Salmah Plateau - Tahery Cave

Salmah Plateau is a very unique and isolated place although it is only 2 hours drive from Muscat.  It is part of the Eastern Hajar mountains and with 1400m altitude it keeps its cool even during the summer months.

The Plateau itself is quite barren - but it has plenty of special experience to offer:

1. The area looks like a rock dessert with massive gorges and the most amazing rock formations
2. The Plateau is also home to many caves: Majilis Al Jinn which is one of the biggest underground cave chambers in the world is the most famous, but caving there requires permit and special equipment. There are others you can visit freely and Tahery Cave, the one we visited does not require special equipment or caving knowledge. 
3. The views are spectacular towards the coastline - we camped in a spot with undisturbed views. 
4. If you like star-gazing, this is your place: the night sky was just unbelievable! It felt like being alone, in the middle of the Universe. 
5. Thousands of years old beehive tombs are scattered all around - we will go back to see these, we did not have time for it now.

We drove up to the plateau from the coastal road and once we were up, we found a nice flat area overlooking the coastline - it was a perfect camping spot. Since it was quite early and Majilis Al Jinn was quite close we decided to have a look - although it is one of the biggest caves in the world (the chamber measures 310x225m and it is 120m tall), from the surface all you can see are 3 big holes. Few local kids and a Bangladeshi goat herder gave us the grand tour - showed all the openings, pointed out special peak points, dropped rocks etc, it was actually quite fun. The next morning the same kids showed up at our campsite and helped to pack up - they wanted to pick few things from our food box in return. I do not think I have ever seen such a big smile on a little boy as when I said yes for him to take the Nutella :).

The sunset was stunning, the views were incredible - we watched the lights come out while making our dinner and later we just enjoyed the night sky. Our daughter loves these evening so much, that this time she actually decided not bring her IPad - she said watching the stars are much more fun.

Next day we were ready for the hike to Tahery Cave. It is one of the most beautiful hikes we have done so far, the scenery is absolutely gorgeous and the terrain is varied: there are few ravines to cross which requires some scrambling but there are long stretch of easy walks as well. The whole path is clearly marked with the usual tricolor flag, up to the cave entrance. Just before the entrance there are some big boulders to cross. Inside the cave it is possible to hike a few kilometers without equipment - you will need torch or headlamp though - as there are some permanent aids established: 2 ladders and a rope to help with the most tricky crossings. The ladders were OK if a little wonky - they are properly attached -and our daughter did the rope sections as well. I, the mother was not super happy with it though - it just looked a little too adventurous.

The cave itself is impressive, a really tall high chamber. The presence of water is evident - there are ponds and bigger lakes inside and the walls and floors clearly have water marks. It also means that before venturing inside, everyone should check the weather forecast and avoid going in when it is raining - flashfloods can happen and happened in the past inside the cave. Tahery is also said to be connected to an other cave, the 7th Hole a few kilometer away which is the small brother of Majillis Al Jinn. 

Considerations for the hike

Overall this was fantastic day and great hike. As far as family hikes go, this is definitely a more difficult one. We read online that it takes 1.5 hours to hike to the cave - for us it was more like 2.5 hours. All together, we spent 7 hours on this hike, so it is more like a full day program. There is very little shade along the path - we would not recommend to do this hike during summer. Bring plenty of water (2-3 liters per person) and snacks. Keep yourself covered with sunscreen and wear proper shoes. 

Important: do not listen to Google map when suggesting the route if you just enter the cave coordinates - you will end up on the wrong side of the gorge. You need to drive to the parking at the trail head.

Coordinates for parking: 22.8863,59.1325. The trail starts here, look for the flags.

Coordinates for cave: 22.8638,59.137 (or you can type Tahery Cave in Google maps)

Some tips for visiting the plateau:

1. You need a strong 4WD as you will need to use low gear for ascend/descend - there are some seriously steep sections although the worse parts are cemented
2. If you plan to camp during the winter, bring plenty of warm cloths, it does get cold!
3. Water is precious here - have some extra bottle in case locals asks for it
4. There are no shops - have some candy, chips or fruit with you to hand out for local kids.

5. Make sure your tank is full, there are no fuel stations up there!

Typical Plateau landscape

The million dollar view

Majilis Al Jinn - only a crack from the surface.

Tahery Cave - the hike

One of the ladders..

..and the ropes, which mum was not too comfortable with.