Iran Tour | Individual Iran Travel | Pyala Travel - Travel Program
Travel to Iran on this 3 week individual Iran Tour. This Iran Trip can be customized to you wishes by the local travel experts of Pyala Travel.
Glories of Iran
private tour
Tour to Iran with cultural highlights, villages, deserts and nomads
During this three week Iran tour you will encounter the many facets of this beautiful country. Enjoy Iranian hospitality, meet nomads in the mountains, get lost in ancient old labyrinths and admire the Persian cultural highlights. Great Iran Tour.
from 2750,-
23 days
Tabs
Day 1 Arrival Tehran
Arrival at Tehran airport (usually after midnight) where you will be met by our representative and taken to your hotel.Day 2 Tehran
Tehran is a living and growing capital city where the most important events of both the ancient and modern history of Iran have taken place. Tehran is home to numerous museums and the most important collection of recent and ancient Persian art and artifacts. You can visit Sa’ad Abad Park where several residences were combined to form the summer palaces of the former Shah of Iran. Another option is to visit the National Museum where an extensive collection gives you a good overview of the historical development of Iran. You can also visit Golestan Palace that dates back to Qajar dynasty which offers a window into the lives of nobles of the past. Or visit the National Jewel Museum, one of the best in the country featuring a world-renowned jewelry collection including “Daria-i- Noor” (Sea of Light), the world’s largest diamond.*You cannot visit all of these in a day and you need to make a choice from those listed above. Museums in Tehran are open on different days. If you want to visit a particular museum, please note the official opening days of that museum.
Day 3 Tehran – Lahijan
After breakfast you leave the busy city and drive through the green valleys of the Alborz mountain range on your way to the Caspian Sea. This mountain road, Chalus Road, is one of the most beautiful in the country in terms of view. The coast along the Caspian Sea is one the greenest strips of the country, and therefore beloved by the Iranian population that mostly live in dry, desert regions. Visit the picturesque Lahijan, famous for its tea plantations. Here you can walk through the tea plantations in the hill of “Sheitan Kuh” and enjoy the view.
Day 4 Lahijan – Masuleh
The route along the Caspian Sea takes you to the port city of Bandar-e-Anzali and on to Masuleh, a charming mountain village. This village is always misty and you can walk over the roofs of the houses. It is like an elevated street! This village is at least a thousand years old and is one of the most beautiful villages in Iran. In the afternoon you can choose to take a walk around Masuleh.
Day 5 Masuleh – Qazvin/ via Soltaniyeh
You will cross the Alborz Mountains again on your way to Qazvin, visiting the Mausoleum of Oljaitu at Soltaniyeh en route. The magnificent Dome of Soltaniyeh is one of the largest brick domes in the world. The building dates back to the Mongol period when it was the capital of Iran. The you will continue on to the city of Qazvin to visit the ancient city gate, Jame Mosque and the Shrine of Shazdeh Hossein.
Day 6 Qazvin/ excursion to Alamut
From Qazvin you will drive almost 80 km through a barren mountain range to Alamut. Alamut Castle is located at the top of a ridge. For years it was the home of assassins under the leadership of Hassan Sabbah. You can do some hiking in this area while visiting the castle and return to Qazvin in the afternoon.*It is also possible to have a home stay in a local village at the foot of the castle
Day 7 Qavin – Kashan / via Qom
Today you drive back to Tehran on the way to Kashan. En route you will visit the Masoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder and leader of the Islamic revolution in Iran. Then you will visit Qom, the most important Islamic city in Iran and the center of the Iranian Islamic revolution. You will be impressed by the shrine of Hazrat-e-Masumeh, Fatemeh, Sister of Imam Reza. This mausoleum is the most important pilgrimage site after the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashahd and every year there are hundreds of pilgrimages from Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, central Asia and the Persian Gulf country to visit this shrine. You can visit the shrine but photos are not allowed. It is a vast complex with thousands of mullahs (Muslim clergy), women wearing the traditional chador robes, and pilgrims. At the center is the mausoleum of Fatemeh which is surrounded by mirrored walls. In the evening you arrive in Kashan, a pleasant oasis town with magnificent historical houses and The Fin Garden, one of the most famous and beautiful Persian gardens.
Day 8 Kashan
You will spend a whole day visiting the pleasant oasis town of Kashan with its marvelous merchant houses and one of the country’s most famous gardens, The Fin Garden. The most beautiful houses of wealthy merchants are close together in the west part of the town. You can visit beautifully decorated rooms with colored murals and amazing stained glass windows in the Tabatabi house or nearby in the Abbasi house. The Brujerdi house, the Samovars merchant, has a pretty garden and the most beautiful frescos from the hand of “Kamal ol Molk,” a famous Iranian artist. Nearby is one of the finest Hammams (baths) in Iran: Hamma–e Sultan Ahmed Mir that features multiple rooms of beautifully colored tiles. You can see the magnificent view of Kashan from the roof of the building. Visiting the beautiful Fin Garden is the highlight of the city. There is also a small bazaar, and don't miss the beautiful caravanserai and tea house.
