One of the most unique Iranian caves is Hampoil Cave or Pigeon Cave, 15 km from Maragheh city in East Azarbaijan province. This beautiful cave, that is located near the village of Taze Kand Sefali and the abundant Mardagh River, is also famous for the residence of wild pigeons in its entrance hall in the past years. Hampoil is an ancient word that has a Sanskrit root and has become Hampoil over time. This cave is classified as a technical cave and exploring its interior requires cave climbing knowledge and proper facilities such as flashlights, air capsules and other safety equipment, and it is not recommended to explore it without a guide. The cave is located in the heart of the rocks and is 1600 meters from the level of Mardagh River.
Upon entering the cave, a relatively large hall appears before your eyes, the floor of which is covered with ash. This is the first hall of the cave and it is located in a corner of a rather narrow and long corridor that leads you to the second hall. When entering the second hall, you should be careful of the ground under your feet, because in this area, in addition to the path that leads to the third corridor, there are four deep wells that lead to the lower floors of the cave. These deep wells, which look like a narrow tube, each have a different depth and lead to different halls and paths. The shallowest path traveled in these rocky and winding tunnels or pipe paths is 12 meters and the longest vertical path that has been identified so far is 98 meters.
If you listen carefully, you will hear the sound of the water flow in the halls of the lower floor. By passing through the corridors and paths and reaching the halls of the lower floors, your surprise increases moment by moment. In addition to stalactites and stalagmites and extraordinary and unique limestone deposits, bats and water ponds are also among other wonders of Hampoil Cave. This cave is about 150 million years old and so far only 2000 square meters of it have been identified, which includes 8 wide halls in the form of 5 floors and wide winding paths and corridors. The most beautiful hall discovered in this cave is called Hall of Fault. Still many parts of this amazing cave have not been identified and no one knows how big is the total area of this cave. This cave is one of the most unique caves in the world and is famous for its eerie nature and scary vertical wells.