Cave-AliSadr

Ali Sadr Cave
Caves of Iran
The amazing Ali Sadr cave is a popular tourist destination and a beautiful natural attraction of Iran for foreign tourists, it is a Jurassic water cave with large deep lakes and walls up to 40 meters high, it has an internal river but the flowing of river is not visible and it looks like a silent lake with clear and calm water rather than a current river, most of the trip through the cave is done by pedal boats, it is 11.5 Km long and the second longest surveyed cave of iran.

AliSadr Cave Photo by Ali Majdfar

Iran has many excellent caves to offer for sightseeing, and this is not the only show cave in the country. Ali Sadr Cave is opened to public since 1975 and has several visitors each year and it is one of the most visited cave of the world, the astonishing beauty of this cave may explain the enormous number of visitors.

The main chamber of the cave is 100 meters by 50 meters and 40 meters high. In the summer of 2001, a German/British expedition surveyed the cave to be 11.5 km long. If you have a long term itinerary for Iran and Mount Damavand, not forget to include visiting this wonderful cave in your programme .

Cave AliSadr Photo by Ali Majdfar

Quick Facts and Info
Location: 80 km north of Hamedan city in Hamedan Province Iran,
Distance from Tehran: 350km E of Teheran.
Light: electricity.
Lengths: 11.5 km long.
The main chamber is 100m L X 50m W X 40 m H
Temperature = 11.5°C.
Guided tours by pedal boat: L=1,400m

Ali Sadr Cave Photo by A.Soltani

Ali Sadr Cave Photo by A.Soltani

Quick History
- A man made entrance tunnel to this cave was built in 521-485 B.C in the reign of King Dareios I in the Kingdom of the Achaemenids, later most knowledge about this cave was lost.
- One story tells the cave was rediscovered in 1960 by a local shepherd looking for his lost goat and the other story tells, it was rediscovered in 1978, after the water from the spring diminished, a local guy of Ali Sadr village in search for the water followed the tunnel and found the cave. But certainly the cave is known to the local people from a very long time ago, it was a water reservoir for the people in nearby village of Ali Sadr.

- 500 B.C. an artificial entrance tunnel was built into the cave.
- 1960 rediscovered by a shepherd.
- 1963 explored by mountaineers.
- 1994 new parts of the cave discovered but not surveyed.
- 2000 a German expedition team, Dr. Georg Kaufmann, Michael Laumanns, and Thilo Müller surveyed most of the cave.

Ali Sadr Cave Photo by A.Soltani

Ali Sadr Cave Photo by A.Soltani

Quick Geology
- It belongs to the second Jurassic period and it si about 130-190 million years old.
- The cave shows many formations, the growth of calcite crystals cover the walls about 5 to 10 cm under the water and about 3 m above water level.

Location and Coordinate
GPS Landmark for Ali Sadr cave entrance
Altitude: 2020m
Latitude: 35-18-22 N
Longitude: 48-18-04 E

Other Major Caves in Iran
Karafto Cave Kordestan Iran,
Katalekhor Cave Zanjan,
Moon Cave, Cave civilization
Quri Qaleh Cave Kermanshah
Sahoolan Cave Mahabad, pigeon cave, water cave
Shapour Cave Kazeroon, statue king shapour the great
Vara Cave Jahrom

Alternate names and spellings
Ali Sadr Cave, Ghar-e-Ali Sadr, Ghar Ali Sadr, Qar e Alisadr
In persian: غار علیصدر ایزان

How to go there
From Tehran go by bus or by air to Hamadan city and then go by bus or by car to Ali Sadr Cave.

Ali Sadr Cave Photo by A.Soltani

Ali Sadr Cave Photo by A.Soltani

Ali Sadr Cave Photo by A.Soltani

AliSadr Cave Photo Gallery by Ali Majdfar

More in MDG
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