TRIP HIGHLIGHTS 3

On this trip, you can meet the full spectrum of women who live across this vast country. As you go, you’ll travel through Tehran and Shiraz and on to desert cities filled with Zoroastrian relics. On this tour, we will explore the beautiful cities of Tehran, Shiraz, Yazd, Isfahan, Kashan, and will uncover Persian history at the impressive Persepolis; though, the real highlight of any trip to Iran is meeting the locals, arguably the friendliest and most hospitable people on earth who are always ready to welcome visitors with a smile.

Duration

12 Days

Activity

Unesco Site

Highlight Attraction

Get different women beauty salon services like body massage, hair care, foot care and nail manicures

Do Yuga practice

Visiting Yazd, the city of Zoroastrian religious as well as beautiful Meybod and Na’in

Experience cooking and spending time with Shirazi family

Spend time with the Nomad family and witness their life s

Meeting the Iranian people and being wlcomed to their country

Itinerary

Day 1-

After arriving at Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA) in Tehran, our representative will meet and greet you at the airport. The local representative will transfer you to your hotel to rest.

Accommodation
Hally 3-star hotel or a similar one in Tehran
Single Room Available
Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 2-

Today, we will take you to a lovely park-like setting to visit the Sa’d Abad Palace. This was the coronation and marriage palace of the Pahlavi Dynasty – and the residence from which the last Shah of Iran. Now a museum, its extensive collection includes period furnishings and décor, and even the personal effects of the last Shah. Our guests also enjoy an exclusive tour through an intimate gallery dedicated to the 20th-century art collection of Iran’s last Empress.

Then, we will visit Tajrish bazaar and Emamzadeh Saleh Mausoleum. They are located in the northern part of Tehran.

Afterwards, we will go to Darband. Darband is an old village in Shemiran. This is 1700 meters above the sea level, and is one of the main starting routes taken by mountaineers for reaching the central Alborz Range. This place has many modern and traditional cafes and restaurants, located both indoors and outdoors, we will have a delicious lunch in one of them.

Later, you will visit Nature Bridge. Cross Tabiat Bridge, an award-winning foot bridge designed by local architect Leila Araghian. Completed in 2014, the structure spans 270 m (890 ft) and takes pedestrians from one public park to another across the Shahid Modarres Avenue. Take a stroll on the imposing steel-and-concrete structure, equipped with benches for resting, and enjoy the view of the busy highway and the lush green parks it connects.

Day 3-

This morning, we will take you to a World Heritage Site, the lavish Golestan Palace. Built during the Qajar Dynasty, that rose to power in the late 1700s, this fabulous walled complex is centered on a landscaped garden with tranquil pools. Many of the elements you’ll admire today, date to the 19th century when local Qajari architects and artisans were looking to integrate traditional Persian style with elements of Western and Russian origin. The palace buildings are among the oldest in modern Tehran and they are still regarded as a crowning achievement of the Qajar era.

Then, we will walk around Tehran Bazaar.

In the afternoon, you will visit the National Museum of Iran, where you can see fabulous historical items from 5000 BC to the advent of Islam in Iran which shows a brief history of our land.

We will also visit the Carpet Museum of Iran, home to a dazzling collection of Persian carpets collected from around the country and representing centuries of extraordinary art and skill.

In the next, we will transfer to the Mehrabad Airport to have the flight to Shiraz.

Accommodation
Arg 3-star hotel or a similar one in Shiraz
Single Room Available
Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 4-

After breakfast, you will visit Nasir-al-Mulk Mosque (Pink Mosque) which is few steps far from Vakil Bazaar. It was built at Mirza Hassan Ali Nasir-al Mulk’s command (one of the lords of the Qajar Dynasty); it took 12 years to complete it in 1888. Its interior reveals a magnificent masterpiece of design with stunning colors.

This is a space where light and worship intertwine. The mosque comes to life with the sunrise and the colors dance throughout the day like whirling Dervishes. It reflects on the ground, walls, the arches and the towering spires. It even reflects on the visitors as if a colorful ball is hit by the first sun ray and has exploded into thousands of butterflies all around.

Continue your exploration in Shiraz at the beautiful orange-scented Narenjestan Garden, laid out in the 19th century during the Qajar Dynasty.

You’ll have time to explore Karim Khan Citadel and shop in the bustling Vakil Bazaar, home to hundreds of stores, beautiful courtyards, and even an ancient caravanserai.

You will end your day on a tranquil note in the lovely garden-tomb of Hafez, one of our most outstanding poets to feel the taste of Persian Literature.

AUTHENTIC COOKING CLASS AND FOOD TOUR
In the afternoon, we prepare and have dinner together with a Shirazi family. Very welcoming and friendly, this experience also allows you to discover the essence of Iran throughout a Persian family, recipe, stories and the pleasure to share a meal. At the beginning of the tour, we start with the description of all the ingredients that we will be using, while talking about the history of the dish, why it is popular and how normally it is presented in our country. You will explore new ingredients, learn anecdotes, but especially share and discuss with locals that love to share with travelers.

