Ali-Sadr Cave

Ali-Sadr is one of the few caves in the world that visitors travel through by boat. It lies about a hundred kilometres north of Hamadan, in limestone laid down in the Jurassic period; the cavities were washed out by water circulating along the fissures of the massif. The explored passages run for several kilometres, and a stretch of about two kilometres is open to visitors, almost all of it across an underground lake. The water stands motionless, in places as much as fourteen metres deep, and in the beam of the lighting you can see the bottom and the inverted reflection of the vaults. There is no current, so the surface works like a mirror and doubles the ceiling. The vaults and walls are covered with flowstone formations: stalactites, stone curtains and growths of fanciful shapes to which the guides give names. The temperature inside stays around twelve degrees all year round. The cave had long been known to local people, but it was systematically explored and fitted out only from the 1960s onwards.

Visitors are taken across the underground lake on pedal boats; it is about twelve degrees inside all year round, so a sweater comes in handy. Entry is charged, and at weekends and on Iranian holidays there is a queue. The cave is a hundred kilometres from Hamadan, so it makes a separate half-day trip. Cash only.

Address

جاده غار علیصدر, دهستان علی صدر

On the map