Yafteh Cave is one of the old stones of human history. It lies in the Zagros mountains of Lorestan province, a few kilometres from the city of Khorramabad, in a limestone cliff above the Kashkan river valley. Archaeologists excavated it in the 1960s and found layers of occupation going back tens of thousands of years, with stone tools, bone points and, remarkably, decorated beads and ornaments made from shell and stone, which suggest that people here were making jewellery very early. Together with Kaldar Cave, not far away in the same mountains, it forms part of a prehistoric record of life in the Zagros, a region where people moved between valley floors and mountain pastures with the seasons.
Khorramabad itself is a city of over three hundred thousand people, with a long past. Its landmark is Falak-ol-Aflak, a castle on a rocky hill whose lower levels go back to the Sasanian period and which was rebuilt in the Islamic centuries, and the bridge of Shapur-Khast, a Sasanian structure over the river. The Lurs, who live in this region, have their own language, music and a tradition of nomadic herding, and in spring and autumn you may see families moving with sheep and goats along the road.
The ride is the kind that makes Iran a rider's country. From the Khorramabad area you can follow roads through the Zagros, with mountains cut by gorges, oak woods, steep hairpins and sweeping views. Surfaces vary from smooth to patched, and rockfalls and flocks of animals are possible. Weather is mild in spring, when wildflowers cover the slopes, and hot in summer on the lower slopes, while winter brings snow on the high passes, so check conditions before setting out.
The cave itself is on a hillside, and getting to the entrance involves a short climb on a rough path, so wear proper shoes. Nothing is left in the cave to see except the shape of the rock and the view, but that is enough, standing at the mouth and looking out over the same valley where hunters waited for game. Khorramabad, about fourteen kilometres off, has fuel, restaurants and hotels, and the little town of Vasian has a few shops. A bowl of ash, a thick herb and bean soup, is the local dish to look for.