Bornik Cave

Bornik Cave is one of Iran's best-known caves, located in Qazvin Province near the Alamut region. Its natural formations, rock walls and ancient images and carvings have drawn the attention of researchers and travellers alike. Bornik Cave is also regarded as an archaeological site, and valuable historical and cultural artefacts found there point to human life in prehistoric times.

The cave is roughly 3,473 metres long, with no change in elevation. In general, the best time to visit Bornik is from early spring to mid-autumn. In spring and summer the weather is mild and pleasant because of the area's mountain setting. In early spring you can also see blossoms on the trees. When autumn begins, red apples show off on the branches, and some people believe the best time to visit Bornik is in Mehr (late September to late October). As autumn draws to a close, the weather gets colder. The mountain climate brings cold, harsh winters, and this area is very cold in winter.

Bornik Cave has four chambers, formed as anticlines, and in the ceiling of each chamber there is an original fissure or fault that led to the formation of the cave. In the left corner of the first chamber you will notice an opening 10 metres high and 8 metres wide, which is the entrance to the second chamber. The second chamber measures 30 by 60 metres, is 15 to 20 metres high, and slopes steeply downward. Through two passages in the second chamber you can continue to the third chamber, which is 12 metres high and measures 20 by 25 metres. This section of Bornik Cave, from start to finish, has a steep, rocky and slippery slope. The deepest part of the cave lies in this chamber, about 60 metres below the level of the cave entrance. To visit the Abyss Chamber, you must pass through a corridor eight metres long at the end of the third chamber. This very different chamber is full of deep drops, some of which reach 20 metres in depth. Columns, cone-shaped stalactites and stalagmites can be seen throughout this chamber.

To reach Bornik Cave near Tehran, park your cars in the village and set off along the footpath that runs beside the river towards the cave mouth. The trail continues for about an hour through the village's apple orchards and, after passing several reed beds and meadows, reaches the foot of the mountain on which the cave sits. To get to the cave entrance, leave the main trail and climb alongside the river for about half an hour until you reach the large mouth of Bornik Cave.