Day 9 Kashan / Abyaneh Excursion
From Kashan you can take a day trip to the beautiful mountain village of Abyaneh, located at the foot of Mt. Carcass. This is a village of living traditions, architectural styles (all in red clay), and probably the most interesting example of humans adapting to nature. All the people here wear traditional costumes, like the long white floral scarves worn by the women. The mosque with its wooden mihrab also shouldn't be missed. Via steep paths you can climb up to the ruins of several castles and a enjoy splendid view of the town. In the evening you will return to Kashan, but you can also choose to spend the night in Abyaneh.
Day 10 Kashan - Mesr via Nain
Before driving in the Dasht-e Kavir desert, you first visit the beautiful mountain village Abyaneh, located at the foot of Mt. Carcass. Here many Parsis live in typical mud houses. The women wear long white flowered headscarves. Certainly visit the mosque with its mihrab of walnut. Through steep paths, you can climb up to the ruins of some castles and enjoy beautiful views of this town.Then you drive into the desert towards Nain, where we stop to see the Jame Mosque. the next stop is the oasis town Anarak, a beautiful village built agains a hill. Late afternoon, you arrive in the small village Mesr. You overnight in a charming hotel, an ideal base for exploring the desert. Take a walk on the ridges of the high dunes and enjoy the view over the desert, the silence and the setting sun.
Day 11 Mesr – Yazd
A beautiful journey through the Dasht-e Kavir desert finally brings you to the desert city Yazd. Along the way ,you will visit the village Bayaziyeh.It has the look of a Moroccan Kasbah, but the area is completely desolate. It is an undiscovered treasure for desert lovers.You visit typical desert towns like Garmeh and Kharanaq. The old mud town is completely dilapidated here, but very atmospheric with the surrounding desert and rugged mountains surrounding it. There is also a caravanserai. Meybod is a smaller version of Yazd with a mud town, an old castel, a caravanserai and a 'Yakhchal', an ice house typical of this region. It was once useful, these storehouses of ice used to come in handy in this huge hot temperatures.
At the end of the afternoon you arrive in Yazd, one of the most beautiful cities of Iran and one of the bests to stay, with its beautifully preserved old town. There are several restaurants, tea shops, hotels and shops.
Day 12 Yazd
Yazd is a special city on the edge of the Dash-e-Kavir. You will see narrow streets lined with mud houses, especially around the central bazaar and the old town. These houses are characterized by typical “badgirs,” wind towers that were designed to catch and circulate the slightest breath of wind. It is an ancient form of air conditioning. The mosques of Yazd are like no others and the magnificent Jame Mosque dominates the old city. Its remarkably high, tiled entrance, flanked with two magnificent minarets and adorned with an inscription from the 15th century, is simply superb. On the main Amir Chakhmaq square, you will find the stunning three-story façade of one of the finest tekyehs in the country. Tekyehs are places where traditional Muharram mourning ceremonies keep the memory of Imam Hussein, the 3rd Imam of Shias, who was martyred at the Battle of Karbala in 680 A.D.In the evening you may choose to visit a zoorkhaneh( strength ritual )to observe a traditional Iranian dance accompanied by the beating of drums.
Day 13 Yazd - Zein O'Din
Yazd is known for being the center of Zoroastrianism, an ancient Iranian religion. Here you can visit the Atashkade Fire Temple (House of Eternal Fire) and the Tower of Silence, a Zoroastrian burial place.You will sleep in a old caravenserai tonight, the rounded structure of Zein O'Din, located just outside Yazd.
Day 14 Zein O'Din – Persepolis via Pasargadae
On the way to Shiraz, you will stop to visit Pasargadae where the tomb of Cyrus, the founder of the Persian Empire, and the remains of the ancient capital are located. You will then visit Persepolis, where the ruins of the glorious Achaemenid-style palace are a must-see for any trip to Iran. The palace is partially built into the side of the Kuh-e Rahmet Mountain and is where Darius the Great received offerings from all the nations of the vast Persian Empire. Not far from Persepolis are four royal tombs that have been carved into the mountain, including those of Darius the Great and Xerex I.You will sleep in Persepolis, so you can visit the site late afternoon or early morning as well, when most tourists are gone and you can wonder yourself around the ancient site.
