More about Varzaneh
Varzaneh Desert is known to the zone of the western margin of the Gavkhoni wetland, which covers an area of over 17,000 hectares of windy sands in Iran. Hills are one hundred meters high and approximately thirty kilometers wide and stretch from the Gavkhoni wetland to the city of Varzaneh, with an approximate length of 60 Kilometers up to the south of Gavkhoni Lake and the village of Jara. This great area with its sandhills became popular among the desert lovers from all around the world; in this amazing desert, travelers will face with many natural phenomena, including the forest, of the Haloxylon Trees and Tamarix, the river and saltwater
Varzaneh Desert and Salt Lake
This unique phenomenon of Gavkhoni Lake is known as the Varzaneh Desert or Khara Desert. From its sandy hills, as far as the Gavkhoni wetland is stretched, there is certainly being more vegetation due to increased humidity and high levels of water. Even at a specific point, there is the forest of Haloxylon trees, but in the south of Gavkhoni wetland and in the proximity of the Khara village and the salt lake, sand dunes are free from any vegetation due to the influence of salt winds. Varzaneh Desert is one of the most desirable and the nearest desert to one of the most populous cities of Iran, Isfahan. Its distance to the center of Isfahan is 110 km and it takes an hour and thirty minutes for travel lovers to go to the desert
The closest city to this area is Varzaneh and its distance to the sand dunes is less than 10 km. Desert visitors can see animals such as Jackal, Fox, Kangaroo Rats in Varzaneh Desert and Scorpion or Rattle is visible in a large vegetation area if we have flashlights. But in spite of the fact that a significant number of the tourists have spent the night there, but no one has ever reported the bite. The road to the desert is called Varzaneh -Hassan Abad road. 10 km away from the road, we can see the recreational site, Oasis, and Desert. At the beginning of this route, there is camel mills (Asiyab Shotor) cow-turn (Gav Gard) and cow-well (Gav Chah, ox well). The services offered in Varsaneh Desert include camel rides, car rides, and quadricycles, flying with the kite and crossing the top of the Oasis site with Zip Line. The tourist season of the Varzaneh desert begins in mid-October and continues until mid-June, which attracted many visitors from Isfahan, Tehran, Shiraz and other parts of the country during this 9 months and they are guests of this desert
Things to Do in Varzaneh Desert
Deserts have always been charming destinations to backpackers or nature tourists. Varzaneh Desert, like other deserts, lets us walk on the soft golden sand for hours and drown in its pleasant silence. You can ride one of the many camels in this desert. If you visit this desert in April or May, you can join the camel riding competition. Zip Line experience here is far too different from almost anywhere else. Motorbiking and off-roading are your other options to feel the true excitement of the atmosphere you are in. However, according to Iranian environmentalists, these two activities have changed the texture of the area. As a result, if we want to keep the beauty of the desert for the next generations, it is better to avoid these leisure activities
Gav Chah
One of the interesting places you can visit here is Gav Chah. In addition to renting suites, this area can perfectly represent the traditional and local life. The name of the area has a background story and that is the fact that the cows (Gav) used to pull out water from the well (Chah) in the past. However, this process has changed with the evolutions in technology and today it is symbolically done only for the tourists
Ghortan Castle or Ghale Ghortan
Another attraction you can see when in Varzaneh is Ghale Ghortan or Ghortan Castle. It is claimed that this citadel is the biggest adobe structure in Iran after Arg-e Bam or Bam Castle
Kabootar Khane
Located in Ghortan village, this 15-meter tower is located along with the eastern end of Zayandehrud River in the northwestern part of Ghale Ghortan. As the birds have made their nests on this tower, the tower is called Kabootar Khane (House of Birds)
Khara Salt Lake
Khara Salt Cave is full of salt crystals and red alga. Salt excavations for industrial use are daily done here. The spectacular view it gives to the landscape is definitely worth a visit
Bear in mind that
Winter and autumn are the best seasons for travel to Deserts, especially autumn when the temperature is higher than winter. At this time of year having a sustained look up at the night sky imparts the viewer unutterable satisfaction. The entire road to Varzaneh is asphalt. Use a hired car at convenience. You can stay there for the night at traditional lodges. Still, if you are interested in camping, you can set up a tent
