Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and can take travellers to sites that many other guides aren't familiar with. He can also
sometimes take travellers to festivals and special events organised by the local Zoroastrian
community.
WARNING
Yazd and the surrounding desert areas are backpacker hubs, and there is a small number of dodgy tourism operators
focussing on this segment of the tourism market. On our last trip we encountered a number of problems, including
desperate and somewhat nasty competition between some tour guides (both accredited and unaccredited) and the in-
creasingly erratic public behaviour of a guide once recommended in this topic but subsequently deleted after a num-
ber of complaints by travellers. Be careful about what guide you use.
Also of concern is an outfit offering cheap but unlicensed (and therefore illegal) homestay accommodation in the
area around Khoor in the Dasht-e Kavir. These guys use other young travellers (some foreign) to drum up business
by sending them into hostels in Tehran, Shiraz and Yazd, where they entice prospective guests with promises of dirt-
cheap accommodation, alcohol and even drugs.
Needless to say, if you're in an illegal homestay where there is alcohol and/or drugs and the place is raided by po-
lice, you will be in serious trouble. Don't risk it.
Sleeping
More than 10
khan-e sonnati
(traditional houses) have now been transformed into hotels
in Yazd. The result is 24-hour cultural immersion; you can see the sights of this historic
city by day, and then sit on
takhts,
sip tea and eat local food as Iranians have for centuries.
Alternatively, there are three excellent midrange choices that aren't housed in traditional
buildings but offer characterful and comfortable accommodation. Not surprisingly, the old
city is the most atmospheric area to stay in.
Almost all hotels offer day trips out of the city, and prices are in proportion to room
rates - the Silk Road Hotel offers the cheapest in town and is consistently reliable.
In the off season, most midrange and top-end hotels offer a 30% discount.
TRADITIONAL HOTEL
Silk Road Hotel$
(Jada-e Abrisham; 625 2730, 0913 151 6361;
www.silkroadhotelgroup.com
; 5 Tal-e
Khakestary Alley, off Masjed-e Jameh St; dm/s/d/tr US$11/36/54/62; )
Two
minutes' walk from the Masjed-e Jameh (Jameh Mosque), the Silk Road's mix of tradi-
