Qaleh Kord Cave

Qaleh Kord Cave, also known as Gharghan Cave (Turkic: Kord Qeysi Gharghan Qeysi), is a cave and archaeological site in Iran. It is located in the Gharghan region, in Qaleh village, Hesar-e Valiasr Rural District, part of Abgarm city in Avaj County, Qazvin Province. The cave lies 20 kilometres from the Kharaqan Twin Towers and was registered as Iran's National Natural Heritage item no. 383 on 25 Esfand 1395. It is regarded as the oldest human settlement in Iran, where the milk tooth of a Neanderthal child, about 155,000 years old, was discovered. Preliminary absolute dating of the cultural material from Qaleh Kord Cave suggests that the site's cultural deposits are more than 400,000 years old, which makes the cave the oldest known human settlement in Iran.

After passing through the cave entrance and descending a fifteen-metre shaft, you reach a chamber of more than 1,000 square metres with limestone stalactites and stalagmites. High humidity, wall paintings and pools of water are among the cave's most important features. The temperature inside is about 15 to 20 degrees Celsius, and humidity can be felt throughout the cave. The amount of water inside varies between the rainy and dry seasons. The cave has been identified as a maternity roost for two bat species, the pale bent-winged bat and the lesser mouse-eared bat, both of which are classed as threatened and vulnerable in Iran.

This cave is considered one of the dangerous caves in Iran. Exploring it takes an average of 5 to 6 hours, and because of its vertical descents, we do not recommend it under any circumstances for anyone without caving experience. Be sure to arrange your visit with experienced professionals and bring caving gear and equipment.