strange villages of Iran; Watching amazing wonders in the villages of Iran

Rural tourism is an attractive, low-cost and popular trip. Almost all the village guides look for the most beautiful, the most secluded, the oldest or the most pristine villages to explore, but maybe this time you want an attractive and exciting trip to the strange villages of Iran. If so, stay with us until the end of this article.

1. Darkash village in North Khorasan

They named it Darkash, because the beautiful river of Darkash passes through it. This village is home to the only oak forest in the eastern region of the country, it has red deer, and its cool climate and pristine landscape delights every tourist. Of course, its strangeness is due to the presence of more than 380 medicinal plants in the vegetation of the village, even very rare species that have given this village the title of natural pharmacy. Here you can see flowers and greenery as far as the eye can see, and the aroma of medicinal plants such as kakuti, thyme and lavender fills your nose.

Address: North Khorasan province, 70 kilometers from Bojnord and 30 kilometers from Ashkhane city

2. Makhonik village in South Khorasan

The main reason for the strangeness of this village is the short height of its inhabitants, which in the past hardly reached 140 cm. This is why it is called “the land of the Lilliputians”. Of course, the story does not end here. The people of this village did not drink tea, eat meat, smoke or hunt until about 50 years ago! The next issue is their small houses, which are 1 meter below the ground level and to enter it, with the same short height, they have to crawl. The compact gathering of these houses on the hillside has created an amazing view.

Address: South Khorasan province, 78 kilometers from Sarbisheh city, on the road from Sarbisheh to Dorah village

3. Ista village in Alborz

In the village of Ista, time literally stands still. There is no news of technology, no electricity, gas and cars! They don’t have weddings, birthdays or mourning! A scary village where no one has a birth certificate and its simple inhabitants consider the activities of modern life to be against religion. The religiousness of the Taleghani people in this village turns into a strange prejudice that even blocks the entry of women to this village! This is undoubtedly the strangest village of Iran in Taleghan, whose people are not counted among the population of Iran, nor do they have a role in the political and social activities of the country!

Address: Alborz province, Taleghan city, 15 kilometers from Taleghan road

4. Sirach village in Kerman

Isn’t it strange that there is a cool and green village a few kilometers away from Lut desert? Of course it is. Watching the pristine and green paradise of Sirach will blow your mind. If you walk the way to this village with your eyes closed, seeing the amazing scenery of hot springs, old green cypress, flowing river and its cool and mountainous climate, it is impossible to believe that you are only 40 kilometers away from Gantham Briyan, the hottest place in Iran. This is truly a miracle of nature and one of the strange villages of Iran.

Address: Kerman province, 80 kilometers east of Kerman and 30 kilometers southeast of Shahdad

5. Ab Esk village in Mazandaran

Ab Esk, like all the villages in the north of the country, is green and has a pleasant climate. The cave, hot water and its historical monuments are very attractive for tourists, but what separates this village from the rest of the villages in Iran is the strange and feminist tradition of “Zen Shahi”! Every year on one of the Fridays in May, all the men leave the village so that a woman reigns, her guards patrol the alleys of the village, and the young girls play, dance and be happy. Even more strangely, the last snow of the winter in this village is dug up to feed the animals in the summer season!

6. Hajij village in Kermanshah

After Masoleh, it is strange for few people to see the village of Kalkani. Hajij, Masoleh Sangi, is one of the most unknown terraced villages in Iran, which welcomes the villagers with its unique nature. The interesting thing about this village is the stone houses. Look at each house one by one, you won’t find even a single piece of brick that was used in their construction. All of them are made of stone in the heart of the mountain. If you ever pass by this village, don’t miss the opportunity to ride a boat in Sirvan and watch and buy high-quality and hand-embroidered clothes of the villagers.

