Three Iranian villages became global; Soheili, Shafiabad and Kandlos in the list of the best in the world!

Three prominent villages of the country – Shafi Abad in the heart of Lut desert, Kandelus in the heart of Hyrkani forests and Soheili in the Persian Gulf – were simultaneously registered in the list of the best tourist villages in the world for the first time.

Seyedreza Salehi Amiri, Minister of Cultural Heritage, called this success the result of people’s creativity, local effort and efforts for sustainable development and said:

This achievement has turned Iran into a global model in humanitarian and nature-oriented tourism. Today, Friday, October 25, 1404, three valuable villages of Iran – Shafiabad in Lut desert of Kerman, Kandlos in Mazandaran and Soheili in Qeshm Island – were registered as the best tourist villages in the world in the list of the World Tourism Organization. This event is a historical turning point for introducing Iran’s capabilities to the world.

Emphasizing the importance of this achievement, Salehi Amiri said:

This choice is a manifestation of Iranian wisdom in sustainable development, heritage protection and people’s participation in the future development of the country. Sohaili is the star of the Persian Gulf and a symbol of green tourism. The people of this village have created the first model of wetland tourism based on the environment in the Persian Gulf. They have protected mangroves – a global biosphere reserve – by substituting quiet floating pavilions for motorboats, and women and children have planted thousands of seedlings by growing mangrove seeds at home. Today, Soheili has not only become a destination for Soheil star observation and natural tourism, but also has become the food tourism capital of southern Iran with seafood restaurants, local bazaars and food festivals.

The Minister of Cultural Heritage said about Candelus, in the slopes of Alborz and in the heart of Hyrkani forests, it is an example of cultural tourism and community-oriented management.

With a history of four thousand years, this village has kept the local heritage and knowledge alive, popularized the economy and provided a global model for combining culture, science and art with sustainable development.

He considered the village of Shafiabad as a symbol of Iranian women’s empowerment in the heart of Lut desert and said:

By forming cooperatives, the women of this village have started producing handicrafts and souvenirs and have spent part of their income to revive aqueducts and dry gardens. Today, Shafi Abad has become the center of desert tourism in Iran and the world by managing residences, desert tours, international ecocamps and holding the Lute World Marathon.

Salehi Amiri stated at the end:

The registration of Soheili, Kandlos and Shafiabad in the list of the best tourist villages in the world shows that Iran has presented a model of sustainable life, dynamic heritage and human-oriented tourism in three different areas of its nature. These three villages are three chapters of Iran’s identity book; A book written in the language of respect for nature, people’s empathy and Iranian wisdom. May these three villages shine like three stars in the sky of Iran and make the path of balanced development of tourism throughout the country brighter.