7 Most Famous UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Iran Iran has 27 UNESCO World Heritage Sites as of September 2023, 25 of which are cultural and 2 are natural. The first UNESCO site in Iran, Tchogha Zanbil, was registered in 1979. The latest registered sites is the Persian Caravanserai, registered in September 2023 and the Cultural Landscape of Hawraman/Uramanat, registered in June 2021. These 27 Iranian UNESCO sites are located throughout Iran, 7 of which are situated along the Iran Classic Tourism route. The Iran Classic route crosses through 5 main tourist destinations which are Tehran, Kashan, Esfahan, Yazd, and Shiraz. Most travelers start this route in Tehran as the majority of international flights land in the capital, although a minority of visitors commence their trip from Shiraz. There are also a few other international airports in Iran as well as the option of joining up from areas along Iran’s borders which may be suitable for some travelers. Most of Iran’s first-timers usually like to visit the main travel destinations located along Iran’s Classic route. Below is a list of main UNESCO sites on the Classic route in Iran: 1. Golestan Palace, (2013), Tehran 2. Jame Mosque, (2012), Esfahan (Masjed-e Jame) 3. Naqsh-e Jahan Square, (1979), Esfahan (Meidan Emam) 4. The Historic City of Yazd, (2017) 5. Pasargadae, (2004), Sa’adat Shahr in Fars province, (140 km north of Shiraz) 6. Persepolis, (1979), Marvdasht in Fars province, (60 km north of Shiraz) 7. The Persian Gardens (2011): Ancient Garden of Pasargadae (140 km north of Shiraz), Bagh-e Eram (Shiraz), Bagh-e Chehel Sotun (Esfahan), Bagh-e Fin (Kashan), Bagh-e Dolat Abad (Yazd) UNESCO registered 9 different Persian Gardens scattered throughout the country. Five of these gardens are on the Classic Route as mentioned in the last item on the above list. During
7 Most Famous UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Iran Iran has 27 UNESCO World Heritage Sites as of September 2023, 25 of which are cultural and 2 are natural. The first UNESCO site in Iran, Tchogha Zanbil, was registered in 1979. The latest registered sites is the Persian Caravanserai, registered in September 2023 and
Protected Areas and National Parks in Iran Iran with different wet and dry lands with a combination of high mountains, desert lands, forests, and seas has created a special ecosystem in the Middle East and the east of Asia. It is located in the southern part of the Caspian Sea and north of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. There are two long mountain ranges named Alborz (900 km) and Zagros (1400 km) located in the north and west of Iran. In addition, the two main deserts of Dasht-e Kavir (77,600 km2) and Kavir-e Lut (51,800 km2)- the first Natural UNESCO site in Iran- are other natural attractions of the country. Rivers and lakes, wildlife, and the Hyrcanian Forest (UNESCO Natural Site), besides the different types of birds, a wide range of medical and therapeutic plants, Islands, and lagoons create the protected areas and national parks all over Iran. Here, we have listed the ten most beautiful ones below: 1. Golestan National Park 2. Kavir National Park 3. Lar National Park 4. Turan National Park 5. Tandoureh National Park 6. Dena National Park 7. Khar Touran National Park 8. Khojir National Park 9. Jahan Nama Protected Park 10. Alborz Markazi Protected Area
Protected Areas and National Parks in Iran Iran with different wet and dry lands with a combination of high mountains, desert lands, forests, and seas has created a special ecosystem in the Middle East and the east of Asia. It is located in the southern part of the Caspian Sea and north of the Persian
How to Create a Successful Travel Itinerary for Iran? One of the main questions for many tourists, travel agencies, or tour operators is : How to make an efficient travel itinerary to cover the most important Iran attractions on a short trip? Please continue reading this very useful article if you would like to have the Best Iran Tour during your holiday. Most travelers don’t have much information about the huge size of the country. The distance between main touristic cities, the number of UNESCO heritage sites, the diversity of Climate and Weather in Iran, or the types of activities they could have in Iran have variations too. Persian arts, type of transport, the best time for traveling in Iran for different regions, Persian cuisines and Iranian home foods, and off the beaten track destinations of Iran are important in this list too. Especially for those who are first-timers in Iran, having this information could be beneficial in creating a perfect travel holiday for Iran. Instead of proposing a couple of template travel itineraries to answer the above question, we try to explain a few essential topics to help you in finding the answer. 1. Huge Size of the Country and the Distances Iran is a very vast country that is much larger than most European counties. To have a better image of the country, Iran is around the size of Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Czech, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland, Croatia, and Slovenia together. We give you another example for you to understand this better. There is a famous route from northwestern Iran to Southeastern Iran called the One-Month Classic Overland Route of Iran, which starts from the Turkish border and finishes at the Pakistani border in the southeast of the country. The direct distance of that route from