Address: Kermanshah province, 25 kilometers from Paveh city, Oraman region

7. Zargar village in Qazvin

The inhabitants of Zargar village are considered Europeans of Iran. According to themselves, they speak the language of goldsmiths and at the same time they speak the same language as the Romanian people, they write Latin and they look European. Despite the different narratives that exist about them, the authenticity of the natives of this village is in an aura of uncertainty. No one knows if they were once prisoners of war between Iran and Rome or entered Iran as a foreign tribe from the northern borders. The interesting features of the village residents tempt every tourist to visit it.

8. Maimand village in Kerman

What surprises us even in the pictures of this village are the strange, beautiful and scary carvings that were created 12 thousand years ago in the heart of the mountains of Babak city. This area is registered as one of the most beautiful strange villages in Iran in the UNESCO world list, and it is a pleasure for every tourist to see it, especially if you go to this village in summer and spend the night in its ecotourism accommodations.

9. Shahrabad village in Yazd

A village where one-sixth of the population are twins is definitely one of the strange villages of Iran. Shahrabad is known as the land of twins because of the large number of identical twins, and it is interesting for everyone to see it. Surely you are eager to know what is the reason? What made 40 of the 240 people in this village to be twins? Many consider family marriage to be the cause of this. Anyway, if you happen to pass by this strange village, be sure to visit Sault’s house, the great dome and the Abarkoh glacier, which are worth seeing.

Address: Yazd province, Abarkoh city, Bahman district, Mehrabad district

10. Chaharbarj village in North Khorasan

Perhaps Chaharborj is the most mysterious village in Iran, where nearly one-tenth of its population has been blind since birth! Of course, about 3 decades ago, with the onset of blindness in the village, many villagers left their homes and left. If they hadn’t, maybe today the number of blind people would be more than 90 per 1000 people. According to experts, genetic changes and family marriages have been the main cause of this rare event. Of course, this hypothesis does not justify the blindness of animals such as cows, sheep and cats!

Address: North Khorasan province, 35 kilometers of Esfrain, central part, Damankoh district

11. Hailevor village in East Azerbaijan

In the distant past, the residents of this village built their houses like holes in the foothills of Sahand to hide from their enemies. But apparently, at the time of the Mongols’ attack, they left their homes and took refuge in Kandavan village forever. Now 200 hand-made houses in Hilavar, one of the strange villages in Iran, even though it is empty, attracts many tourists to see it. Of course, today these underground houses are almost buried under the soil.

Address: East Azarbaijan province, 44 kilometers southwest of Tabriz and 18 kilometers from Esko

12. Sarakhie village in Khuzestan

In a cozy corner of Khuzestan province called Sarakhieh, people ride boats to go around the alleys of the village and row the Shadgan Lagoon! According to tourists, this is one of the most interesting and strange villages in Iran. Neither the sound of cars can be heard, nor does the traffic noise bother anyone. Everywhere is immersed in a strange trance and peace, and the village is known as the Venice of Iran. Another wonder of this village is that you can see all kinds of indigenous and non-indigenous birds such as spotted Gilanshah, spotted wetland eagle, white-tailed sea eagle, white-tailed sea eagle, and gray pelican above the wetland.

13. Babzangi village in Kerman

Only 10 families live in Bab Zangi village. This village is the highest village in Iran, which is located at the foot of Mount Hazar, and due to its height of 3,300 meters above sea level, some people consider it the most dangerous village in Iran. If you plan to travel to this strange village, be sure to check the weather conditions before your trip. Sometimes snow and winter rain closes access to this area. But it usually has cool and pleasant weather in the summer season.

Address: Kerman province, Kerman city, Rayn district

14. Sar Aghasid village in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari

The last strange village that we introduce in this article is the village of Sar Aghasid. A village with a staircase architecture whose gates are closed to city life and local life flows in it. Masuleh Zagros is about 6 centuries old and is one of the first shelters of the Paleolithic period. Whenever you pass by this village, don’t miss the opportunity to spend the night with the villagers and walk in its narrow alleys.

Address: Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, 40 kilometers from Kohrang city, between Zagros mountains

you say

How much do you know about the strange villages of Iran? How many strange and unknown villages do you know in every city and province that are worth visiting? Share your comments with us.