The night was not as cold as I had expected it to be. It was almost the end of the tour and as I sat out in the courtyard of the Bali hotel in Khur, I thought about Iran and my experience till date. The sky was one of those which we put our telescopes to and observe the stars when it is so clear in more habitable locales. For the dessert, though it was this for most of the year.
My first experience with the desert was camping in the Sahara. It started out as a day trip but then it was recommended, to stay the night. As I sat looking at the sky that night in Khur, I thought about the night in Sahara. Khur was different, there were people around and dinner was not served by the fire but in an indoor seating dining hall. The great salt desert of Iran was the important key in our itinerary to Iran, for it took Iran living in monuments and streets, and got it straight to nature.
The dessert is a mix of white of the salt, a brown of the dunes, the emerald of the Salt Lake and the green of the palms in its oasis. This array of colors was very welcoming and made the Dasht e Kavir or the great salt desert of Iran to stand out. Then, of course, there is the hospitality of its people. If the cities are welcoming, the dessert is a touch above. True, that tourism only came here about a couple of years ago, so the facilities feel rustic, but that at the end still feels exclusive. To feel exclusive.
Garmeh, an Oasis in the desert!
The lonely planet recommended it, but it was only after going there that I wanted to recommend it myself. The village of Garmeh is an oasis, which gets its supply of fresh water from an underground stream. There are around 60 odd families living here that mainly survive on tourism and partly agriculture. Atesthooni is a place to stay and enjoy the desert life in Iran while being in an oasis of Palm trees and barley fields, enjoying a sheesha and tea as evening pulls in and the sky turns starry is something worth the journey.
We stayed for two nights in the desert, the first one in Khur and the last in Naein, which was bigger than the former. The hotels in both places were family run and had surprisingly good facilities.
Traditions are strong in this part of Iran and that does not mean being hardened or anything. In fact nowhere in Iran would you meet the hardline face the west tries to project. At least I did not. The desert deserves two nights if you are young and might want to indulge in activities, like quad biking or camel rides, which happen in Mesr, otherwise just passing through it and staying in Khur for a night is good. Good to mix a little nature in its rawness with the monuments of Iran in all its fineness!
The Triangle of Yazd – Khur / Garmeh – Esfahan
To enter the desert from Yazd and to exit it into Esfahan is an ideal way of going through the desert. In the high season the rooms in the Bali hotel in Khur and Atesthooni are full, so make sure these are booked in advance. Both the hotels will be happy to arrange for activities and are a happy place to stay for two nights if you have time on your hands.
Highlights of the Dasht-e Kavir
- The salt lake (go at dawn or dusk)
- Mesr for its activities
- Garmeh an oasis with substance.
- Yazd as an entry point with beautiful streets.
- Esfahan an exit with the best square in Iran.
