The birthplace of one of the greatest civilizations in the world, Iran is a country of four seasons with amazing history, architecture and landscapes. There are many ancient attractions from history textbooks that are adjacent to modern restaurants, ski and beach resorts. We tell you how to plan a vacation in this country in order to miss anything.
How to get
From Moscow to Tehran, Nordwind and Aeroflot have direct flights, a ticket costs from 6,300 rubles*, the travel time is 4 hours 20 minutes.
You can enter the country without a visa as part of a tourist group when designing a tour lasting up to 15 days. Russians who travel on their own must get an electronic visa. It must be arranged in advance on, upon arrival, this cannot be done. Visa collection – from 2,500 rubles.
To visit Iran, you need a negative PCR test for coronavirus, made a maximum of 72 hours before departure, or a certificate of vaccination in English (“satellite V” is suitable). From the moment the last dose of the vaccine should take 14 days.
You can move around Iran on airplanes, trains or buses. There are several national carriers in the country: Iranar, Mahan Air, Aseman Airlines and Caspian Airlines.
Only local cards work in Iran – to pay foreign Visa and MasterCard, including the Russian “Mir”, it will not work. It is better to take dollars with you and exchange them for cash Iranian Rials in local banks, exchange points or hotels.
Rules for visiting the country
In Iran, you cannot smoke in public places. Also, alcohol is completely prohibited in the country: it is not even sold there. It will not work to bring with you home either – everything will be seized at the airport.
It is also important to remember about the dress code: to put on clothes that completely covers the arms and legs, including the ankles. The perfect set is jeans, a T -shirt and a long sleeve shirt. Girls will have to wear scarves on their heads.
Where to stop
In Iran there are no large world network hotels, instead of them-private hotels, caravanserais and historical guest houses. Usually a trip to Iran begins in the capital – Tehran. Here you can stop for several nights or for the entire period of the trip, and go to the sights in the format of one -day tours.
We picked up hotels in Tehran with good assessments of guests for every taste and budget:
Markazi is a two -star hotel near the Holestan Palace. The night in a standard room with breakfast will cost 4,600 rubles*.
Asareh – a four -star hotel next to the Asadi tower. There is a pool, sauna and transfer from/to the airport (paid), near the metro station. The standard room with breakfast costs 6,700* rubles per night.
Taj Mahal-apartments in a five-star hotel with breakfast, a fitness center and spa cost 10 400* rubles per night.
Tehran
The dynamic and chaotic capital of Iran settled on the slope of the mountain of the TOLEL Mountain, which separates the city from the Caspian Sea. This is the most liberal and secular place in the country, so starting a trip here is a good way to get used to and get used to Islamic culture.
We recommend that you spend at least two to three days in Tehran. Visit a photogenic Grand Bazaar, a national treasury, Imam Khomeini mosque, Extravagant Palace Holean and the former residence of Shah Iran, a complex Saad Abad. The Iranian National Museum and the Museum of Modern Art are worthy of the museums.
In the breaks between the inspection of attractions, look at the old Tehran coffee shop Gol Rezaieh, Shemroon Cafe in the Garden of the Iranian Museum, as well as to the Tajrish Bazaar. For national cuisine, go to the bazaars or to local snacks – try Iranian Kebab, rice with spices and Persian sweets.
Isfahan
This city is called an open -air museum: numerous palaces, arched bridges, mosques with mosaic minarets and domes and lively bazaars are the reasons why Isfahan enters every tourist route when visiting Iran. And there are three UNESCO World Heritage Situations-the Square of the NAZH-I-JAHAN, the Jami Mosque and the Persian Garden.
Local cuisine deserves special attention: the most delicious Fesenjan (pomegranate stew with walnuts), Tahdid (crispy fried rice) and Kebab Cubida (fried ramshell with parsley and onions) are prepared in Isfahan.
Feel like a prince of Persia
The mystical izhas charming at first glance: more calm and measured in rhythm than Tehran or Isfahan, this city is a unique example of adobe architecture, as well as the center of Zoroastrianism. The main attractions are the old city, the Jama mosque with the highest minarets and the water museum, where they tell how the water supply in the desert was arranged. But do not rush to get lost in the labyrinths of the streets of the old Yezd, but look at the city from a height – excursions are conducted along the roofs of buildings, and thanks to the close location of houses, you can jump on them, as in the game about the Prince of Persia.