Accommodation
Arg 3-star hotel or a similar one in Shiraz
Single Room Available
Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 5-

After breakfast, we will drive to the Legendary City of Persepolis, the former capital of Darius the Great which was founded in 512 BC. There was no more impressive construction in the ancient world than Persepolis, except perhaps the Karnak in Egypt. Darius built the terrace, Apadana (great audience hall), Tachana (a palace), and the Monumental Staircases; his son, Xerxes, added the Harem and the Hall of 100 Columns.

Alexander the Great entered Persepolis in January 330 BC and then committed an uncharacteristic act of wanton destruction that still mystifies historians today, burning the mighty city to the ground. Though a shadow of its former self, the soaring pillars, terraces and sculptures of Persepolis still remain, but probably most impressive are the bas reliefs which line the site, telling the story of ancient governors and kings that came to Persepolis to pay tribute to the Persian Emperors.

From here, we will drive a couple of miles away to the Naqsh-e-Rustam, the Necropolis where Darius and his successors are buried. Carved into the side of a cliff, the site is extraordinary in its magnitude and sheer ambition and does not disappoint even after the impressive Persepolis.

You will end your day on a tranquil note in the lovely garden-tomb of Hafez, one of our most outstanding poets to feel the taste of Persian Literature. Hafez is one of the great poets who has impressed everyone with his mastery. His poems give us a special feeling and the peace in his tomb is really outstanding.

Accommodation
Arg 3-star hotel or a similar one in Shiraz
Single Room Available
Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 6-

Then, you will visit Pasargadae, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Tomb of Cyrus the Great and former capital of the Achaemenid Empire. We will spend some time exploring the site and though not as striking as Persepolis, there is a great viewpoint where we can look over the site and the surrounding area.

For lunch, we will visit the Qashqai Nomads, near Shiraz. You will be deeply in touch with some Nomadic families from one of the handful of remaining nomad tribes in the world. Over there, we will have our time to be acquainted with nomadic lifestyle and witness their daily routine of shepherding, collecting woods, baking bread, milking sheep and goats, and preparing fire for making bread.

Over our drive, we will pass through Abarkooh where we will visit the traditional Ice-House, an adobe building used to store ice and food prior to the invention of the refrigerator.  The town is the home of the world’s second oldest tree called Abarkooh Cypress, its age is estimated over 4000 years. We can see the tree on our way.

At the end of the day, we will reach our destination, Yazd.

Accommodation
Laleh Hotel or a similar one in Yazd

Single Room Available
Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 7-

Yazd is one oldest continuously inhabited towns of Iran. Its silhouette punctuated by minarets and the ingeniously-designed wind towers that capture desert breezes to cool homes during the hot summer months. Yazd is also the center of Iran’s Zoroastrian community, which is where you’ll begin the day’s sightseeing.

At the Tower of Silence, you’ll learn about one of the traditions of this ancient pre-Islamic religion. Until the mid-1900s, the dead were transported to this tower where they were left to decompose and be devoured by birds. Zoroastrian tradition considers a deceased body to be “unclean” and this process of excarnation prevents contact with either fire or earth– both of which are considered to be sacred.

At the still-active Zoroastrian Fire Temple, you’ll see a flame that is said to have been burning for the past 1,500 years. It’s an important pilgrimage site for the faithful and here our expert guide will offer additional insight into one of the world’s oldest monotheistic religions.

Among the many other historic sites to be seen in Yazd are beautiful old homes and the Dowlat Abad Garden. Standing by the garden’s long reflecting pool, you’ll be shaded by ancient cypress trees. Ahead of you is an 18th-century hexagonal pavilion with a beautiful stained-glass window and a graceful wind tower– the tallest in Iran. All around are flowering fruit trees and other ornamental plants and trees.

In Amir Chakhmaq Square, you’ll see a very impressive Hussainiya– a congregation hall for Shia commemoration ceremonies. With three tiers of recessed alcoves, all perfectly proportioned, its facade is one of the city’s most photographed landmarks.

The next place to visit is the Friday Mosque, built in 1324, where you can gaze upon the tallest minarets in the country.

Accommodation
Laleh 3* hotel or a similar one in Yazd

Single Room Available
Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 8-

This morning we will continue our journey to Meybod, where your first impression might be its striking monochromatic architecture of desert brick. But set along an ancient trade route, Meybod also offers a number of fascinating sites to visit including its caravanserai.

We will visit the Narin Castle. In the centre of Meybod, crumbling Narin castle rises imposingly above the town that has grown up around it. Revealing three layers of construction, the oldest foundations suggest some kind of settlement was built here as early as 4000 BC. Legend has it that the castle belonged to King Solomon and was built by jinns (spirits), but whatever the original provenance of the castle’s foundations, most of what can be seen today dates from the Sassanian era.

Lying on the silk route, the castle was used by soldiers who provided an armed escort for passing caravans, charging a tax for their services.