How to Create a Successful Travel Itinerary for Iran? One of the main questions for many tourists, travel agencies, or tour operators is : How to make an efficient travel itinerary to cover the most important Iran attractions on a short trip? Please continue reading this very useful article if you would like to have
Best Persian Cookbooks Iranian dishes or Persian food have been increasingly popular around the globe compared to the past. In recent years, many travelers and tourists travel to Iran to have an authentic experience. Moreover, the number of visitors who are looking for Persian cookbooks or cooking classes in Iran has increased. We have many inquiries from people who are interested in a one-day Persian Food Tour in Iran during their trip to the country. They would like to taste Persia through its delicious and nutritious traditional food, especially via Iran gastronomy tours. Some of them are also curious to know what the best Persian cookbooks are. They sometimes ask us for the best Persian cookbooks as souvenirs so that they can repeat their delicious experience in their home country. Persian cooking has not been only about mixing ingredients and nutrition, but also about Persian traditional medication. Since Iran embraces various geographical regions, climatic conditions, and different groups of ethnicities with different cultures, it is an amazing destination for all foodies and gourmets. Regarding the popularity and complexity of Persian food around the world, some Iranian cooks and writers wrote Persian cookbooks for those who are interested in Persian cooking. They have tried to simplify the traditional Persian food, sometimes requiring a longer time to be prepared, as far as possible to make it suitable for the modern fast life and western kitchens. Below is the list of the top ten Persian Cookbooks in English. Nush-e Jan! (It is the Persian expression similar to the French "Bon Appetit", which you will hear commonly by Iranians at the dining table, during your travel to Iran). 1. Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies By Najmeh Batmanglij This book,
Best Persian Cookbooks Iranian dishes or Persian food have been increasingly popular around the globe compared to the past. In recent years, many travelers and tourists travel to Iran to have an authentic experience. Moreover, the number of visitors who are looking for Persian cookbooks or cooking classes in Iran has increased. We have many
Photography Travel in Sistan and Baluchistan, Iran Iran with vast properties along different ethnic groups and tribes is one of the most amazing countries for Photography travel. Traveling to Iran as a photographer gives you a special opportunity to see what is not possible as a general Iran visitor. Traveling to non-touristic areas, meeting original people who still keep their culture and clothes, seeing the spectacular landscape of mountains or deserts, and the historical monuments of ancient places, which date back to a few thousand years ago, provides an amazing subject for your photography travel in Iran. Sistan and Baluchistan province is one of a few Iran destinations you could travel to as a photographer and experience something different. The province is one of the biggest Iran states with 11% of the property in the country. But many people have no idea about the highlights of this amazing destination. In our travel blog, you can read about this destination in the post named Sistan and Baluchistan Travel Guide and Advises. Along with the attractions in this province for general visitors, you could also travel to this corner of Iran to capture and complete the photo gallery of your travel. After a few years of organizing different active tours, we traveled to this province in February 2020 and March 2021 only for research and photography to find the spots for photographers for their adventure travel. Our first photography trip was based on general photography in the two regions of Sistan in the northern part of the province, and Baluchistan on the southern side of this province. The photography type was a combination of Landscape Photography, monuments, and photography of people. But the second trip only focused on portrait photography in the Baluchistan region. We have visited many different
Photography Travel in Sistan and Baluchistan, Iran Iran with vast properties along different ethnic groups and tribes is one of the most amazing countries for Photography travel. Traveling to Iran as a photographer gives you a special opportunity to see what is not possible as a general Iran visitor. Traveling to non-touristic areas, meeting original
