From Deep Deserts To Historical Sites

Meet your tour guide at the airport upon arrival. Enjoy our transfer service to the hotel. Take rest and explore the city on your own.

Leave Tehran behind and travel south to Kashan. Visit the Bagh-e Fin Garden, made according to the ancient landscaping principles that trace their roots to the time of Cyrus the Great in the 6th century BCE.

See the historic Borujerdi House next. This masterpiece of Persian architecture is known for its fine decorative stucco motifs, its impressive domes, wall paintings and mosaics made with glass. This former merchant’s home is regarded as a masterpiece of traditional Persian architecture and boasts 130-foot-tall wind towers to catch lofty breezes and cool the entire house.

Drive to your next destination, Abyaneh, a village that is also known for its red mud houses. The houses of Abyaneh bear an ancient architectural style and make an extensive use of clay. Continue your overland journey to Isfahan, the 17th-century capital of the Safavid empire. One of the world's greatest cities back then, Isfahan was known to be architecturally striking and wealthy beyond imagination.

Visitors to this city back then included Europeans, Ottomans, Indians and Chinese. Isfahan was, during the Safavid dynasty's rule, the heart of a vast Persian empire that stretched from the Euphrates River in present-day Iraq to the Oxus River in Afghanistan.

Explore the city along with your guide. Starting with some of the centuries-old bridges across the Zayandeh River. The 14th-century Shahrestan Bridge, for example, resembles the aqueducts of ancient Rome and is the oldest bridge in Iran.

Other famous bridges on the Zayandeh River are Sio-ce-pol and Khaju. There are sluice gates below the bridges to let the water flow down the river in the spring and there are beautiful stone archways above each gate.

Continue your Isfahan tour with a visit to Masjed-e Jame, a grand congregational area that covers nearly 5 acres of land and is located in the middle of the city. See Imam Square. Built in the 17th century, this square is one of the largest public spaces in the world. Visit the Shah Mosque, which is widely regarded as a masterpiece of Islamic architecture and is known for its intricate tile work.

See the music rooms and balconies of Ali Qapu Palace and enjoy the beauty of their craftsmanship. Walk down the narrow streets of the Qeisarieh Bazaar, which surrounds Imam Square, and see hundreds of vendors predominantly dealing with handicraft items.

Your next destination of the day is Chehel Sotun. Set amid a landscaped and forested park in front of a pool, this graceful pavilion was built by Shah Abbas II for court receptions and entertainment. Entering through a portico with twenty slender wooden columns, you’ll discover soaring halls embellished with frescoes, paintings and mosaics.

Visit the city’s Armenian quarter and learn more about the region's complex history. Get the chance to see several churches in the area, including the 17th-century Vank Cathedral that is known for its lavishly decorated interior and a unique blend of Islamic and European architectural elements.

You are free to spend the day as you wish to. Relax in your hotel, explore the city centre and visit the bazzar for shopping.

The safari experts of RO Nature Adventure will pick you up from your hotel and, for the next 4 days, show you some of the most spectacular parts of Iran's central desert in their well-equipped four-wheel drive. Head for the Rig Jenn Desert first. See the dunes and explore the area.

Drive to your accommodation in a desert village after you are done with the safari. Learn more about the lifestyle of the villagers and see artists at work. You also have the option of desert camping upon request. If not, you can spend your night in a local's house.

Continue your journey to the Mesr Desert. See the ruins of a village that once existed in this inhospitable place. Pass through small oases with remains of human settlements and see remnants of old desert architecture. Sit around a fire in the evening until the sky is full of stars. Drive back to a village on the side of the desert at night and enjoy the hospitality of the locals. Spend your night in a local's house.

Continue exploring the desert. See giant sand dunes, colorful mountains and canyons. Reach the village of Garmeh in the evening. This village is home to the pioneer of local accommodation in Iran, Maziar Aledavood. Spend the night at his Ateshooni House and enjoy a live musical performance involving traditional songs and musical instruments.

After a morning stroll through the palm gardens of Garmeh, its time to head to our next desert destination, the ancient village of Kharanagh, home to fortress-like, 4-story buildings that are at least 3000 years old. You also have the options of visiting the Zoroastrian temple of Chak-Chak before heading for your accommodation Yazd.

