According to “UNWTO” IRAN is the fifth country in terms of natural attraction and the tenth one in terms of historic and ancient attraction in world ranking of tourism industry until 2016. In this web site we are going to talk about all attractions and two general types of tourism attractions of this magnificent country:

  • Historic places
  • Natural places

Historic places

Historic places in IRAN are divided into two main groups:

  • Before Islam
  • After Islam

Before Islam, the kings in different ages created and made many objects which prove the existence of civilization at their time. They utilized the best architectural methods to build the buildings and the most innovative artistic ways to create the masterpieces to convey their meanings to people in the future. Archaeologists have done much research on ancient and historic buildings and remans and revealed many secrets from them. Some of Historic buildings in this magnificent country date back 1250 BC or 3000 years ago and remains and things such tools, dishes, coins and tablets with inscriptions exhibited at the museums of this country belong 5000 years ago or maybe more. The palaces and lithography in Persepolis or Takht-e Jamshid, crypt and lithography Naqsh-e Rostam or Necropolis, ancient city of Takht-e Soleyman, Choqa Zanbil Ziggurat and et cetera are the historic monuments which tell the secrets about the life of people and laws at that time when we visit there.

After Islam, Kings of different ages also constructed many places. They ordered skilled architects, artists and consultants to build the landmark and monuments, considering the religious belief, the utilization of the building and also the Persian architecture. These factors created magnificent historic elements like Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque of Isfahan, Ali Qapu palace of Isfahan, Karim Khan castle of Shiraz, Dome of Soltaniyeh in Zanjan, Dowlat Abad Garden of Yazd, and et cetera. Some of these historic places are registered as UNESCO world heritage.

Natural places

In IRAN there are also many natural elements that a tourist especially an ecotourist or even all nature lovers like to travel. In addition to IRAN’s historic places, we are going to introduce you IRAN’s natural places. In below we have generally talked about this topic:

  • Forests
  • Mountains
  • Desserts
  • Sea 

Forests in north side of Iran count as parts of natural resources of IRAN. These forests are located in south shoreline of Caspian Sea which covers three provinces like Mazandaran, Gilan and Golestan. In terms of climate these provinces have been categorized as moderate and humid climate. Area of these forests is 3,400,000 hectares.

In south part of Iran on the north shoreline of Bandar Abbas, Hara forests are amazing natural attraction. These forests go under the water when flood tide occurs and come out of water when ebb tide happens, this event creates a magnificent view of nature and makes the natural tourisms stunning during their visit.

At the west side of IRAN, 1,600,000 Hectares of these lands are dedicated to the jungles. These scattered forests cover the ground in several provinces like West Azerbaijan, Lorestan, Hamadan, Markazi, Kermanshah, Ilam, Kordestan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Khuzestan, Fars, Kohkilouyeh and Boyer Ahmad and part of Isfahan province. Fortunately, in addition to these provinces mentioned above the remains of main type of Zagros forests in Shazand county and Markazi province and Nahavand county in Hamadan province are growing yet.

Mountains in IRAN are divided into two groups. Alborz mountain and Zagros mountains. Type of climate throughout of these regions has been classified as cold and mountainous.

Alborz mountains begin in northeastern and end in northwestern of this country. The most important peaks which are more popular between ecotourists are Damavand, Alamkooh, Shakhak, Khalnow, Azadkooh, Dobarar, Shahalboraz, Takht-e Soleyeman and Tochal. Altogether, Alborz Mountain range covered 51,500 km2 of IRAN lands.   

Zagros mountains begin in northwestern and approximately end in southwestern. Dena, Zardkooh, Oshtorankooh are the highest and the most popular peaks of this mountain range.

Deserts in IRAN are one of the most beautiful natural elements that are popular between foreign tourists. Dasht-e Kavir with 77,600 km2 and Dasht-e lut with 51,800 km2 area are two main deserts in this country. These areas contain extensive sandy lands that are stunning during the day and also has clear and intriguing sky during the night. in term of weather these regions are in hot and dry climate group.

Sea in this country in northern and southern sides are another natural resource that can attract tourists to visit there.

Beach of Caspian Sea in North part of IRAN is almost 890 km long. This shoreline is the southern side of this great sea. Along this shoreline, Anzali wetlands is one of the awesome places which is being counted as tourism attraction. Provinces like Gilan, Mazandaran and Golestan contents coastal cities alongside Caspian Sea.

IRAN also possesses 4900 km of beaches in southern side of the country, this is also necessary to mention that 840 km of this length belong to the coasts around islands. Tourism attractions in this area are Martain mountain of Chabahar, Hara forests, Kish and Qeshm islands and etc. This region has hot and humid weather.

FAQ

How many UNESCO world heritage sites are there in IRAN?

Up until 2021 there are twenty-six sites in UNESCO world heritage list. Of Course, some of these sites are complex of two or more items.

What is the full meaning of UNESCO?

UNESCO stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. UNESCO is working with the aim of peace promotion and tries to alleviate poverty all over the world.

Which countries are located on the east side of IRAN?

Afghanistan and Pakistan

Which country touches both the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf?

Saudi Arabia.

What is the monument?

A building or statue that is built in order to commemorate someone to respect them. In IRAN we have so many historic monuments like Dome of Soltaniyeh in respect of Oljaito, Shaking minarets in respect of Abdollah Karladani and et cetera.