Kalahrud Cave

Kalahrud Village, in Shahin Shahr County in Isfahan Province, is of special importance from both a geological and a nature-tourism perspective. The village has become well known for having the longest mud cave in Iran. Kalahrud Cave is famous not only for its length but also for other unique features that have made it one of the country's most valuable natural phenomena. Among geologists and cavers, the cave has gained great importance because of its distinctive structure and the stone tools and ancient bones found in it, making it a serious subject for geological study.

The cave lies about 100 kilometres north of Isfahan, near the historic Kashan route, in a shallow valley. The river that now flows below the cave once ran up to 50 metres higher, and over time, as water seeped into a crack in the mountain, it gradually formed Kalahrud Cave. At the cave mouth, tools and bone remains have been found that are attributed to early humans. Unable to penetrate deep into caves, these people lived only in the entrance sections, something also observed in many other ancient caves. There are numerous reports about the length and depth of the cave: some give its length as 1,200 metres and others as up to 3,000 metres. Its depth is estimated at between 50 and 100 metres.

Exploring the cave seems easy at first, and the first chamber is easily accessible, but after that the route becomes very narrow, complicated and confusing. Only one clear route leads to the pool of water inside the cave. The two main chambers and the passages that must be crossed in a "cat-crawl" style show that exploring the whole cave demands care, experience and a high level of physical fitness. To get there, take the old Kashan road 30 kilometres towards Murche-Khvort, then turn onto the dirt road at the Kalahrud junction and hike about 3 kilometres to the cave mouth. The best time to visit is spring and autumn, when the ground is not slippery and the weather is mild. Responsible behaviour towards the environment, carrying safety equipment such as a helmet, headlamp and suitable footwear, and avoiding any damage to the cave's mud and calcite formations are essential.