One of Iran's oldest continuously inhabited places, Yazd is a beautiful town whose skyline is punctuated by soaring minarets and graceful, ingeniously-designed wind towers to capture the desert breeze and use it to cool homes during hot summer months.

In addition to that, Yazd is also home to Iran’s Zoroastrian community, who follow one of the world's oldest surviving religions. Visit the Tower of Silence and learn more about Zoroastrianism, the religion of this community. Learn more about how, even until the mid-1900’s, the dead were transported to this tower where they were left to decompose and to be devoured by birds.

Your next destination is Amir Chakhmaq Square, where you will get the chance to see Hussainiya – a congregation hall for Shia ceremonies. This hall is probably the city's most photographed landmark and is known for its three-tiered, recessed alcoves, all perfectly proportioned.

Travel next to the Jame Mosque, which was constructed in 1324, and see the tallest minarets in the country. Head for Zendan-e Eskandar, an ancient domed structure with a deep, circular, brick-lined pit that resembles a dungeon. According to legends, the complex was built by Alexander the Great to hold prisoners during his conquest of Persia. Others believe it was constructed by the Persians to hold Alexander himself.

Your final destination is the Dowlat Abad Garden, known for its elongated pool, large, ancient cypress trees and an 18th-century hexagonal pavilion with a beautiful stained-glass window and a graceful wind tower – the tallest in Iran.

You will be spending your whole say on the road today. So stock up on locally bought and easily found dates and pistachio nuts for the journey. Head for Shiraz, the fabled city of ancient Persia. Stop on the way to visit the UNESCO World Heritage site of Pasargadae, home to the tomb of Cyrus the Great as well as the former capital of the Achaemenid empire. Spend some time exploring the site.

Travel to Naqsh-e-Rustam next. This necropolis is where Darius and his successors are buried. Carved into the side of a cliff, the site is extraordinary in its magnitude and sheer in its ambition. Head for the legendary city of Persepolis, the former capital of Darius the Great that was founded in 512 BC and a monumental engineering achievement of the ancient world.

While it was Darius who built the terraces, the apadana (great audience hall), tachara (palace), and the monumental staircases of the palace, it was his son, Xerxes, who built the harem and the Hall of 100 Columns.

Though a shadow of its former self now, the soaring pillars, terraces and sculptures of Persepolis are still there. Probably, the most impressive ones are the bas-reliefs that tell the story of ancient governors and kings that came to Persepolis to pay tribute to Persian emperors. Continue your journey to Shiraz and check in at the hotel on reaching the city.

Your first destination on this Shiraz city tour is the Nasir-al-Mulk Mosque (Pink Mosque). This mosque was built during the reign of the Qajar Dynasty by one of the local lords and took 12 years to complete. The mosque is known for its stunning interiors, where you can enjoy a visual spectacle of lights and colors. The mosque comes to life with sunrise when colours start dancing on its floors like whirling dervishes.

Head for the bustling Vakil Bazaar, once a popular marketplace with hundreds of stores, beautiful courtyards and even an ancient caravanserai. Your next destination is the Karim Khan Citadel, built during the Zand Dynasty. End your Shiraz day tour with a visit to the lovely Narenjestan Garden, built in the 19th century.

There is still one place left in Shiraz for you to see. Visit the Eram Garden, known for its beautiful flowers, fruit trees and towering cypresses, one of which is said to be 3,000 years old. Explore the garden tombs of Sa’adi and Hafez, two of our most outstanding Persian poets. Fly back to Tehran in the afternoon.

Start your Tehran tour with a visit to the lavish Golestan Palace. Built during the reign of the Qajar Dynasty that rose to power in the late 1700’s, this fabulous walled complex is centered on a landscaped garden with tranquil pools.

However, many of the elements you’ll admire today date to the 19th century when local Qajari architects and artisans were looking at ways to integrate traditional Persian style with elements of Western and Russian origins. The palace buildings are among the oldest in modern Tehran and they are still regarded as a crowning achievement of the Qajar era.

If you can find enough time after this, take a walk around Tehran Bazaar, located near the palace. Continue along the bazaar route to Timche Akbarian, which dates back by almost 260 years. Its main purpose was to act as a centre for exchange in precious metals, including gold. Later it was developed into the first bank of Iran. You can also visit the National Museum of Iran in the afternoon, if you want to.

Our tour guide will transfer you to Imam Khomeini International Airport according to your flight schedule. We wish you a nice journey back home.