TEHRAN – Photos show rock climbers rappelling through Iran’s Parau Cave, locally renowned as “Everest of all caves”.

Looking for adventure? This vertical limestone cave, which is one of natural attractions of Kermanshah province in the Zagros Mountains, offers a wild and challenging expedition for experienced rock climbers!

At 751 meters deep, Parau is the deepest cave in the country. Joujar Cave, at 568 m deep, has been reported as the second deepest.

Stretched at about 3050 meters height in Parau Mountain, it was the greatest vertical cave in the world at the time of its discovery, more than 40 years ago (1971), Tasnim reported on Friday.

“That was why it is called Everest of all the caves in the world. This cave is registered as the second natural and national monument in Kermanshah in [the Iranian calendar year] 1388 (March 2009-March 2010) by Environmental Protection Agency in Iran.”

Today, many deep caves are discovered throughout the world which are even deeper than Parau Cave and have sent this cave down to rank 221 in the list of deepest world caves, the report said.

One of the exquisite features of Parau Cave is its three thousand meters height from sea level which is the highest level from sea among all the caves in the world.

The western province welcomed 5,664 foreign travelers during the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21), according to data compiled by provincial tourism department.

It embraces a variety of awe-inspiring historical sites including Bisotun and Taq-e Bostan, both on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

AFM/MG