Highlights of Northwest and West of Iran

Departure Date:
Wednesday 14 September 2022
Sold out
Starting price:
1299
Summury
This journey is designed for those who are visiting Iran for a second time, especially those who are into nature, adventure and historical places at a same time. Through this journey we will be discovering some astonishing sceneries such as Alamut valley, colorful mountains, Tabriz capital of Turk Azeri speaking people in Iran, nomads in North West of Iran and Kurdish people and their high mountains in Kurdistan province of Iran. All of these places will come together with ancient historical places and two fascinating caves which one of them considered as a biggest water cave in the world, Ali Sadr Cave, and so many other amazing places which you will explore and discover on this trip with us.
Tour names
Highlights of Northwest and West of Iran
Operator
Departure date
Wednesday 14 September 2022
Return date
Tuesday 27 September 2022
Starting from
Tehran
Main destination
Tabriz
Starting Price
1299 Euro
Airline
Land Only
Nights
13 Nights
accommodation
Please refer to the information below
Age range
19 to 85
Travel style
Small Group Tour/Guaranteed Departure
Transportation
Transportation by deluxe vehicle
Group size
Small groups (8-12 Paxs)
Deposit
30%
Contact
+1-778-833-0241
Viewed
1480
Address
Head office location: Vancouver, Canada

Highlights:

  • Alamut castle
  • Soltaniyeh mosque (UNESCO)
  • Biggest Covered Bazaar in the world in Tabriz (UNESCO)
  • Shekh Safi-ad-din mosque (UNESCO)
  • Ancient city and temple of Shahr Yeri (1450-7000 BC)
  • Nomads in Kaleybar and Babak fort
  • St. Stephanus and St. Thaddeus monasteries (UNESCO)
  • Kandovan village
  • Takht-e Solyman Fire Temple (UNESCO)
  • Caraftu Cave
  • Palangan village
  • Tagh-e Bostan and {Bisotun (UNESCO)}
  • Ali Sadr Cave

 

Included services:

  • Accommodation: 5 - 4 - 3-stars hotel or boutique hotel (Bed and Breakfast) and nomad’s tent
  • Transport: Private first-class vehicle
  • Visa Reference Code: Required to apply for your Iranian Visa
  • Guide: English-speaking Local Guide
  • Refreshment: 250 ml bottled water and juice per person, once a day
  • Farewell dinner

 

Excluded services:

  • Flight: International flight
  • Visa: Your Iranian Visa
  • Insurance: It will be upon arrival at the airport (about 15 Euros)
  • Meals: Lunch and dinner
  • Entrance fees: Mentioned monuments

 

Tour Cost:

  • 1299 Euros per person (Base on twin sharing room)
  • Single supplement 399.00 Euros

 

Hotels Type in each city:

  • 3 stars in Tehran (1 night)
  • Home stay in Alamut valley (2 nights)
  • 5 stars in Tabriz (2 nights)
  • Nomad’s tent in Kalyebar or 3 stars hotel (1 night)
  • 5 stars in Jolfa (1 night)
  • Home stay in Kandovan (1 night)
  • Eco lodge in Takht-e Solyman (2 nights)
  • 4 stars Kermanshah (1 night)
  • 3 stars Ali Sadr (1 night)
  • 3 stars Tehran (1 night)
Itinerary

Day 01: Tehran (arrival with International flight)

On your arrival to Tehran, you will be greeted and transferred to your hotel in Tehran.
Depending on your arrival, we will have some city tours for you.
What you will explore today:
• Depending on your arrival
Overnight: Tehran

Day 02: Tehran - Qazvin - Alamut

Today, we will drive from Tehran to Qazvin and then to the beautiful valley of Alamut. This valley is located in Alborz mountains Range, with its famous Alamut castle. Our way will pass through high mountains of Alborz Range and breathtaking views over Alamut valley.
However before going to Alamut, we will have a short stop in Qazvin to get to know about the capital of calligraphy in Iran with some amazing tourist attractions from Safavi dynasty (500 years ago, Qazvin used to be capital of Safavid Kingdom). First place to visit in Qazvin is Chehel Soutun palace with the calligraphy museum of it and from there we will continue to the oldest street of Iran, Sepah Street, then to one of oldest mosques in Iran.
Next we will visit historical bazaar of Qazvin and its wonderful Sad-ol Saltaneh caravansary which is one of the most beautiful caravansaries in Iran with lots of little antique coffee shops. Then we will continue to Aminiha historical house which has the biggest Urosi window with beautiful painting and fresco and art work all around the house.
After visiting Qazvin and our lunch here, we will continue towards Alamut valley crossing over high mountains and then going down to the beautiful valley covered with flowers in April and May with snow on top of mountains.
What you will explore today:
• Chehel Sotoun Palace and calligraphy museum (UNESCO)
• Sepah Street
• Sad-ol Saltaneh Caravansary
• Aminiha historical mansion
Overnight: Alamut