Day 15 Persepolis - Shiraz
Shiraz, the city of nightingales, poetry and roses, is the center of Fars province. Fars has had a role of great significance in Iranian civilization. This province has the glorious cultural heritage of both the Achaemenid and Sassanian dynasties. Throughout Fars are monuments that reflect the rapid development of the province in both the pre-Islamic and Islamic eras. You will first visit the Nasir–ol-Molk mosque where the morning sun shining through the stained glass windows creates a fantastic, colorful panorama on the floor of the main hall. Close to the mosque, there is the Narenjestan Garden. This is a 19th-century garden that belonged to a wealthy family in the Qajar period. You can also visit the mausoleum of Shah-e-Cheragh, the 3rd most important religious site in Iran. The wonderful lighting and mirrors of this shrine make it extraordinarily beautiful. You can see families pray, talk, and eat, and you can sit inside and experience it among them.
Day 16 Shiraz
Today you will start with a visit to the Vakil Bazaar. Step into the bazaar and let yourself get lost in the labyrinth of alleys where you can see copper smiths, carpet sellers, and spice shops, Qashqai women in colorful skirts and old men in tea houses smoking hookah. Then, on to the glorious Karim Khan Citadel that dates from the 18th century Zand dynasty and the splendid Vakil Mosque.
Day 17 Shiraz – Yasuj
You start today's adventure in the mountains of Fars. In summer time this beautifully scenic area in the Zagros Mountains hosts the colorful people of Bakhtiari and Qashqai nomads. when winter comes,these nomadic people migrate to the southern part of the Fars province and the Khuzestan Plains. On the way to Yasuj, stop to walk near the Margoon Waterfall. During the summer Qashqai nomads pitch their tents in this area. Qashqai is one of the smallest nomadic tribes of the country.*The best time to see nomads is between May and September.
Day 18 Yasuj – Chelgerd
Today you will continue through the Zagros Mountains to Shahr-e Kord, known as "the roof of Iran." En route there is a visit to Chogasar Lake. The blue lake is surrounded by snowy peaks and is an ideal place for a picnic. In the late afternoon you will arrive in Chelgerd, one one the most beautiful spots of the Chahar Mahal va Bakhtiari province and home to the famous Bakhtiari nomads.You will stay in a tented camp in the mountains next to the Bakhtiari nomads.
Day 19 Chelgerd / hiking and visit Bakhtiari Nomad
Chelgerd is in the middle of the Koohrang Mountains. Koohrang is the summer residence of the Bakhtiari nomads, the largest nomad community in the country. During the winter, the friendly Bakhtiari people live in the plains of Khuzestan province, but as soon as the first snow starts to melt they begin the migration to their traditional summer residences. In Koohrang region, around the Chelgerd you can see thousands of tents everywhere, Bakhtiari men in their typical Black -&- white cost and women in their colorful skirts. The rest of the day, experience the traditional life of Nomads.*The best time to see nomads is between May and September. If there are no nomads we will adjust your program in the best possible way. Normally you stay in a tented camp near nomads (in season), but if you prefer we can accommodate you in a hotel in Chelgerd or Shahr-e Kord.
Day 20 Chelgerd – Isfahan
By a four hours drive you will arrive in Isfahan. Isfahan is the most beautiful city in the country and a wonderful ending to this impressive journey. This beautiful city is the culmination of the Persian culture. The exquisite blue mosaic tiles of Isfahan’s Islamic buildings, its expansive bazaars and the city’s gorgeous bridges demand as much of your time as you can spare. You will have enough time to see everything, having conversation with curious locals and look for the best souvenirs at Bazaar. Maybe you take a Persian carpet home.
Day 21 Isfahan
In the center of the city there is the 160 by 500 meters Naghsh –e- Jahan square. On either side are The Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, the six-story Ali Qapu Palace and the Imam Mosque. You should definitely visit the Imam Mosque at sunrise and sunset and you will be amazed how different the Mosque looks every time. In the afternoon take a walk in large bazaar which is divided into sections with different products such as rugs, antique, gold and jewelry, clothing, books… everything is sold here.
Day 22 Isfahan
There is still much more to do in the wonderful city. Do not forget to visit the Jame Mosque (a highlight in the Islamic architecture), Christian and Armenian quarter of Jolfa, the impressive cemetery “Golestan –e- Shohada” where the victims on the Iran – Iraq war are buried and the Shaking minarets, Menar Jomban. late afternoon, you should go to the Zayande Rud river . Under several historical bridges over the river you can find very cozy teahouses. Beside tea you can also try different Iranian delicacies.Day 23 Flight Back Home
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Hi, I am Maryam Osanloo, your local travel agent.
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