Another must-see monument in Meybod is Shah-Abbasi Caravanserai built in Safavid era. Just like travelers in the past who could rest and recover from the day’s journey, we also stop here on our way to Isfahan to enjoy the architecture of the structure having rooms all around it traditionally used as shops and stores.

On our way to Isfahan, we will see Naein or Na’in. In Naein we will see the Na’in Jame’ mosque. The initial construction of Jame Mosque dates back to the 8th Century CE, but the whole of the complex has been constructed incrementally. One of the oldest mosques in Iran, its magnificent plasterwork over the niche, the marvellous brickwork around the yard, and its silent basement—which may have been used as a fire temple before the mosque was built here-are only a few of the features of this mosque. This mosque has no Iwan and dome as do the other famous mosques in Esfahan and Yazd. A 28 m tall octagonal minaret was added to the mosque almost 700 years ago.

Accommodation
Setareh3* hotel or a similar one in Isfahan
Single Room Available
Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 9-

Your overland journey continues in Isfahan. As the 17th-century capital of the Safavid Empire, Isfahan was one of the world’s greatest cities– architecturally striking, wealthy beyond imagine, and politically powerful with Europeans, Ottomans, Indians, and Chinese coming to its court– the heart of a vast Persian Empire that stretched from the Euphrates River in present-day Iraq to the Oxus River in Afghanistan. Indeed, its grandeur inspired the rhyming proverb, Isfahan nesf-e jahan (Isfahan is half of the World).

Your exploration continues in Imam Square. This 17th-century site is one of the largest public spaces in the world. Here in the square, you’ll visit the 17th-century Shah Mosque, revered as a masterpiece of Islamic architecture and easily recognized by its magnificent tile-work and soaring cupola and minarets.

You will also visit Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, also known as the Ladies Mosque, as it was built for the Shah’s harem, renowned for brightly colored domed ceiling, where the light creates the image of a peacock. In the Ali Qapu Palace, you’ll marvel at its beautiful music rooms and the balconies where Safavid kings would sit to enjoy the polo matches unfolding in the square below.

Next up is Chehel Sotun Palace. Set in a landscaped and forested park in front of a tranquil reflecting pool, this graceful pavilion was built by Shah Abbas II for entertainment and court receptions. Entering through a portico with twenty slender wooden columns, you’ll discover soaring halls embellished with frescoes, paintings and mosaics; the Hall of Mirrors is especially breathtaking!

You’ll end your exploration of the square by visiting the Qeisarieh Bazaar. With hundreds of local vendors that specialize in traditional arts and crafts, it’s a wonderful place to shop for pottery, enamel, jewelry and delicately inlaid board games.

Accommodation
Setareh 3-star hotel or a similar one in Isfahan
Single Room Available
Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 10-

In the city’s Armenian quarter, you’ll delve more deeply into the region’s complex history as you will visit several churches including the 17th-century Vank Cathedral with its lavishly decorated interior and unique blend of Islamic and European architectural elements.

Leaving Isfahan behind, your first stop this morning will be in Abyaneh village. Abyaneh Village is known as the Red Village because of its red soil and houses. The houses of Abyaneh bear an ancient architectural style, featured by the use of clay as the construction material and latticed windows and wooden doors.

Your overland journey continues in Isfahan. to Kashan, a town originally famous for its textiles and ceramic production, but now better known for Fin Garden and its extensive bazaar and hamams.

Accommodation
Negin 3* boutique hotel in Kashan
Single Room Available
Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 11-

Fin Garden (A UNESCO World Heritage Site) is our first stop; a relaxing and visually impressive Persian garden with water channels all passing through a central pavilion. There is also the chance to buy some rose water, a local specialty, outside of the site.

Then, you will visit Boroujerdi traditional house. It was built about 130 years ago in reign of Qajar dynasty (1857) by Iranian famous architect Ustad Ali Maryam. The owner was Haj Seyed Hasan Natanzi, a well-known merchant who mostly dealt with people of Boroujerd city. That’s why the house is known as Boroujerd’s House.

Afterwards, we will visit the bazaar area, a widespread complex filled with hamams and mosques; one hamam has been converted to a traditional teahouse where we will stop for those who need a break from shopping.

Accommodation
Hally 3* hotel in Tehran
Single Room Available
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 12-

Fin Garden (A UNESCO World Heritage Site) is our first stop; a relaxing and visually impressive Persian garden with water channels all passing through a central pavilion. There is also the chance to buy some rose water, a local specialty, outside of the site.

Then, you will visit Boroujerdi traditional house. It was built about 130 years ago in reign of Qajar dynasty (1857) by Iranian famous architect Ustad Ali Maryam. The owner was Haj Seyed Hasan Natanzi, a well-known merchant who mostly dealt with people of Boroujerd city. That’s why the house is known as Boroujerd’s House.

Afterwards, we will visit the bazaar area, a widespread complex filled with hamams and mosques; one hamam has been converted to a traditional teahouse where we will stop for those who need a break from shopping.

Our representative will transfer you to Imam Khomeini International Airport according to your flight time.

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