If you are a nature lover, then you should try to visit at least one of the many different Iran deserts, that the country has to offer.
Deserts are among the world’s most dramatically seductive natural habitats.
Their stark beauty is eternal, and life here exists in everything you can see.
In Iran’s deserts, you can find spotted diverse animal life, including insects and wild animals with a rich variety of spectacular desert landforms.
From the barren desert to the golden sand dunes, enjoy the pleasure of walking along sand dunes meeting local people in and experience desert tours by Visit Our Iran.
The uniqueness of deserts in Iran and the vastness takes your breath away.
Be aware that some of the Iranian deserts are almost off limit during the warmer summer months, due to the high temperature, so the best time to visit most deserts in Iran is Autumn and Early Spring.
Top Deserts To Visit In Iran
Marnjab Desert
This desert is the real combination of desert, nature, and history which is located in Aran Va Bidgol in Isfahan province.
To visit this desert, you must go through Aran and Bidgol, a small city close to Kashan.
The Maranjab desert is one of the best places for off-road lovers.
It is surrounded by Salt lake from the north, Band-e Rig and Desert National Park from the east, Masileh Desert, Hoz-e sultan, and Moreh Lakes from the west, and eventually Aran and Bidgol from the south.
The bulk of the Desert is covered with long sandy hills, arch jungles, salt lakes, Sabulous and superbly beautiful night sky.
The tranquillity and deep silence and the magical night sky of the desert have made it possibly of the best deserts in Iran.
As mentioned the salt lake in this area is one of the best attractions of this desert. In the rainfall month, the depth of the lake is about 2cm, but after sun radiation, quickly evaporates.
By coming here, you can also visit Maranjab Caravanserai, and enjoy resting in its traditional rooms which were built-in Silk Road, connecting Khorasan, Esfahan, and ray cities to each other.
The Lut Desert
The Lut Desert has been registered in UNESCO as Iran’s first natural monument since 2016 and is the world’s 25th-largest desert encompassing an area of 184,000 kilometres.
It has occupied approximately 10 percent of Iran. This desert has tremendous geological values, including incredible natural and historical monuments.
From the South Khorasan in the east, the Lut desert stretches across the southeast in Sistan and Baluchistan to Kerman in the centre of Iran.
The Lust Desert is probably the most spectacular Iran Desert.
A vast area of Lut lies in Kerman province which covers 70 percent of its total area.
A large area of dunes and sand rises in the east, while an extensive region of high ridges is separated by wind-swept corridors in the west.
Another reason that has made Lut desert worldwide known and regarded as a considerable asset is the discovery of archaeological monuments in various parts of it.
For example, traces from the central parts of this desert that date back to the third and fourth millennium BC, indicating human life.
Besides all its mysterious history, it has amazing sunset and sunrise.
If you just have time to visit one Iran desert, this is the one.
Mesr Desert
Iran has embraced a number of the most beautiful deserts in its arms, and the Mesr Desert is one of those located in Isfahan province.
The desert is located 55 kilometres from the city of Khor of Isfahan province next to a village bearing the same name.
The beauty that tethers the ground to the sky in this particular region entices every individual to go for a great adventure among the sands.
The beautiful palm trees, bushes, and sandhills have created spectacular scenery in these villages.
Thousands of tourists venture for this trek to uncover the mysteries lying under the sand dunes of the Mesr desert.
The desert has good recreational facilities that provide you with a different experience, including safari, motorbikes, and camels.
The sandhills around the village of Mesr, where the wind has created strange and appealing figures, are one of the exciting attractions of this site.
The nearby Mesr Village also has an excellent structure that has adapted to the region’s arid climate and is worth visiting.
The sparkly night that shows itself as soon as the last traces of the sun fall into the sand dunes is one famous feature of the village.
People are either sitting on the roofs of the village’s old houses or sitting around a fire in the centre of the desert, can easily see the ocean of stars.
Don’t forget about your cameras, and don’t skip the picturesque desert landscapes.
You get to hear about the story behind this place’s name when you hang out with the locals; when people owed their lives to the guy who dug the town’s wells and his name was Joseph.
Since they believed what Joseph did to their village was similar to what Joseph the prophet did to Mesr, the people called their village Mesr (the Arabic word for Egypt).
