Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Qashqa'i are based in central Iran, where they move between summer and winter pastures in Fars province.
Their migration routes are among the longest and most difficult of all of Iran's pastoral tribes, as they are often on
the road for 45 days. They have become famous for their production of simple rugs -
gabbeh
.
Nomadic women wear long, colourfully layered dresses with much jewellery and no chadors. The men some-
times wear tall hats with a rounded crown. To visit them it's best to go with a specialist guide. We have noted these
for some destinations, including Shiraz (
Click here
).
SHAHR-E KORDدرک رهش
0381 / POP 131,612 / ELEV 2061M
A 30-minute drive from Esfahan, the sleepy capital of Chahar Mahal va Bakhtiyari
province is nestled between two mountain ranges and is a staging post rather than a des-
tination. An agricultural town, its only tourist attraction is the newly opened
Shahr-e
Kord Museum
(admission US$0.30; 10am-4pm Sat-Thu)
on Valiasr St just north of
Valiasr Junction. The collection here is modest but the building itself, an old
hammam
, is
lovely.
After visiting the museum, you may want to stop for a tea, qalyan or cheap meal at
Fer-
dosi Soffrekhaneh
(Ferdosi Sq; 8am-10pm)
, an extremely atmospheric teahouse on
the town's main square.
The bus and savari terminal is on the southern edge of town. Buses travel between here
and Esfahan (VIP/
mahmooly
US$1.40/0.90) and Tehran (VIP US$1.10) reasonably fre-
quently.
CHELGERDدرگلچ
Eighty kilometres (1¼ hours by car) from Shahr-e Kord, Chelgerd is the home of skiing in
this part of the Zagros range and is also the ideal base for climbing some of the many sur-
rounding peaks of just less than 4000m. The Koohrang Ski Resort has a single 800m-long
T-bar running up a slope near the Koohrang Tunnel; the snow is skiable between late
December and late February and you'll often have the slopes to yourself on weekdays.
The government-owned
Hotel Koohrang
( 0382-762 2301, 0912 114 4030;
hotelkoohrang@parsonline.net; s & d US$60, tr US$83; )
is the best place to stay be-
cause it hires ski equipment (US$6.50 per hour), offers guided horse riding outside the ski
season (US$7.50 per hour) and employs English-speaking managers who are an absolute
mine of information about the whole region. Rooms are simple but comfortable, there's a
restaurant (meals US$4 to US$8) and entertainment facilities include a billiard table.
