There are many caves all over Iran, some of which were created by natural factors and some of which are man-made. Many of these caves have been discovered and explored. But no one knows how many caves are still hidden in the mountains. Nakhjir Cave, which is located in Markazi province, is one of these beautiful caves that has unique features.
Between the two cities of Delijan and Naragh, there is an area called Chal Nakhjir. This area used to be a good place for hunters to hunt. They took the animal to Chal Nakhjir, which is a hollow place, and easily hunted it there. Probably because of this act, they named it Chal Nakhjir, which means lower than the hunting ground. The name of the cave located in this area was “Hoho” in the distant past, but over time, it took the name of the area where it is located and became known as Chal Nakhjir Cave.
Until 1988, in the Chal Nakhjir area, people who went to the area to collect medicinal plants and hunt, heard a horrible sound along with falling water from the crack in the cave wall, and approached the area less out of fear. On the mountain where the cave is located, traces of an old cave have been seen that nothing is left of its roof and walls. Chal Nakhjir Cave was discovered by the Delijan Water Organization in late 1988 due to an explosion near its mouth. For the first time in 1988, a caver named Kamran Soleimani went to a depth of 500 meters in the cave, but was forced to return due to running out of thread. A year later, in 1989, a team of three cavers entered the cave to explore further. Chalnakhjir Cave was registered in the list of national monuments of Iran in 2005 by the Cultural Heritage Organization with the number 13814.
Chal Nakhjir area is located at the foot of a mountain called Takht. This beautiful cave is also one of the caves related to this mountain. The cave is made of lime and has three floors. For this reason, it has been placed in the category of class caves. The types of deposits (earth materials that have been accumulated due to natural processes) have a special and unique shape in this cave. Most of the cave walls are covered with calcareous sediments and a very small part of them are made of stone. According to geologists, the length of this cave is estimated at 12 km, of which 6 km has been discovered to date. Currently, 1,200 meters of the cave is prepared for public viewing. The beautiful lighting of this cave on calcite crystals and various shapes that are similar to humans and some animals such as eagles and turtles, along with other large statues of bodies and crystal pendants, astonish the eyes of every viewer.
According to experts, there is a lake at the bottom of the cave, of which only four hundred square meters have been discovered so far, and there is evidence that the lake is much larger than this amount. The lake is located at a depth of 70 meters from the surface of the cave and is 19 meters deep, but the water level is constantly changing and therefore it is not possible for the public to visit and enter it by boat.
Chal Nakhjir Cave is one of the most valuable limestone caves in the world. The shapes created due to calcareous sediments inside the cave are one of the most beautiful and best examples of these sediments in the world. This cave belongs to the third geological period and is estimated to be about 70 million years old. For millions of years, the reverse motion of the fault has created beautiful vestibules, corridors and ponds, which we call Chal Nakhjir Cave.
Chal Nakhjir Cave is one of the living caves in the world, and has its own restorative properties. This mechanism is such that if a part of it cracks or breaks, it repairs itself. Perhaps this phenomenon can be proved as follows: every 100 years, the total thickness of the walls and chandeliers is increased by 2.5 cm, and this phenomenon causes the cave to be repaired.
Generally, traveling to caves does not have a specific time and you can visit it in any season of the year. The temperature inside the caves is usually constant and finally with a difference of 2 degrees from the ambient temperature. If you plan to tour the area around this cave, spring and summer and the months of May to June are good times to travel. But the beauty of autumn and winter weather will also make your trip to this region more memorable. The inside of the cave is naturally ventilated and this makes the air inside it cool in summer and warm in winter and visitors do not feel short of breath and lack of oxygen.
When you reach the cave, you will see its 10 meter opening and then you will enter its main path. The mouth of the cave is above the drinking water wells of Delijan and opens to the south. In the past, the mouth of the cave was not the current size and was a hole with dimensions of 1 to 1.5 meters. This route is about one kilometer and you can easily walk on it. The whole route is paved. There are various halls in the cave, halls called the bride, the bride’s table, the angel’s wing, the horse’s head, the chandelier, the pasta and the football player. Along the way, you will see very interesting shapes of crystals and the base of the crystals. These sedimentary phenomena look like different creatures such as eagles, turtles, deer, humans, pigeons, and so on. Most of these statues are made of lime. Ab Chekan Hall is another spectacular part of Nakhjir Cave. In this hall, the humidity increases due to water droplets falling from the ceiling and walls, and you can no longer find almost any dry surface in the cave. But the most beautiful cave hall is its Chehel Sotoun Hall. At the end of the visit there is a hall of crystal chandeliers. Due to the different conditions of this hall, the growth of the crystals is faster and they look much clearer than other parts of the cave. Of these halls, the smallest has dimensions of 3.5 × 20 meters and the largest has dimensions of 30 ۰ 40 × 120 meters.
You do not need special tools or equipment to visit this cave, but you must have the right shoes because the surface inside the caves is usually wet and slippery. If you go to this area in the colder season, bring warm and appropriate clothes. Photography inside the cave is not prohibited, but you cannot use flash for photography. It is better to avoid eating on the way inside the cave. Amenities and equipment are available outside the cave.

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