You can stay at Maziar Al Davoud House when travelling to the Desert of Mesr.
Maziar Al Davood is an architect who restored his ancestral home with his French wife and transformed it into a camping place.
There are several other small villages in this Iran desert alongside the Mesr village, namely Amirabad, Farahzad and Garmeh.
Zardgah Desert
The deserts of Iran do not end here. Zardgah is a village in the South Khorasan Province.
This village is located near the foothills of Mount Nayband, 180 kilometres from Tabas. Zardgah is known as the greenest desert of Iran.
The greenery created by the village’s palm trees, right in the heart of the arid wilderness, is what makes Zardgah desert distinct from other deserts in Iran.
In the past, there were more people in the village, but now there are less than ten families living in the village, one of whom is an old lady spinning wool.
Palm trees, oranges, sour oranges, lemons, a hot spring, and a small swimming pool are the attractions of this countryside and the Zardgah Desert.
Shahdad Desert
One of the world’s most spectacular deserts, which draws many visitors every year, is the Shahdad desert in Kerman, the hottest place on earth.
The Desert of Shahdad is 100 kilometres from Kerman and is 30 kilometres away from the Dasht-e Lut.
This region is also known as the “Imaginary Desert City” due to its erosion factors. Aquatic wind erosion has shaped large and beautiful clusters.
A few years ago, it was selected as the fourth natural attraction in the world by the National Geographic Magazine.
In Shahdad Desert you’ll get the chance to see the famous Kalouts, the natural sandcastles of the Shahdad desert.
The desert provides the sandy structures with a landscape, and you can walk right through them. Rocks rise from the sand like castles, and the feeling of calm spreads all around.
The Desert of Shahdad sits two meters above sea level. In these desert areas, humidity allows the sand to be soft.
The Shahdad Desert has been identified as the hottest spot on earth by Professor Parviz Kordvani, a desertologist, and professor at the University of Tehran.
There is no difference between the soil genus of this area and other cultivated soil.
The reason for the lack of vegetation in Shahdad desert is attributed to strong winds, removing any root of plants.
Visiting this place in the hot seasons is arduous due to the high temperature. So, the best season to visit these unique natural phenomena is autumn.
Due to the elevated temperature, visiting this place in the hot seasons is difficult.
Autumn is the perfect season to visit these unique natural phenomena in this Iran desert.
Kavir Desert
Central salt desert located in the biggest parts of Iran is one of the widest salty parts of the world and the largest desert in north-central Iran, extending over the boundaries of Semnan, Tehran, Qom, and Esfahan.
This desert, with more than 400-meter high, is the deepest part of the Iran plateau. The desert is one of the biggest holes in geology.
The weather of this desert of Iran is always windy and heavy storms with salty sands in the hills with a 40-meter height.
Kavir Desert lies some 300 kilometres (200 miles), looks like a spot that has been bone-dry since the dawn of time.
But to a geologist’s well-trained eyes, this desert tells a story of wetter times.
A significant part of the desert is surrounded by a white salt marsh called Salt lake, creating picturesque landscapes under the sun’s rays.
In the winter, the water that flows into this salt lake is home to a large number of migratory birds.
Other touristic places of this desert are Eyn-o-Rashid caravanserai, Hoz-Gheyloleh cistern, Ghaleh Sefi-Ab, Tang-e-Zolamat, Bandeh-Ali wetland.
I should note that visiting this Iran desert; you need to take some safety requirements and a professional local guide.
Varzaneh Desert
In Isfahan region, the Varzaneh Desert is the most open desert, and the unrivalled breadth of sand dunes in different shapes and sandy landscapes above the slopes of the sand is unquestionable.
It’s an ideal location for stargazing at night, and you’ll find out far more amazing things in this desert.
In the nights, the sky grandstands with its stars shooting.
SUV riding and camel riding are really enjoyable in the Varzaneh Desert; still, by walking on the soft sand hear the wind echo.
As you move on, you’ll see the crystals dazzling on the side of Varzaneh Salt Lake.
The watery ecosystem with the drylands of the Gavkhuni global wetland is one of Varzaneh’s most original natural landscapes.
The wetland of Gavkhuni is like a diamond in Iran’s central desert.