The most mysterious and eye-catching caves in Iran

Here is only a part of the most strange and mysterious caves of the country. They would fascinate your eyes with their marvelous beauty. Some are so mysterious that you’d like to step forward to explore more but there are dark and dingy ones which you won’t even dare to approach their mouths ; let alone experiencing the excitement and fear inside.
This is the right place for adventurous and professional wanderers; those who want to experience thrill over the holidays and have exciting and terrifying moments.

The first 4-storey cave in Iran

Many would prefer to travel to north on holidays to celebrate spring in the lovely nature in the north. You might want to go through Chalus road to access the northern cities. But you’d better pay a visit to the cave of Yakh Morad on your way; a cave on the edge of Chalus road and in the village of Gachsar in the province of Alborz.
It is among the loveliest and the rarest caves in the country. Experts believe it was once under water and this is clear from the natural condition of the cave and the remains of “ Cardina” fossil on the rocks. It has marine shellfish and dates back to the third geologic period i.e. they are over 50 million years old.
Reza Khalaj, deputy of the cultural heritage and tourism department says: the cave has windbreakers and holes where the air penetrates in . Therefore, the air gets into the cave under pressure making it extremely cold and causes the water inside to freeze.
According to him, the ice starts melting in mid-Ordibehesht ( the second Iranian year). Generally, it has 3 halls , 3 underground glaciers and 7 wells. But what makes it more remarkable is a part of it which has a 4-storey shape. In a part which reaches 20 meters in depth floors are one on top of another which is undoubtedly never seen in any cave.

The largest water cave in the Middle East

If you want to do caving and be near a river, you are recommended to see the largest water cave in the Middle East. Known as Ghale Ghuri , it is situated in the province of Kermanshah and dates from 65 million years ago.
Ehsan Ahmadi Nasr , the public relations head of cultural heritage department in Kermanshah says: it’s 12 km long and 3,140 meters deep. It was registered as one of the seven natural national sites in Iran. The ponds’ depth reaches 14 meters with a temperature of about 7 to 11 degrees Celsius.
The temperature is fixed all year round. You can take walks along the beautiful halls; located 1400 meters to 1500 meters of the cave. They have names like” Maryam, Kuhan- Shotor, Masir-e Barzakh, Boloor and Talar-e Arus.
The ponds in the cave have all joined and created one of the largest water caves in the world.

Heracles’ home

Our first adventure starts in Kerafto cave; an awe inspiring cave built with the hands of ancient Iranians without power operating instruments, absolutely hand-made.
In fact, it displays human’s effort to have a better and more secure life. The ancient and historic site lies atop a high rock 70 km northwest of the city of divan Darre in the province of Kurdistan.
It is a natural and limestone cave which was most probably formed in the third geologic period.
Nasrollah Mansuri,the official in charge of historic monuments in Kurdistan says: it is interesting to know that human’s settlement has made some unbelievable change inside the cave; like labyrinth rooms, corridors and long and narrow passages. Therefore, one can say that it is well-known for its hand-made structure and has an exceptional architecture.
The height of the entrance mouth from the foothill is about 20 to 25 meters. Its structure dates back to the Parthians and around the 3rd century BC. Once you get in, the first thing you would notice is the lovely and special architecture as well as the reliefs and images carved on rocks.
The beautifully carved images of animals and human would fascinate you. Unfortunately, as a result of destruction in a part of the cave the number of rooms and corridors in all floors is not clear and it seems that the handmade architecture of rocks has been more expansive than what it is now. “On the entrance of one of the rooms on the third floor , there is an inscription in Greek which is damaged to a great extent. What is inscribed on it is about the god of Heracles and that’s why many call the cave “the temple of the Greek god” .
According to Mansuri, on the inscription there is an interesting sentence: this is Heracles’ home; those who get in will be safe.”

Excitement in bat’s territory

If you are among adventurous tourists who love to have a face to face view of scary hanging bats in a dark place, you should then travel near Zanjan . You‘ll be shocked in a dark and fear-provoking and breath-taking cave.
Its main name is Galjik but people know it as the bats ‘cave. In the dark place the only thing you would probably notice is sparkles in the eyes of hundreds of bats staring at you. You should have courage to step into bats’ land; where once you step in , a flock of bats welcome you . Moving on, you would witness skeletons and skulls of animals and even humans scaring you to death.
It is not only the oldest cave but is considered as the scariest cave in the country. But be careful not to hurt bats. This is a peaceful habitat for bats; so please get in without disrupting it and pay a visit.
According to gholam Reza Najaflu, the head of public relations department in cultural heritage of Zanjan, the best time to enter is in sunset; when flocks of bats fly out of the cave and take a distance of several kilometers away. It is located 35 km southeast of the city of Zanjan. Galjik was formed as a result of limestones’ erosion and was a nice place for pre-historic humans due to its pleasant climate.

