TEHRAN – Some 15km northeast of Delijan in central Iran lies a vast cave known for its charming popcorn-like appearance inside.

Apart from those dolomite sediments, the cave dazzles viewers with its unique corridors, and profound basins that reflect the walls and floor. In fact, another amazing feature of the cave an intriguing possibility of a lake for boating.

The cave is named Chal Nakhjir after its location. Narratives say the area was formerly used as a hunting ground, and hunters lead their prey to this area for the hunt. Chal means down, and Nakhjir means hunting ground so Chal Nakhjir means below the hunting ground.

Over millions of years, severe geological faults have caused the creation of corridors and some fabulous ponds in the cave.

The cave has an artificial entrance to make a round trip across the route where visitors can find crystalline and spongy ornamentation on the floor, walls, and ceiling as well as many bizarre forms such as pigeons, eagles, humans, turtles, and deer to name a few.

Some say it is a dynamic cave meaning if some part of this cave destroys, it will be restored over the years. Over 2000 meters of dry spaces have been identified on the inside of this cave which these spaces have generally crystallized.

Wondrously, the cave enjoys natural ventilation as visitors may feel comfortable temperature throughout the year. In addition, there are also several small ponds of water in different sections of the cave that add to its beauty and refreshment.

This way, visitors never feel the lack of oxygen in the cave. However, it is said such an expedition may be risky for people with high blood pressure and asthma.

The cave was discovered accidentally during an investigation for water resources in 1989 when workers carved a well, with the help of explosives.

There have been plans to develop and extend the size of the tourist part. It was projected to make another artificial entrance to the cave, a tunnel which would be the exit for the tour allowing through trips.

The three-floor cave has a main branch and a few assistant branches with halls called the names Chehel Sotoun, Aroos, Zibayeiha, Bagh-e Vahsh (Zoo), Barzakh, Chehel Cheragh, Golkalami, Farsang, Hayula, and Abshar. So far, two floors have been prepared for visitors

The first level includes aquifers and a lake situated below the cave level. The lowest and maximum depth of this lake is 10 to 70 meters. The second level is a path that starts from the entrance of the cave and continues for some 900 meters. And, the third level starts at 900 meters from the main path and continues for some 300 meters.

The length of the cave is estimated to run between 8 to 12 kilometers, which is only 1.2km for public visitation. The air temperature inside the cave, similar to the other caves in all seasons is between 7 ° C and 14 ° C.

There are two different tours offered, both are about 1.3 km long. For the first 600 m, both use the same trail, then they split up. One follows a passage toward the northeast and the other a passage toward the northwest. Both tours are so-called in-and-out tours.

Situated between Naraq and Delijan on the hillside of Takht-kooh, the cave is one of the amazing attractions of Markazi province. This rare geological phenomenon is said to date back to the third geologic period!

AFM