دحل الحمام

Dahl Al Hamam

Useful Information

Location:	Dahl Al Hamam Park, Doha, Qatar. Dahl Al Hamam (25.334439, 51.480493)
Open:	All year daily 13:30-20. [2025]
Fee:	free. [2025]
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:	L=60 m, VR=15 m, A=18 m. Portal: W=12 m, H=9 m.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Dahl Al Hamam Garden, Dahl Al Hamam Park, Doha, Tel: +974-3385-4089.
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History

Description

دحل الحمام (Dahl Al Hamam, Al Hamam Sinkhole, Pigeon Hole) is located in the middle of the city Doha in the Dahl Al Hamam Park. This is a family park, and the sign says that it is only for families, but it seems that this is not really enforced. But the park is open only in the afternoon, becaus in the morning it is only for school classes after appointment. The park has three playgrounds, an adjoining mosque and was named after the Pigeon Hole. Actually the whole district in the municipality of Ad Dawhah is named after the collapse doline. The doline on the other hand is named after the pigeons who tend to lay their eggs inside.

This doline is located in the northeastern corner of the park, surrounded by a sort of fence. And while the whole park is irrigated and shows green gras, flowers and shrubs, the circle with the doline is desert. A concrete trail leads to the rim of the doline and a staircase leads down the vertical cliff, about 20 steps to the pile of debris inside. From here it’s possible to climb down to the bottom of the collapse doline.

There is water at the sides of the doline, which are the deepest point, actually. The water is brackish, and moves with the tides about 30 cm up and down, obviously there is a connection to the nearby sea, so we guess the water level is more or less at sea level. There is also a sort of thin crust on the water, its unclear if this is some kind of calcite or gypsum deposit or if it is dust from the desert. Seems to be a riddle worth exploring. Also, there are underwater passages behind the lake which were explored by divers in 2016. Lorimer (1908), named this cave Dahail and describes "a rocky pool containing good water". Obviously it’s not this pool, probably he weant a second small pool on the other side of the end of the cave, which is filled by dripping water.

Its unclear if the doline is actually accessible. It seems there are safety concerns and so the officials tend to keep the area closed. Of course, there are sometimes falling rocks and so it’s not a good place for playing children, on the other hand, the danger of collapse during a 20-minute visit is almost nonexistent. However, we are not able to tell if you are actually allowed to enter the doline, depends on the guards which are currently responsible.