Kandovan Village, Tabriz, Iran
Kandovan is in northwest of Iran. It is 62 kilometers away from south west of Tabriz and it is 18 kilometers away from south of Osku. This village is around an hour drive from Tabriz. Kandovan is a unique place in a treeless and remote mountain and people have dug dwellings into rocky mountain. These manmade cave dwellings are amazing. Its a calm place and you feel tranquility there. Lale International Hotel and Shiki Restaurant have been built there. This hotel has a lot of amenities like wi-fi, films at any time, restaurant, a buffet breakfast and so on. Kandovan is like Cappadocia in Turkey, but less talked of. It is one of the three rocky villages in the world, alongside with Cappadocia in Turkey and South Dakota in United States. In some researchers view, people started settling down there around 800 years ago. At that time, Moguls attacked Iran and some people went to this village and used it as a stronghold and they had used this place as their winter stay around 1200 years ago. It is called Kandovan because it looks like bee hives (in Farsi Kando). There is an underground village just two kilometers away from Kandovan.It was discovered by government around 20 years ago, when they were building a road. Main Attractions This astonishing village is a group of cone-shaped dwellings resulted from volcanic ashes of Sahand Mountain. If you want to see an outlandish place in an exotic country, its a must-see place and it is strongly recommended. The cave houses are arrayed in a quite small area and they are connected through steep stairs. This village was to be part of UNESCO, but it was refused because people wanted to remain living there. The hotel has been decorated traditionally and it has 16 great cozy suites. At the hotel, you can sit down on carpet and have Abgousht( a traditional meal) in tall clay bowls. You can have a delicious breakfast at this hotel and breakfast includes cheese, butter and honey. If you like to see more traditional flavor of life, go to eastern parts of this village. Eastern parts are less commercialized. There are many houses embedded in the mountain and it reminds you of sci-fi movies. There are some cave dwellings as guesthouses and you can rent them around 50 USD per night which is much cheaper than the luxurious hotel. Some of these guesthouses are equipped with Jacuzzi. The entrance to this village is a street for both directions and it is too small to handle a large amount of traffic. On both sides of this street, you can buy handicrafts, local food and fruit, local honeycombs and so on in reasonable prices but little bargaining is possible. Theres a beautiful river coming down through the inside of village. Tips for tourists _You can charter a taxi from Tabriz to Kandovan in 70000 tomans and it can be shared. _ People in this village are really nice and hospitable. Dont be shy and ask them to show you their houses. Theyll be happy about it. _ Dont forget your camera. There are a lot of beautiful landscapes and scenery to take photos of them. But dont take photos of local people. They dont like it, then respect their privacy.
_If you have bad knees, it is not suitable for you. There are many steep stairs to go up and you need to be in fitness and good physical shape and dont forget to have suitable shoes. _It must be really cold in winter and it has a snowy and slippery road. Check weather forecast before you go since it can be really dangerous in a snowy day. _ Half of a day is enough to visit there, but itll be astounding if you can stay for one night. Plan a non holiday date. Iranian weekend is on Thursdays and Fridays. You should check the Iranian Calendar to avoid some other holidays. On these days, traffic is so heavy and you`ll lose time to reach there and to go back.
_Its mineral water is famous and it has medical benefits. Try not to miss it.
_It is a good idea if you are accompanied a local interpreter because language can be a barrier. Some explanations and descriptions are wonderful to get a deep understanding of all aspects of this traditional village.
_ www.Iranhotelonline.com is a good website to visit. You can make reservation in Lale International Hotel online and it has some good information about price and facilities.