A calm and comfortable place

The light going through the rocks of the ceiling gets to the floor and is reflected around creating wonderful scenery that marvels you a lot. That’s why the cave is known as one of the most beautiful caves in the world. To reach it, you should travel 165 km south of Zanajn province and witness the marvelous beauty. Gholam Reza Najaflu , the public relations head in cultural heritage and tourism department in Zanajan, says: Katlekhor has different meanings like the sun’s hill, the village void of the sun etc. but the most acceptable one is what is conveyed from its Turkish meaning: Katle means ups and downs or uneven parts in the cave and Khor means comfort and easiness. It totally would mean a comfortable and calm place with ups and downs.
The cave lies in the heart of Saghiz Kuh mountain . according to experts, it is 30 million years old. It’s not clear when it was discovered by human but people of the city of Garmab tell different stories about it; some locals believe that a number of people went in and never came back again.
Gholam Reaz Najafi continues: the entrance mouth ,70 meters wide ,resembles a triangular shape and is the only way to enter.
If you’d like to enter , you should crawl a distance of 80meters .
It is the second largest cave in the world and the most beautiful cave across the globe. Inside ,you can witness corridors, passages, large pillars, and hollow icicles, the scariest in the world.
The visit will never bore you ; you get to see beautiful icicles in different shapes like cauliflower, asleep lion, lion’s claw , elephant’s footprint, bride’s dress, hunting dog, burnt palm etc. The most amazing thing about it is that you ‘ll experience different climate in different parts; in entrance way it’s chilly but the more you go forward, the warmer it gets.

Rock breakers cave

There is a cave in the country created by the hands of skillful stonecutters in Fars province. Masih Adelpur, the public relations expert in cultural heritage department in the city of Jahrom says: it is known as rock breakers cave and is located in the southwest of the city of Jahrom in Fars province. A few years ago, some stonecutters created it in the heart of a mountain near Jahrom .
Although some local residents and experts believe it dates from F. O. E period, no exact date can be mentioned about the construction of tunnels inside. The rock breakers in Jahrom extracted rocks including white limestones and pieces of rocks ,which were easily formable, out of the cave for a living. They would use them in the facades of buildings, decoration of entrances, floors of houses, holy mausoleums and other prime monuments.
The samples are seen in Shiraz’s buildings like Atigh Jameh mosque and Namazi hospital. It is interesting to know that the rock breakers have left pillars behind not to destroy it, which has made it more beautiful.
The mouths in mountains are so large that cars can pass quite easily.
Their work inside the cave has created a beautiful landscape, turning it into one of the most beautiful hand-made caves in the world. The lovely heritage has 20 entrance ways. Covering an area of about 20,000 square meters, it measures 200 meters in length and 60 to 130 meters in width.

A haunt for professionals

Wait ! Before reading through, you should know that if you are not a professional cave explorer, don’t even think of it at all. Som cave lies in a height of 1,700 meters. Perched in Khaje Ghanbar mountain in the province of Golestan , it was discovered 2 years ago.
The cave with beautiful corridors and ceilings ;where water has made it more charming. Masood ziarati , public relations head in cultural heritage and tourism department in Golestan province says: the mysterious cave is 375 meters deep and has 21 wells. Once you enter , you ‘ll come across a narrow and thin pathway typical in other caves; but the narrow passages are in a way you’ll have to move on one direction only and you can not even turn your head in some parts.
Another problem facing the splunkers is the low temperature. As a result, caving equipment is a must.
Masood Ziarat continues: the more forward you go, the colder the weather. In fact, after well No 19 upward ,the temperature inside decreases so that it reaches 6 degrees Celsius. You should plan to wrap up warm or you can’t move on. Professional splunkers believe that it’s an extremely dangerous cave; and due to tough pathways it is really difficult or even impossible to help the people trapped . Therefore, the visiting teams should be equipped and well-prepared since there is a risk of death. The passages are so narrow and winding that there is room for only one person with his backpack.
Research about the age of the cave shows no firm conclusion but the explored human and animal skulls shows it’s great age. A testament to this claim is the skeleton of a bat, 10 times larger than an ordinary bat. The bats in the cave have almost been destroyed due to unknown factors. The fascinating thing is that most of their skeletons are massed in one spot. The bones are not the only signs showing life existence; special and rare butterflies are seen up to the No 4 well.