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Ghoori Ghaleh, the biggest and longest watercave in Asia

The Ghoori Ghaleh Water Cave is one of the outstanding tourist attractions of the western Iranianprovince of Kermanshah. Located 84 kilometers from the city of Kermanshah, Ghoori Ghaleh isbelieved to be the largest of its kind in the world and the longest water cave in Asia. The cave islocated on the slopes of Shahou Mountain in one of the most mountainous areas of Iran. The valleywhere Ghoori Ghaleh is located is one of the most beautiful valleys of the province which is coveredwith forests and has been made more beautiful due to existence of spectacular springs, HistoricalIran wrote.

Some locals hold that the cave is named after a nearby Sassanid castle, which the Kurdishinhabitants of the region called 'Goura Ghaleh' -- meaning the 'big castle'. Over time this namechanged into 'Ghoori Ghaleh'. Others believe it was named after a village of the same name, whichwas surrounded by numerous castles, one of which was built in the form of a teapot (Ghoori inPersian).

A group of British and French speleologists discovered Ghoori Ghaleh between 1976 and 1977. Theteam explored 620 meters of the cave but was forced to cease further exploration and return afterreaching a point where the water level was as high as the cave's roof. They then thought that it wasthe end of the cave and went back. Of course, some local officials maintain that villagers haddiscovered the cave many years before the foreign expedition. After a speleology committee wasestablished in the country and after five years of studies, a group of spelunkers penetrated 2,030 mdeep inside the cave in 1989. In the second stage, they reached a depth of 3,140 m. They wentthrough about 12 km of tortuous paths inside the cave and drew up their map. Therefore, GhooriGhaleh Cave was registered as the biggest and longest water cave in Asia.

Made of Cretaceous and Triassic lime sediments, Ghoori Ghaleh dates back to the secondgeological age, about 65 million years ago. The cave has yielded a number of archeological finds,

including coins, plates and crockery, which date back to the time of Sassanid king Yazdgerd III. Theremains of a Sassanid castle can be seen near the cave and archeologists also found a number ofhuman skulls, prehistoric earthenware and circular crockery adorned with animal designs andarabesque and lotus floral patterns.

Initially the entrance to the hall was blocked by a huge rock. A young man from the nearby GhooriGhaleh village volunteered to hammer the rock into the cave, who was then given the title of GhooriGhaleh Farhad -- Farhad was a Persian hero who was exiled by his rival in love, the monarchKhosrow II, and was forced to carve stairs out of the cliff rocks of Bisotun mountain.

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Ghoori Ghaleh includes numerous halls, which are named after the nature-created shapes of thestalactites and stalagmites decorating them. Mary, Ferdowsi, Amir Kabir, Beethoven, Mushroom,Pisa Tower, Elephant, Heart, Ship and Waterfall are among the names given to the cave's manyhalls. After passing through the entrance corridor of the cave, you reach a vast area which is calledMaryam Hall. It is like a big lake which is surrounded by stunning stalactites and stalagmites in

beautiful shapes. The shapes of those structures at various parts of the cave have determined thenames of those parts. For example, a stalagmite which is like statue of Mary is the reason why thefirst hall of the cave has been called Maryam (Mary) Hall.

At a depth of 1,000 meters there is a hall which contains one of the worlds most beautiful waterpools. There are stalagmites in the hall, that when touched, produce sounds like musicalinstruments. Therefore, the hall has been called Beethoven Hall.

At a depth of 1,500 meters, there is Bride Hall which is beautiful beyond description. The stones inthat hall are made of white and shining crystal and if somebody passed over them, their footprintwould remain on them.

From the ceiling, stalactites are hanging which look like pens. They are made of lime sediments and

are similar to crystal. Their length varys from 2 to 8m and the stalactites are so transparent that ifyou touch them, they easily collapse.

At a depth of 2,700 m, there are four waterfalls, each 10-12 m high and the scenery is quite magical.Another part of the cave is called Purgatory Tunnel, which is known as the most horrific part of thecave. It is 220 m long with a width of 3 m and half of it is filled with water. Of course, thus far, only500 m of the cave has been equipped with lighting and is open to public.Zoologists maintain that the cave is the habitat of a rare species of bat named mouse-ear. However,apart from those bats, no other leaving creature has been found at the cave. Cultural heritageexperts maintain that the available information shows that a great number of vertebrates includingspecies of bats and salamanders have lived there before it was opened to public.

With a temperature between -7 to 11 degrees Centigrade and a relative humidity of 89 percent,Ghoori Ghaleh is considered an all-season tourist spot. Ghoori Ghaleh Cave has been registered asone of Iran's seven national natural heritage sites.