Into the ‘Well of Hell’: cavers get to the bottom of Yemen’s Well of Barhout

For centuries, the “Well of Hell” has been a mystery for many locals in Yemen. Folklore says the giant hole in the Al-Mahra desert is a place where demons live. But no one has ever explored the hole in depth to learn about this little-understood natural wonder. On September 15, 2021, a group of cavers decided to reach the bottom of the hole, where they found snakes, dead animals and cave pearls formed by dripping water.