The second largest water cave in Iran

Although it is still a little cold to travel to the northwest regions of the country, if you are into wandering in nature and caving, it's a good opportunity to pay a visit to Oromiyeh and the cave of Sahulan, known as the second largest water cave across the country.
The cave is located in West Azerbaijan ,about 43 km northeast of Mahabad, on Mahabad-Bukan road. It used to be a residence for the Parthian and now it's considered among the main and unique natural caves of the country, the most awesome natural manifestation in the province of West Azerbaijan.
Sahulan means frost in Kurdish and the cave lies near a village which carries the same name. The locals call it Kuneh Kuter, the pigeon's nest, as there are many pigeons inside it.
Covering an area of almost 600 square meters, it contains limestones.
The height of the ceiling from the lake is 50 m and the depth of water reaches 32 m in some areas.
Large water cave in Iran
Sahulan bears resemblance to the cave of Alisadr in Hamedan. With natural shapes and exceptional icicles, it lies on the slope of Kuter mountain range. The beautiful and rare natural phenomenon includes 2 mouths.
The studies of speleologists show that it dates from late cretaceous period, 70 million years ago.
It was first explored and examined by the French Jacques De Morgan 100 years ago. After that, it was re-examined by an English board during the World War II and was explored by the Iranian cave explorers in Mehr, 1373, solar calender.
The cultural heritage experts believe that the layers of pottery found in the main corridor and large hall as well as the entrance corridor show that the cave was settled in the second and first millennia BC into the Parthian and Islamic eras and even medieval time.
The cave has 2 main joined entrances and you can enter on either side and exit on the other. Once in the cave, you can do boat rowing after a walking route to watch inside. Thanks to the perfect lighting inside using a variety of light bulbs and spotlights the space is bright and you will witness the most striking scenery there. The deposits inside in different shapes like the elephant's paw, jellyfish, bat, etc. along with the charming icicles have created a spectacular scenery.
The temperature inside fluctuates between 10 to 13 degrees Celcius either in summer or winter and its humidity measures 70 to 80 %.