Following an international cave exploration mission that recently came to a close in Qizhalan Cave in Kermanshah Province, the geological formation was named the third deepest cave in the country.
Surena Caving Team composed of 30 cavers and researchers from Iran, Poland, Italy, Armenia and France and supported by the Italian Association of "La Venta – Esplorazioni Geografiche" carried out a 10-day exploration in Kermanshah, going 675 meters down through the shaft.
According to Yousef Soureninia, head of the team, Qizhalan Cave had earlier been explored to a depth of 450 meters, but "the current mission documented the cave as the third deepest one in the country, standing after Parau (751m deep) and Jujar (1300m deep) in the Zagros Mountains."
"Before the current explorations, Ghala cave with 559 meters of depth was the third deepest shaft in the country," ISNA quoted the expert as saying.
Water, altitude and sun are the main problems in this part of Iran making it more difficult to explore inside and outside the caves, a member of the caving team said.
The joint international cave explorations started several years ago with the objective of discovering the less-known or unknown caves in pristine mountains.
Soureninia said the explorations in Iran have changed the foreign cavers' misconceived image of the country and Iranian people, making them more enthusiastic about the mysterious land.
