This Swimming Hole Is Perfect In Every Way
An hour and a half outside of Oman’s capital of Muscat, you’ll come across the swimming hole you’ve been waiting for your whole life.
The Bimmah Sinkhole (Hawaiyat Najm) is a visual spectacle; a sunken cave with a staircase leading down to its sparkling emerald water. It’s a popular spot for swimming, and has become one of Oman’s biggest tourist attractions for those wanting to escape the heat and snag the perfect Instagram shot.
The surrounding limestone cliffs are perfect launch pads for diving into the crystal clear water, which sinks to 20 metres deep. The pool that nature built is roughly 550 metres from Oman’s stunning coastline.
The sinkhole is similar to the cenotes found in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, and was formed by a collapse in the earth’s upper crust layer due to erosion. That said, many locals actually believe that the sublime swimming spot was caused by a meteorite – its Arabic name ‘Hawaiyat Najm’ means ‘the falling star’.
We want in.
(Lead image: Prasad Pillai/Flickr)
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