Katale Khor Cave

Iran has many caves, some of which are specific and unique. You will discover many natural wonders in these caves. But in this article, we want to talk about the most unique and beautiful cave in Iran, called Katale Khor cave.

In the beautiful Zanjan province, besides having a lot of historical monuments, you can also watch the magnificent natural attractions. Katale Khor Cave is located near the small town of Garmaab.

Maybe you ask why the name of this cave is Katale Khor; In a number of areas in the west of Iran, to mountains with low altitude, they are called Katale, and since the sun rises from behind, it is called Katale Khor (The Sun is pronounced "Khorshid" in Farsi.). And perhaps the other reason for naming this cave is that in the Turkish language, "Katale" means ups and downs and "Khor" meaning easy. The purpose of naming the cave in this name is that the ups and downs of the cave are comfortable and cozy.

The cave dates back to 120 million years ago (the Jurassic era). During this period, it has seen a lot of natural and artificial changes. During this time, several earthquakes have occurred and caused many fractures in it. The time of the discovery of this cave was about 65 years ago, in 1331, when a group of cavers visited this cave and registered it.

The cave consists of three floors, with its sub-tunnels, stalactites and stalagmites and columns on the main passageways, and the conical snottites hanging from the ceilings Due to impurity, they have a variety of colors. Those that do not have or less have compounds are seen as glass crystals so cleared.

The cave of Katale Khor is about the same age as the Ali Sadr Cave in Hamadan. Of course, they are different from two points. One is that the cave of Ali Sadr is a cave full of water, but the cave of the Katale Khor of Zanjan is almost dry. Second, the limestone of the Katale Khor the cave is much purer than the limestone of the Ali Sadr Cave, which is a factor in the cave's beauty.

The entrance to the cave is a 4,000-meter wide corridor with a low ceiling and a few substation corridors. After the substation corridor, there is a 950-meter wide corridor with uphill of 2 meters high and dry pits. After passing through an uphill, it reaches to a large hall covered with stalactite and stalagmites and columns.

• What is the best time to go?

Zanjan with mountainous weather has a snowy and cold climate in the winter, and pleasant in the summer. The spring and summer seasons are the best time to spend their free time in the province. The rainfall in spring and winter is higher than in other seasons.

• Getting there?

Cartel Khor Cave is located 155 km south of Zanjan, near the small town of Garmaab. The usual route to visit this natural attraction is the Zanjan Road to Khodabandeh along Zarrinabad to Garmaab.