The vastness of a desert can leave you breathless, as if it’s something out of this world. How can a desert be so majestic and yet so sacred, so beautiful yet so fearsome? As if that wasn’t enough, imagine that they call it “the hottest place” on earth. We have heard “one of the most…” sentences perhaps more than a million times. But this thing is very different from all that you and I have heard. It’s literally the hottest place on earth. We’re talking about Shahdad Desert and its Kalouts, the Shahdad Kalouts. This might sound overrated at first, but the nature always has its ways to amaze and overwhelm you. Imagine standing right on this point on earth. How does standing on one of those “One of the most” s make you feel?
I’ve seen tourists that after Tehran, “Shahdad Kalouts” was their second destination in Iran. So this one must be on your “Things to do in Iran” list.
Shahdad Kalouts are located in the city of Shahdad, in Kerman province. Shahdad Kalouts are a part of a bigger desert, “Lut Desert”.
From afar it looks like a large complex of structures, but as you get closer their shapes get more defined and become more natural and more beautiful. Many people travel this far, to enjoy watching the sunrise and sunset from this point on earth.
Shahdad is a city of date palm trees and citrus orchards, located 87 km from south east of Kerman city. As an ancient city, Shahdad, dates back to 6000 years ago, and had been called “Khabis” back in the days. Shahdad has one of the oldest metal flags in the world, which then became famous with the name of “Derafsh-e-Shahdad” (Derafsh: Flag), after being discovered.
This city is filled with both natural and historical attractions. In the north east of this city, you will witness one of its phenomenal natural attractions. Shahdad Kalouts has been titled as one of the “Most beautiful virgin lands” of Iran and the world. This natural wilderness, has invited many Iranian and non-Iranian visitors to discover its beauty.
Kalouts are one the greatest nature’s phenomenon, located 40 km south east of the city of Shahdad. These Kalouts has a length of 145km and width of 80 km, covering an area of about 11,000 km2. Aeolian sand, clay and marine clay mainly cover the area between the Kalouts.
Wind and salty water has played important roles in forming these natural structures. Sistan’s 120 -days wind blows, and “Rood-e-Shoor” (Salty river), are the two factors eroding the walls of Kalouts. Over the course of 20,000 years, these Kalouts have been formed as a result of erosions caused by wind and salty waters.
Salty river or “Rood-e-Shoor” is the only river permanently running through the desert all throughout the year and during all seasons. This river originates from the mountains in North West of Birjand city, it heads 200 km to the south east, to finally end its journey in salt mines of Shahdad. These salt mines are also known by the name of “Goad-e-Namak” (Salt hole). The saltiness of this river comes clearly from the water passing the salty riverbed, it becomes thicker as it evaporates en route to the salt mine. It has a thickness of yoghurt as it gets closer to the salt mine.
As we have already said, it is believed that Shahdad Desert and Shahdad Kalouts are the hottest places on earth.
Although the hottest “registered” place is currently a desert in Arizona USA, with a temperature of about 63 degrees centigrade, but Shahdad Desert shows a higher temperature.
There are no signs of life in Lout Desert for more than 30,000 km. The evidence of that, is the intact corpse of a cow, which was found in the desert in 1986. The cow had died 15 years earlier, but its dead body just dried up without decomposing, as a result of the extreme heat.
As you get closer to the Kalouts, vegetal life decreases. And due to the heat and winds in the desert, there are no signs of vegetation in the middle of the Kalouts.
Staying a night in the desert and drowning in the sea of stars have been made possible by a camp located 20 km from the city of Shahdad. This camp is located, after the village of “Seyf” and “Shafi Abad’.
The camp is built on the western margin of Lout Desert and is equipped with water, electricity, bathrooms and etc.
If you want to go to this desert, you should go with professional guides and tours of that area. The reason is that, the shapes of the Kalouts tend to change constantly due to the wind and sometimes rain in the area, which will cause you to get confused, and makes it more probable to get lost. Plus, you will get to experience a whole lot more if you go there with a tour. Here are some of the things to do in the Shahdad Desert:
- Safari Tours
- Walking barefoot in the middle of the Kalouts
- Gazing at the starry sky at night
- Watching the Sunrise
- Watching Sunset
- Camel riding
You should wear clothes appropriate for the desert. Suitable clothing for desert hiking are, cotton loose baggy pants to avoid sweating. You can tighten the leg openings to prevent sand from getting into your pants. Long sleeve cotton tops are essential. Cover your neck with a cotton scarf, and protect yourself from heat exhaustion and sunburns by wearing a sun protective hat. Water, the element of life, must be with you at all times, so do not forget to take a water bottle with yourself.
Nights at the deserts tend to be cold, so bring a sweater with you.
Autumn is the best time to travel to Shahdad Desert.
Take tours to this area, as they have professionally trained guides, which are one of the fundamental rules for travelling to any unknown area, especially a desert.
Shahdad desert has three Green, Orange and Red regions. Tourists are permitted to go in the green zone without any written permissions. The green region expands from Shahdad- Nahbandan road to about 2 km into the desert.
Entering Orange and Red regions are only permitted, if guides are accompanying you to the desert. Entering these regions require informing the authorities. The reason behind this, is the probability of getting lost due to the wind and constant change of Kalouts’ shapes.
For your own safety, we emphasize that, if you’re planning to go the Shahdad Desert, or any unknown area for that matter, arrange it with Iran Negin Travel Ieco tours which are widely available. Iran Negin Travel is the most reliable sources for finding and recommending trustworthy tours.
For adventure lovers and those who are interested in different type of tourism, visiting places such as Shahdad Kalouts and Shahdad Desert is very interesting amusement. Deserts in Iran always offers very good activities such as sand hiking, desert safari, camel riding and star watching during the night. Due to the location of this desert, visiting this desert can be accompany with classic visit to Kerman and its beautiful sights.
Iran Negin Travel, as an Iran tour operator offers among with Iran tourism services such as Iran visa, Iran hotel booking and etc. , Iran tours packages through which the passengers can discover Iran as they desire. As a very common request, Iran cultural tours packages and Iran daily tours. You can chose among our Iran tours packages and add Kerman to your program and enjoy your trip to Iran. In in addition to explore Shahdad Desert, you can visit the Shazdeh Garden, Rayen Castle and Bam City.
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