First of all, we must say that Murad Ice Cave is different from the caves you have seen in Iran so far. The reason is that the entrance to this cave is located at a high altitude, and to see it, you have to spend an hour walking and climbing. Of course, let’s say right now that the hiking and climbing route is not easy at all.
But if you get to the amazing Murad Ice Cave, you will forget your tiredness by seeing this mysterious and exciting cave, where instead of limestone lanterns, transparent ice lanterns protrude from the ceiling and floor of this cave.
The most famous cave in Alborz province
“Yakh Murad” cave is one of the spectacular and beautiful caves located in Gachsar village, located 84 km from Karaj on Chalus road. This cave is located approximately two hours away, along a road to the west of the village (Kehne Deh), 69 km away from Karaj. The mouth of the cave is 9.5 meters wide and three meters high, facing the northeast.
This cave was underwater in the past and is actually an underwater cave. This issue is clear from the natural condition of the cave and the remains of the “cardinal” fossil left on a stone slab at the entrance of the cave, and the aforementioned fossil is a marine mollusk that existed in the third geological period, and thus, if the cave was created at the same time Let us know, its life is more than 50 million years.
This cave has a lot of wind traps and ventilators that force the air into the cave and make the cave extremely cold and cause the water in it to freeze. The ice in the cave starts to melt from the middle of the second month of spring, and in general, this glacier has three large halls, three underground glaciers, seven wells and several other parts.
It is noteworthy that part of the said cave has four floors, which are placed on top of each other in a general extension with a depth of 20 meters, and this is the only cave in Iran that can be seen with this quality.
Different parts of Murad Ice Cave
Murad Ice Cave consists of three underground glaciers, three large halls and seven wells, and unlike other caves, it has few limestone decorations, and most of the cave stones and ice lanterns can be seen in this cave.
Upon entering the cave, the first hall you see is Sanglakhi Hall. The length and width of this hall is 12 x 18 meters and its height reaches 6 meters. At the end of the stone hall there are three corridors, the third corridor on the left side of the hall leads you to the second hall. The second hall is two meters long and one meter wide, and an eight-meter-deep abyss can be seen below it.
After the second hall, there is the third hall, the roof of which is higher than the other halls, and on its walls and ceiling, there are cave stones in the shape of peas and cauliflower.
At the end of the beautiful Morad ice cave, there is a crypt called the twin crypt, which is separated from the third hall by a five-meter-deep chasm. The first crypt is covered in permanent ice and contains an ice waterfall as well as the main ice lake of the cave. Another ice lake can be seen in the second crypt.
Features of Murad Ice Cave
Permafrost: One of the unique features of Yach Morad Cave is the permanent ice in some parts of it. These ices, which do not disappear even in summer, were formed deep in the cave due to extreme cold. The presence of these ices has given the cave a beautiful and special effect, and since watching the ice is more attractive in the summer, most tourists visit the cave in this season.
Stalactites and stalagmites: Like many other caves, Yach Murad Cave also has stalactites (stone lanterns hanging from the ceiling) and stalagmites (stone lanterns growing from the cave floor) that have formed over thousands of years. These natural lanterns have given the cave a special beauty.
Naming: According to some local beliefs and stories, Yach Morad Cave was used as a place of worship or even to cure diseases in the past. Some local people believed that the air inside the cave has healing properties and can be effective for various diseases. For this reason, the name “Yakh Murad” meaning “Ice that gives Murad” has been given to it.
Depth and length: Murad Ice Cave has several corridors and halls, some of which reach a depth of 30 to 50 meters. Also, this cave has different floors, which allows visitors to explore more.
Access path: To visit this cave, wherever you are in Iran, you have to go to Tehran. Enter the beautiful and scenic Karaj-Chalus road from Tehran. After traveling a distance of about 60-70 km, before reaching Gachsar and on the western part of the road, go to the village of Kohneh Deh. On this side road, after traveling for four kilometers, you will finally reach a crossroads that will take you to the right side of this cave.
Park your car here, take the necessary tools and equipment and walk the rest of the way. After about an hour of walking (half an hour of walking on a path with a gentle slope and the other half an hour of climbing on a path with a steep slope), finally, after crossing the bridge over the river, you will reach the Morad Ice Cave. .
Best time to visit: Murad Ice Cave is located in the mountains of the region at an altitude of 2640 meters above sea level. When you visit the beautiful Morad Ice Cave, you should expect cold and mountainous weather. In addition to the weather outside, another issue that distinguishes this cave from other caves in Iran is the temperature difference between the inside and outside of the cave.
Other caves are deprived of air flow due to the presence of water vapor and lack of communication with the outer space, and for this reason their temperature is 10 degrees warmer than the outer space. However, Murad Ice Cave, unlike its similar examples, has a much lower temperature than the outside due to its high altitude above sea level, the effect of minerals, having many pores in the cave walls and the presence of air flow. In fact, this temperature difference has caused the space inside this cave to become a natural glacier with large ice cubes.
In general, in spring and summer, the weather of Murad Ice Cave is cool and pleasant, and it is considered a pleasant shelter to escape from the summer heat. In autumn and winter, the weather of this cave is very cold, and the surrounding nature is busy with snow and rain.
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