Ghar-e Mahi Kour (Blind Cave Fish)

Ghar-e Mahi Kour or Blind Cave Fish includes two wonderful fish species that has no eyes.

Ghar-e Mahi Kour or Blind Cave Fish placed in the Papi district of Lorestan Province and vicinity of Levan Village. It is the only national natural heritage of Lorestan Province, registered as a national natural heritage in 2005. You will see two rare species of the Blind Fish in this cave that have no sight and eyes on its head. Because they live in groundwater and darkness of caves, they are known as Blind Fish.

• Discovery of the Blind Fish

  In 1929, two Danish naturalists who had come to the area along with the executives of the Tehran-South Railway Project reached a blue hole near the village of Levan and discovered a species of Blind Fish. They transfer a few specimens of this fish to their country, and register as Iranocypris, but refuse to disclose the whereabouts of the fish.

• Features of Blind Fish

  In the Blind Cave Fish, because the cave is connected to the groundwater, Blind Fish can reach near the water surface at night. It is found only on warm days of the year near the surface water. The water temperature of this fish's habitat varies from 5 to 28 degrees Celsius. Remember, Blind Fish will not live more than a month in a place other than its natural habitat. There are two species of the Blind Fish in the Blind Cave Fish as follows:
   
  • The first one: Blind Common carp of Ghar-e Mahi Kour, a kind of Cyprinidae that is the family of freshwater fishes. This kind of fish has 4-5 centimeters long with two pairs of Barbel, one located on either side of the mouth, and the other on the upper lip. This blind fish, named as Iranocypris typhlops, has no eyes on its head. The color of this Blind Fish is pink, and there is some fish scale on its pectoral fin. In addition to being deprived of eye, this type of fish has no pigment or scales.

• The second one: Blind Nemacheilus of Ghar-e Mahi Kour, named as Paracobits smithi. In addition to being deprived of eyes, this type of fish has no pigment or scales. It just has three pairs of Barbel with a length of 45 millimeters.

• What is the best time to go

  To see Ghar-e Mahi Kour, you can travel to Lorestan Province from late March until late April.

• Getting there?

  Ghar-e Mahi Kour is accessible both by road and train as follows:
  • You can get on the Tehran to Ahvaz train and get off at Tang-e Haft station, then walk to the north to get the Sirom Bridge, then walk to the west (Levan Village) and get the Ghar-e Mahi Kour with a 4-hour walk.
  • You have to drive along the Khorramabad expressway, Pol-e Zal, or the old road of Khorramabad, Zir Tang, then get out of the road in the Zirtang-e Chameshk and go to the east.