Day 03: Alamut

Today after our breakfast we will hike to Alamut castle, from hiking point, we will hike about 40 minutes to reach the castle. In 1090 AD, Alamut Castle was seized as a mountain fortress under the leadership of Hasan-i Sabbah, and until 1256 it was the site of intense activity for the Shi'a Nizari Ismai'lis, functioning as the headquarters of their state, which consisted of a series of unconnected strategic strongholds scattered throughout Persia and Syria, with each stronghold being surrounded by huge swathes of hostile territory.
After our visit to Hasan Sabah castle, we will continue visiting some canyon and beautiful nature of the valley.
What you will explore today:
• Alamut castle and Alamut canyon
Overnight: Alamut

Day 04: Alamut – Soltaniyeh – Tabriz

Our day will start before sunshine reach the Alamut valley, today we will continue our journey towards Northwest of Iran by visiting Soltaniyeh mosque (World Heritage Site), the widest brick made dome in the world and the third highest dome on in the world. This gigantic mosque is visible almost from 10 km away. After our visit to Soltaniyeh mosque we will continue our way towards Tabriz city.
Before our entrance to Tabriz city, we will visit incredible colorful mountains of Zanjan.
What you will explore today:
• Soltaniyeh Mosque (UNESCO)
• Colorful Mountains
Overnight: Tabriz

Day 05: Tabriz

Today we will discover Tabriz city, one of the oldest cities in Iran, rich in culture and history. Tabriz is a home to Turk-Azeri speaking people with their own tradition and culture different than the rest of Iran.
Today our tour will start with Constitution House of Tabriz, Tabriz and its heroes, Satar Khan, Bagher Khan and people of Tabriz fight against central government for a year to their deaths for having parliament in Iran and they succeeded. By visiting this house, you will get to know about this history and its heroes, after our visit to this place, we will continue to Tabriz Jameh mosque. Tabriz Jameh mosque with its forty stone columns is defiantly worth visiting.
Now is the time to step to the biggest covered historical bazaar in the world, Tabriz Bazaar (World Heritage Site). In this bazaar you will get to know about bazaars and how they work and all the elements of the Bazaars and most importantly, you may get to buy Persian Carpet from the World Carpet City, yes, Tabriz is officially accredited with the title ‘World Carpet City’ by the World Crafts Council (WCC).
We will continue our tour to Tabriz City Hall and from there to Blue mosque of Tabriz. There are few famous blue mosques around the world which Tabriz Blue Mosque is truly an exception among all of them with its unique turquoise tile work.
What you will explore today:
• Constitution house of Tabriz
• Tabriz Bazaar (UNESCO)
• Temcheh Mozafareh
• Blue mosque
• Tabriz City Hall
• Arg-e Alishah
Overnight

Day 06: Tabriz – Ardabil - Kaleybar (Nomad’s tent)

Our journey will depart early in the morning from Tabriz towards Ardabil city and then to Kaleybar. On the way there, we will have a short visit to see the spectacular Shekh Safi-ad-din mosque (UNESCO) in Ardabil. Next we will continue toward Meshgin Shahr to see one of the oldest ancient temple and cities in the world, Shahr Yeri (1450 – 7000 BC). The most important part of this place is its temple with more than 300 standing stones with figures of human with the face (no mouth, except one of them), a hand and sword, the height of these stones are ranging between 35 cm to 250 cm. Some belives this place was built in the purpuse of astronomical reasons. Afterwards, we will continue to Kaleybar city and transfer to a 4X4 wheel vehicle to reach Nomad’s tent for once-in-a-lifetime cultural experience with local music and cuisine.
What you will explore today:
• Shekh Safi-ad-din mosque (UNESCO)
• Ancient city and temple of Shahr Yeri (1450-7000 BC)
• Kaleybar forests
• Nomads life experience
Overnight: Nomad’s tent in out of Kaleybar city (near Babak fort)

Day 07: Nomads’ tent – Babak Castel – Jolfa

Today will start with a beautiful sunrise or perhaps a mystical foggy weather which will cover our tents. Experiencing this breathtaking moment will be one of the best of our journey. We will then enjoy an organic nomad’s breakfast before heading to the historical Babak fort.
This hike is approximately 1.5 hours to the top of the fort and will bring us back in time for more than 1200 years. After our hike and visit to Babak fort, we will continue towards Jolfa city with a short stop to Kurdasht Hamam and Bath.
What you will explore today:
• Babak fort
• Kurdasht Hamam
• Aras River
Overnight: Jolfa