To visit Iranian Cappadocia
Troglodytes (or so -called cave people) are not only in films and myths. In Kandovan you can get acquainted with them personally. Due to the appearance, the village of Kandovan is often compared with Turkish Cappadocia: the residential buildings here are cut down right in the rocks of a bizarre conical shape and from the side they look like a stone beehin hive. Locals are accustomed to tourists and invite on excursions to their homes, treats with sweets and sell unique souvenirs. In some rooms there are cafes and hotels where you can stop at night. You can get to Kandovan from Tabriz, closest to the settlement of the city, by taxi or with an excursion.
Go to the highest mountain of Iran
The sleeping volcano Demavend is the highest mountain of the country, shrouded in myths and legends. It is located 120 kilometers from Tehran and is visible from there in clear weather. You can climb the volcano, but it is better to do this with a professional guide in the summer. If the option with the rise is not your story, then you can admire the mountain from the base camp near the village of Polur.
Take a walk around the city that inspired Yesenin
“No matter how beautiful Surezu was, he is no better than Ryazan expanse,” wrote the poet Sergei Yesenin. Shiraz is the city of great poets and flowers, the heart of Persian culture and the embodiment of its soul. Its main feature is luxurious gardens with orange trees and palaces. It is worth visiting at least three of them: Narensherta, Eram and Afifa Abad. Of the other attractions-the Mausoleums of the Hafiz and the Shah Cherets, the pink mosque Nasir-Ol Molck and the bazaar Vakil.
See the ruins of the city from history textbooks
From Shiraz you can get to the ruins of the city of Persepolis. In its significance, it is comparable to the Egyptian Luxor, the great pyramids of Giza, Stonehenge, Coliseum and forum in Rome. Once in Persepolis lived the kings of the Persian Empire of the Achaemenids, who came to an end during the conquests of Alexander the Great. Although the commander almost completely burned the city, here a mass of bas -reliefs, columns, statues and tombs were preserved.
Tip: Come to the opening to take photos without a crowd of tourists and take a walk in silence, or after dinner to look at the ruins at the Golden Hour, when the sun sits.
Take the sand of the hottest desert
The Lut desert in the east of Iran is the hottest place on the planet: the absolute maximum surface temperature of 78.2 ° C is recorded here. You get out of the car, and you are scalded with hot air, and it is dangerous to step barefoot on a hot sand. The lifeless landscape of the desert is fascinating: endless sand dunes, salt marshes, rock formations, a complete absence of vegetation and one single never drying river-it may seem that you have come to another planet.
There is a road from Southern Iran to Khorasan through the desert, but there are no settlements here. The nearest city from which tours of the desert is carried, including SUVs – Kerman.
Ski
When it comes to Iran, snow is not the first thing that comes to mind, but let the country’s geographical position not deceive you. Here, in the Alborz Mountains, there are at least four international ski resorts that deserve at least a week of skiing – Dinzin, Shemshak, Darbandsar and grinded. The season lasts from November to May, and regular precipitation guarantees a huge amount of snow – sometimes up to 7 meters!
Swim in the Persian Gulf
Imagine that you are sitting on a snow -white sand under the palm trees, admiring the transparent blue water … It seems that this is a description of Hawaii, but no, this is the island of Kish in the Persian Gulf – the most hedonistic place of Iran. The beach season here lasts all year round, although the rest still obeys Muslim laws: beaches on the island, like throughout the country, separate. Women can sunbathe and swim only on a paid Woman’s Beach (input 1 $), and then in closed swimsuits.
Shopping (Kish – free trade) and diving are also popular here – the island is surrounded by unique coral reefs around which sea life boils. There are even the ruins of the ancient city of Harire and the Greek ship that has stolen focused. You can get to Kisha by plane from Tehran or by ferry from the city of Chakra.
*Prices are relevant at the time of publication.
