Saholan Cave

🧭What kind of place is it?

The cave is made up of water sections, dry passages and limestone halls. About 300 metres of its water route and 250 metres of its dry route have been mapped, and its lakes are fed by groundwater and springs. Inside it is cooler than outside and very humid.

🏛️What was it built for?

Villagers from the area have known the cave since long ago and used it as a shelter and for hunting, so it has no clear date of discovery. Today the water route is seen by boat, and the cave is on Iran's list of national natural monuments.

👀What you will see

• The underground lake lies between rock walls, and the known water route of the cave runs across it.
• Limestone formations of many shapes have grown on the ceiling and walls, the natural details of the cave.
• The main hall is about 58 metres long and 42 metres wide, so the cave is far more than a narrow tunnel.
• The cave has two entrances, and at the start of the main one about a hundred concrete steps lead down.
• Pigeons and bats live in the cave, and the pigeons' nests gave the cave its local name.

💡Something interesting

Jacques de Morgan built a kalak, a small wooden raft, with the villagers of Saholan and crossed the water section. He drew a map of the cave; that trip marked the start of formal study of the cave, though local people had known it long before.

🎒Good to know before you go