Busiest Travel Days of Iran Holiday Season Why you should NOT consider your travel holiday during the busiest holidays in Iran! Iranians travel a lot in Iran and the number of domestic tours is increasing every year. Some travelers travel by themselves and some of them use local travel agencies or tour operators for their domestic holidays in Iran . They use public transport such as domestic airplanes and trains as well. Also, they use many standardized or even luxury hotels in the country along with guest houses and local homestays. As we have many official and unofficial public holidays on our calendar, sometimes it makes a very busy traveling time for your trip to Iran. These holiday as we mentioned in the post “Iranian National Holidays in the Calendar” sometimes makes booking difficult. In this useful travel advice, we will indicate the most important one for you as a traveler, travel agency, or tour operator who would like to travel to Iran. Below we listed the dates of continuous Iranian national holidays which make the busiest travel time in Iran for domestic travelers. During those dates, finding the hotels and air tickets would be difficult and all of the railway routes would be very busy and the trains are occupied by the locals. If you would like to travel to Iran during the below dates, you have to be aware of your travel time. If you are interested in traveling by train or you are using our Train Journeys, we suggest do not travel during those dates. When some of the listed two days holidays are fixed on the weekdays, the locals take more days off and attach them to the weekend. The weekend in Iran is Thursdays and Fridays. If you couldn’t change your travel date and the
Busiest Travel Days of Iran Holiday Season Why you should NOT consider your travel holiday during the busiest holidays in Iran! Iranians travel a lot in Iran and the number of domestic tours is increasing every year. Some travelers travel by themselves and some of them use local travel agencies or tour operators for their
Iranian Ancient holidays versus the Muslim holidays Iran has 22 days of official national holidays which are marked in our Shamshi calendar and more unofficial holidays that most domestic travelers use for their holiday time. Some of the occasions date back to Ancient Persia to the Zoroastrian important events such as Persian New Year (Nowrooz) while many of them are related to the religious holidays which are mostly used in Shiite Muslim countries. Some also commemorate contemporary historical events. The ancient Iranian holidays are fixed every year on the Persian calendar because they are considered on the Solar Hijri calendar “Shamsi Calendar” with 365 days. So you could mark it on your calendar “Gregorian calendar” as a fixed date for Iran’s holiday. But the Muslim religious holidays of Iran do not have a fixed date in the Persian Calendar. Because those dates sets on the Lunar calendar which is mostly used in the Islamic Shia countries. The number of days on this calendar is between 354 to 355 days. This makes about a 10-11 days difference to our Persian calendar. So the national religious holidays of Iran move forward between 10-11 days every year and it makes it complicated for those who would like to travel to Iran or for travel agencies, tour operators, and other companies who work with Iran. Below is the list of Iranian Public holidays and some details: Index Event Days Local Name Remarks Type of Calendar 1 Persian New Year 4 Nowruz Celebrating Iranian Ancient New Year Solar 2 Nature Day 1 Sizdah Be-dar Celebrating the rebirth of nature after Nowruz Solar 3 Islamic Revolution Day 1 Dahe-ye Fajr (celebrating Iran’s Islamic revolution for 10 days) contemporary historical events Solar 4 The demise of Imam Khomeini 1 Rehlat-e Eman contemporary historical events Solar 5 15
Iranian Ancient holidays versus the Muslim holidays Iran has 22 days of official national holidays which are marked in our Shamshi calendar and more unofficial holidays that most domestic travelers use for their holiday time. Some of the occasions date back to Ancient Persia to the Zoroastrian important events such as Persian New Year (Nowrooz)
Persian Gardens of Iran The UNESCO Sites One of Iran’s main tourist attractions is Iranian historical gardens, which are situated in different regions of Iran. UNESCO collected 9 gardens under the name of the Persian Gardens and registered them in their heritage sites in 2011. Across time and in various climates, this type of designed garden has taken on a multitude of forms. Chahar Bagh, or the Persian Garden's original principle, adapts in new ways over the centuries. It first matured in the garden of Cyrus the Great's palace complex, in Pasargadae, more than two thousand years ago. Persian Garden exemplifies the ideals of art, philosophy, symbolism, and religion through a combination of natural elements and man-made elements. In a way, the Persian Garden is an Earthly Paradise or Eden. No Name of the Gardens Region Province/ City Geographical Coordinates 1 Ancient Garden of Pasargadae Iran Plateau Fars/Shiraz N: 30˚ 10΄ 0.0΄΄ E: 53˚ 10΄ 0.0΄΄ 2 Bagh-e Eram Iran Plateau Fars/Shiraz N: 29˚ 38΄ 10.03΄΄ E: 52˚ 31΄ 31΄΄ 3 Bagh-e Chehel Sotun Iran Plateau Esfahan/Isfahan N: 32˚ 39΄ 27΄΄ E: 51˚ 40΄ 20΄΄ 4 Bagh-e Fin West of Dasht-e Kavir Desert Esfahan/ Kashan N: 33˚ 22΄ 20.53΄΄ E: 51˚ 22΄ 20.53΄΄ 5 Bagh-e Abas Abad Caspian Sea Mazandaran/ Behshahr N: 36˚ 39΄ 50΄΄ E: 53˚ 35΄ 38΄΄ 6 Bagh-e Shahzadeh South west of Dasht-e Lut Desert Kerman/ Mahan N: 30˚ 01΄ 30΄΄ E: 57˚ 16΄ 59΄΄ 7 Bagh-e Dolat Abad Iran Plateau Yazd/Yazd N: 31˚ 54΄ 12.30΄΄ E: 54˚ 21΄ 6.59΄΄ 8 Bagh-e Pahlavanpur Iran Plateau Yazd/ Mehriz N: 31˚ 33΄ 36.6΄΄ E: 54˚ 26΄ 25.21΄΄ 9 Bagh-e Akbariyeh Desert (North of Dasht-e Lut) Southern Khorasan/ Birjand N: 32˚ D1΄ 10΄΄ E: 59˚ 13΄ 40΄΄ 1. Ancient garden of Pasargadae 2. Bagh-e Eram
