The Ali Sadr Cave
Touring the Ali Sadr Cave: No we suddenly didn’t get humpbacked!
We took in a boat tour at the Ali Sadr cave, and we all wore these bulky life-jackets. The caves which contain a serpentine underground river carried us through dramatically-lit caverns as passengers in small row boats tied together.
According to Wikipedia, The Ali Sadr Cave (originally called Ali Saadr or Ali Saard Cave) is the world’s largest water cave system which attracts thousands of visitors every year. It is located in Ali Sadr Kabudarahang County in western Iran
Boat riding inside the Ali Sadr Cave in Iran
In 2001 a team of British and German explorers finished one of the only surveys of the cave and found it to be 11 kilometers or 6.8 miles long.
The main chamber in the cave has walls over 130 feet high and roughly measures about 328 feet by 164 feet. Basically it’s a indoor lake bigger than a football field! But the Iranians have lights all around so you never feel overwhelmed.
The cave’s river flows through a series canals that lead to several very deep lakes and a place they call the “The Island”..
Halfway through our hour-and-a-half-long voyage, we stopped at the atrium and everyone stepped onto a watery path of large stones set amid shallow water, creating the sensation we imagined Dante’s travelers might have felt in the Inferno.
Finally we returned to our boat caravan for the final voyage up to the security of ground level…and an ice cream treat in an outdoor restaurant where a couple were smoking hookahs.