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Large specimens inhabit wadi darbat

written by ANDREW WALKER

"Slowing down to get a better look, we could not believe the image before us"

Tales of deadly flying serpents that protect the frankincense trees in Dhofar are scattered throughout the literature of the region’s history. Whether or not the snakes existed may never be known, but today another famous site in Dhofar has terrifying guardians of its own, and they are very real.

Located 40km east of Salalah, Wadi Darbat is a popular stop for all visitors to the area. As the khareef season brings rain to the region, a stream is formed on the lush plateau in the mountains. Snaking its way through a valley, the water then lunges over a menacing cliff and crashes into a churning pool before winding its way to the sea. Having spent the last four years living in the interior, I could hardly believe that such a place existed in Oman. Once I saw the waterfall, I decided to try to reach the top.

Spinning a web
Spiders on guard

Taking the road that winds up the mountain to the right of the waterfall, we found the sharp turn-off that leads into the valley. Excited to have found the upper plateau of Wadi Darbat, my friends and I descended along the road, passing a small parking area, until as we approached a section that had been recently wiped out by the water, something floating above the road caught my eye. Slowing down to get a better look, we could not believe the image before us: anchored to a tree on both sides of the road, an enormous spiderweb spanned the air above the roof of the truck. Like a security guard at a toll station, a giant black spider sat in the middle, patiently observing the newest arrivals to Wadi Darbat. The first thought that came to my mind was how did the creature manage to span the entire width of the road? The second question was what is it expecting to catch?

avoiding the webs
Reaching the summit

At this point we decided to pull over and begin our trek. Realising that we had driven too far, we hiked back up the road until we found a path that seemed likely to lead to the top of the waterfall. The narrow track wound its way through thick brush and we quickly found that the eight-legged guard at the road was not an anomaly. In fact, the place was infested with giant spiders sitting in enormous webs stretched across sporadic gaps in the thick vegetation. The majority of them balanced between the branches above our heads in the larger trees, but several others were strung precariously lower. Like most people, I generally worry about what my feet are doing when I am hiking; you don’t expect to walk face first into a giant spiderweb. It has happened in the past, and there are few things more terrifying to me than the sudden panic when a sticky net covers my face and head and I have no idea where its very upset resident is crawling. Consequently, I made my way quite nervously along the trail, scanning above and below before taking each step. The webs were well camouflaged among the setting of the trees and mountains, and could only be seen easily if approached at an angle that put the sky as the background behind them.

Despite a number of near misses, we eventually reached the top of the waterfall and spent several minutes gazing at the breathtaking view of the wadi below. At this point the sun was rapidly making its descent into the horizon, and although the shortest way to the vehicle was back through the dense bushes, two of us decided to follow a much longer but more open route along the rocky bank of the stream. The other member of our party opted for the more adventurous hike and retraced our original tracks. Following the stream proved to be an extremely wet option but I didn’t mind at all, relieved that I was not forced to negotiate the spiderwebs again. Everyone arrived back at the truck safely and we immediately headed out, thankful that we had not been forced to pay a toll to the guardians of the falls.

Questions and answers

Investigating the spiders

What are they?

Research on the Internet when I returned home suggested that our arachnid friends in Wadi Darbat are members of the golden orb weaver spider family. The hefty females spin and maintain the web. Many of the specimens we saw had a recent catch wrapped up – these creatures must eat well as abundant insects fly around Wadi Darbat. Several of my pictures also show one or two much smaller spiders cautiously keeping their distance from the large one. These little fellows are likely male suitors waiting for their chance to mate with the big lady. Although I found nothing to suggest that a bite from one of these beauties is deadly to humans, I am not willing to volunteer for a trial.

How to get there: during the khareef the waterfall is visible from the highway that runs from Taqah to Mirbat. A side road leads to a tiny parking area near the base of the cliffs; tourists can hike up a small hill to get an excellent view of the waterfall. Another street climbs up the mountain towards Tawi Attair – look for the sign that indicates Darbat, a sharp left that heads down into the valley. As you descend toward the plateau, there is a parking area on the left; park the car here. If the water level is low, you may be able to follow the stream to the top of the waterfall. Otherwise, hike back up the road until you find a path that leads down through the thick bush to the edge of the falls. Continuing along the road will take you deeper into the plateau to a second parking area by the stream.