Iran is sublime and I have so many crazy fond memorable moments from our month there that I will probably never get the time to retell all the tales. Kalate Talkh Desert was surreal.
Khalate Talkh is a desert Oasis in the middle of nowhere, Iranian desert wilderness. The nearest village to it is the village of Khoor, where we stayed a few nights. Khoor is best reached by shared car or bus from Yazd or Esfahan. In Khoor, a local family cooked for us.
We stayed at their place, also known as the Hotel Kabir and from here we explored a lot of the nearby areas and deserts as well as doing Camel Riding in Mesr. The best way to get to Khalate Talkh is actually to hitch hike as there is no regular transport out here whatsoever and it is unlikely there ever will be.
It’s probably around 15 kilometres from the town of Khoor and we caught a lift from a man named Hassan who took us all the way to our destination.
On the ride there, Hassan told us stories. Apparently the area was once a bigger forest of palm trees but the Iranian government burned them down and destroyed it – I’m not sure of the reason for this.
Palm trees on route were destroyed.
Khalate Talkh is officially a desert Oasis though when I compared to our trip to the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, it is completely different. Imagine a marsh or swamp in the middle of the desert, a rare bit of water and vegetation in a completely dry desert area. No information whatsoever exists online about Khalate Talkh.
There are no people, no shops – it’s pure desert wilderness!
There is a main building at Khalate Talkh but no population who live here. We tried to find out from our driver what the building was for but with no luck.
There are a few other remains of walls and buildings beside it.
The Marsh and Swamps at Khalate Talkh: amidst the completely dry desert, there is water! It’s a bit marshy and swampy and far from a river, but some water does exist in this desert oasis.
The swamp and desert Oasis at Khalate Talkh
Obviously the sun was beating down and we had been traveling at three months at this point so we didn’t indulge in any serious hiking. There is a massive rock face in behind Khalate Talkh, something similar to Uluru Rock in Australia.
Vegetation at Khalate Talkh: there are lots of trees and shrubs to admire here in the wilderness at Khalate Talkh. The hardest bit will be finding a driver in the wilderness to take you there! Thanks to Hassan for our lift there and back and the chance to see this unusual place.
The post Backpacking in Iran: Visiting Kalate Talkh Desert Oasis appeared first on Don’t Stop Living.
Jonny Blair is a self confessed traveling nomad who founded and blogs at Don’t Stop Living. He sees every day as an adventure. Since leaving behind his home town of Bangor in Northern Ireland ten years ago he has traveled to all seven continents, working his way through various jobs and funding it all with hard work and an appetite for travel. Don’t Stop Living, a lifestyle of travel’ contains over 1,000 stories and tips from his journeys round the globe. He wants to show others how easy it is to travel the world, give them some ideas and encourage them to do the same but most of all he aims to constantly live a lifestyle of travel. He is currently based in Hong Kong and on Twitter @jonnyblair.