Day 08: Jolfa - Kandovan

Jolfa is a border city with Nakhchivan (The capital of the eponymous Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan), Jolfa city has so many stories to tell you in our visit. One of the first places which we will visit today is Khaje Nazar Caravarnsary which is one of 999 Caravansaries built during Shah Abas the Great. From here, we will continue to Chupan chapel before heading to St. Stephanus monastery.
One of the main attractions of this city is St. Stephanus monastery which is located 20 km east of Jolfa with an amazing ride along Aras River which is border between Iran, Azerbaijan and Armenia. After our visit to this World Heritage Site, we will drive to Qara Keliesa (St. Taddeus Monastery), to the oldest cathedral on the world which St. Taddeus one of apostles of Jesus Christ is buried here.
What you will explore today:
• Khaje Nazar Caravansary
• Chupan Cahpel (UNESCO)
• St. Stephanus Monastery (UNESCO)
• St. Taddeus Monastery (UNESCO)
Overnight: Kandovan in local carved stone houses

Day 09: Kandovan – Takht-e Solyman

Kandovan village is one of the oldest and most beautiful villages of Iran which is among top high destinations in North West of Iran. This village and its houses are carved into the heart of mountain and stones like Cappodocia in Turkey. Although this is the little version of Cappodocia but what is the most fascinating about this place is this that still people are living in their stone carved houses and they rent some of these houses to the adventurous travelers whom discover it.
Today after our breakfast in one of these historical local stone houses, we will visit the village neighborhood and do some shopping such as some herbal tea, dry fruits, Kilim and rugs made in the village.
After our visit to Kandovan we will continue to Takht-e Solyman fire temple, another exciting destination.
What you will explore today:
• Kandovan Village
Overnight: Takht-e Solyman

Day 10: Takht-e Solyman

Takht-e Solyman (World Heritage Site) was one of the three most important Zoroastrians fire temples during Sasanian kingdom (1800 years ago). This huge temple and palace is surrounded by high walls with a big natural mineral spring and pool in the middle of it. Walking to this temple will give you a sense and feeling of traveling back in time.
After our visit to this archeological site we will visit Solyman prison and then hot mineral swimming pool to enjoy the rest of the day at leisure.
What you will explore today:
• Takht-e Solyman (UNESCO)
• Solyman Prison
• Mineral Swimming Pool to swim
Overnight: Takht-e Solyman

Day 11: Takht-e Solyman – Carafto cave – Palangan village – Kermanshah

After our breakfast we will head more south on the west side of Iran towards Kermanshah with two amazing stops on the way. The first stop will be to one of the biggest caves in Iran which has 5 floors and once you reach to the third floor of it, you will notice an inscription mentioned that this room belongs to Herakulus god of Greek.
After visit to this astonishing cave, we will continue our way towards Palangan village, a Kurdish village between mountains in the valley. The houses in this village are built on top of each other with stones and woods and people of this village have kept their traditional customs and culture.
What you will explore today:
• Carafto Cave
• Palangan village
Overnight: Kermanshah

Day 12: Kermanshah – Bisotun - Hamadan

Today we will visit some amazing places in Kermanshah; our first stop will be in Tekyeh Moaven al-molk, one of the elegant and magnificent monuments that has remained from Qajar period in Kermanshah. Next, we will visit Shafei-ha mosque and then Kermanshah bazaar. In the afternoon, we will visit Tagh-e Bostan and amazing inscriptions and carvings from Sasanian dynasty.
The last but not least, we will visit Bisotun which has the biggest inscriptions in the world and the most important inscriptions of Darius the Great.
What you will explore today:
• Tekyeh Moaven al-molk
• Shafei-ha Mosque
• Kermanshah Bazaar
• Tagh-e Bostan
• Bisotun (UNESCO)
Overnight: Hotel in Ali Sadr Cave

Day 13: Hamadan

Today we will visit Ali Sadr cave, where you can find one of the most amazing caves in the world and the largest cave in the world. Evidence from the cave indicates that Ali Sadr Cave has been used as a shelter by primitive men.
What you will explore today:
• Ali Sadr Cave
Overnight: Tehran

Day 14: Tehran

Today is day at leisure; perhaps you can do your last shopping before leaving Iran or you can join some of our available optional tours provided by our local guide.
End of our service


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