and permitted.

When to go

October to April; the plateau is hot in summer and the drive long. Permits and arrangements must be made well in advance through the authorities and specialist operators. Descent is never attempted in wet conditions.

What to expect

Entry is by abseil only and requires certified experience, equipment and a permit; casual visitors cannot go in. Approaching the unfenced entrance holes is dangerous. The plateau track needs four-wheel drive. Most visitors see the holes from above and nothing more.

Nearby

Quriyat lies north; Wadi Bani Khalid is south.

Key facts