Persian Gardens of Iran The UNESCO Sites One of Iran’s main tourist attractions is Iranian historical gardens, which are situated in different regions of Iran. UNESCO collected 9 gardens under the name of the Persian Gardens and registered them in their heritage sites in 2011. Across time and in various climates, this type of designed
The Arbor Day The tree is the embodiment of beauty and life and one of the most magnificent and fruitful blessings of God that fulfills an important part of human needs. In ancient times Iranians had many substantial and special celebrations. One of these celebrations was planting trees on Arbor Day. Every year people were planting young seedlings in gardens and forests, respecting the soil and agriculture. This tradition has been passed down through the generations. Even now, Iranians are celebrating "Arbor Day" together and planting trees. Iranians welcome spring by donating a seedling to nature. Individuals are encouraged to plant trees on Arbor Day. In Iran, 5-12 March has been designated as "Natural Resources Week". "Arbor Day ", which falls on 5th March is the first day of this week. In other countries, the day and date change, depending on its climate, when a time is chosen so the tree can grow. During this week in Iran, different kinds of seedlings are distributed among people by the municipality, and tree planting techniques are taught to those interested. On this day you will be given free seedlings in front of most parks, green spaces, and other parts of the city. Planting trees and their maintenance have always been important. In general, trees are a large part of the natural and national resources of any country and belong to everyone. Every single person in the community breathes the delicate air that trees produce. In addition, the role of trees in preventing floods should never be overlooked. These days, because of industrialization, trees play other essential roles in human life. Trees provide products such as furniture, stationery, timber, and thousands of other commodities. Another significant role that trees play in human life is their therapeutic properties. For centuries, plants have played a
The Arbor Day The tree is the embodiment of beauty and life and one of the most magnificent and fruitful blessings of God that fulfills an important part of human needs. In ancient times Iranians had many substantial and special celebrations. One of these celebrations was planting trees on Arbor Day. Every year people were
Iran 5 Best Touristic Destinations In this article, you can read about Iran best touristic destinations and all the activities you can do in them in detail. These tourist cities are in the most popular travel itinerary of travellers during the spring season and is on the Best Iran Tours list. Iran, with 27 UNESCO world heritage sites, (as of September 2023), is the tenth country in the world with regard to the number of such sites. Contrary to the perception of many tourists who haven’t read about Iran, it’s too much to even see its major highlights in a month. For this reason, most travelers prefer to make the main touristic cities of the country their main priority which includes Tehran, Kashan, Esfahan, Yazd, and Shiraz. Also, Lonely Planet’s travel guide book, which is a reference for many travelers, has chosen these cities for Iran’s first-time visitors. Also, Lonely Planet uses the term “CLASSIC” to describe a short travel itinerary for each country where travelers wish to visit a famous site. CLASSIC IRAN route is an overland journey that includes the main 5 urban tourist destinations of Tehran, Kashan, Esfahan, Yazd, and Shiraz with 7 UNESCO World Heritage Sites along with a couple of other attractions on the route. You need two weeks to visit these 5 major cities but depending on the holiday time you have available, the season of travel and your interests, you may want to extend your visit to see more attractions or even if time is a problem, make it shorter. Along with the historical and cultural attractions of this major cities, this route is one of the most popular tourist routes in Iran for photography trip. An example trip for photography in this direction is Iran's classic photography Trip. It’s necessary to
Iran 5 Best Touristic Destinations In this article, you can read about Iran best touristic destinations and all the activities you can do in them in detail. These tourist cities are in the most popular travel itinerary of travellers during the spring season and is on the Best Iran Tours list. Iran, with 27 UNESCO
