Adventure and Sports Activities in Iran

If one day the joy of glazing down on the monuments and historical sites of Iran bored you out and you felt like you were craving for something new, then you should give adventure and sports activities in Iran a try.

Many tourists, while staying in the jewel of middle-east, come to it for more than its historical marvels and plan to truly explore the beauties Iran as a geographical land has to offer. They decide to abandon the safety of the fabulous cities and the astonishment of their national or UNESCO heritage sites to embark on a new path. After all, Iran boasts of mesmerizing landscapes scattered all across its mountainous/subtropical plateau and, at its most northern and southern points, ends into the globally-known and always-disputed waters of the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf. Being blessed by so many natural phenomena gives tourists the luxury of skiing on high-altitude resorts on the slopes of Mount Damavand and roaming around on Camel safari trips through the hottest spot recorded on the face of the earth in a matter of an-hour flight or 12 hours road cruises.

You can book Iran tours online through 1stQuest.

During your residency, we profoundly suggest you spread out your plans and make time to do these adventure and sports activities in Iran. They are not usually overly pocket-stinging, too time-consuming, and often the best place to meet locals and get more acquainted with genuine Persian culture and hospitality, their light-heartiness, and cheerfulness. Otherwise, you might end up crying over a spilled milk when others tell you how entertaining and thought-changing their adventures became.

Trekking Adventures in Iran

Iran has been cut into half by the mountain rages soaring through the central plateau, which has graced the country with countless totally-reversed geographical phenomena where tall snow-capped mountains rest at the verge of sun-scorched flatlands. The different types of climates form each year as a direct result of these circumstances, with above-average annual precipitation pouring down mainly over the eastern and northern parts to grow never-seen-before forests and green environments.

With these beautiful landscapes scattered all across the Iranian plateau, dozens of trekking and excursion tours and lots of backpacking opportunities are on your plate. You can set off to discover these eye-catching natural sites by yourself, or you can book a more a public tour with your friends and local naturalists.

Also check out: Backpacker’s guide to Iran

Either way, you’re up to embark on a world of visually unparalleled natural sites, sun-stricken asphalt roads knifing through arid and barren hills, wonderful deserts with golden sands and dunes, sumptuous citrus-invaded beaches, old yet gloriously standing edifice, and mud-brick oasis, and so much more too lengthy and unworldly to describe in unsatisfying words.

Trekking and hiking through Iran can get even more interesting if you plan your trip carefully and spare it more time. You can traverse through the country in time of religious and ritual festivals. Golab-Giri (picking out rosewater blossoms) in Kashan starts in the Persian spring, the best time to freely galvanize through the pink-colored gardens and to bask in the hypnotizing and heart-lifting aurora coming out of the local houses as they boil up the blossoms with water and other ingredients. You can head out to the central nomadic lands on a few-days riding adventure trip to personally mount original Persian breeds and ride through the thick and lush forests.

If you want to observe different modern and traditional versions of religious mourns for Imam Hussein, in the spiritual days of Ashura Tasua, then plan your trip to Tehran and afterward, to other religiously famous cities like Kashan, Isfahan, Yazd.

Also check out: Adventurous Holiday in Iran

Trekking in Iran has seized the imaginations of mountaineers and explorers for generations. The middle-of-the-nature lifestyle and habits of the inhabitants of the mountainous landscapes have not given in to the sweeping wings of influence of the new-era modernization. As a result, real Persian villagers and nomads have upheld their core values, and despite being outdated, they offer huge smiles and heartwarming hospitability to all hikers, trekkers, and mountaineers.

You can make the much-in-demand hiking/trekking trips and get closer to the traditional rural life of Iran from any station in the country. People do go crazy on these tours, and these days you can’t find a mountain foot or hillside swarmed by the flock of eager climbers and hikers strolling up and down the slopes and steeps exchanging jokes and laughter and hyped about meeting the nomads and villagers. You can head south, central, north, and even east, and it won’t still don’t make any difference since the wildlife of Iran tribes and nomads continue to bloom in every direction. These tours fall under our category of “Adventure and Sports Activities” in Iran because nobody has done it all and experienced all that could be experienced. So, to what extent this can go and to what unusual parts of the country you can be taken, nobody can be sure. Keep in mind that, in terms of safety, always consult with professional Iranian hikers and nomad experts and stay in touch with tourism organizations for any unaccounted barriers on your way.

Also check out: Adventurous Travel to Chabahar

Cycling (Biking) Tours in Iran

If you want to bike your way through Iran, then you should start to take the leg days more seriously and have a lot of stamina. Different harsh weather and the unfriendly rough terrain (in the more remote areas) will be enough to pull you down and slow down your feet. However, if you fight it off, you will find Iran one of the best destinations cycling adventures.

We have good news for the rookies and first-timers too. You don’t have to own a world-class bicycle like the Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro 500 29 2020 Heren mountain bike to conquer the tough land roads, mountains, and deserts of Iran. As the organizers of adventure and sports activities in Iran, sports clubs and outdoor tourism organizations set up cycling trips throughout the country and along the popular routes and even over the conventional borders of Iran. Bikers can peddle their way in the mountainside on safe roads or from cities to cities in central Iran or also come up with a schedule to cross the map from east to west. Either way, biking tours in Iran are ready to take in enthusiasts and athletes for a unique and unmatched experience like a country that never fails to impress.

Also check out: Best camping spots in Iran

Diving and Aqua Sports in Iran

No adventure and sport activity would be complete without some diving sports and where better to go such trips than the crystal-clear waters of the Persian Gulf and the untamed Caspian Sea, where diving schools and instructors set up drills for first-timers. Some of the most famous diving hotspots include Kish and Qeshm Islands, with the northern beaches falling short to attract sea-lovers.

The art of diving in Iran can be dated back to a few hundred years ago when local residents of Kish, or other Islands and essential ports in the region, dived into its blessed waters to come out with precious jewelry or forgotten treasures, spoils of sea conflicts. Shipwrecks, however, weren’t the only sunken hard-shells ancient Persian were interested in. The quest to find valuable pearls did also push many into the waters and forced them to teach themselves the underwater tricks of holding breathe for long times and diving at rapid speeds.

Today, as a more relaxing and dreamy hobby, people rush into Kish and Qeshm islands in thousands to swim under the waves alongside the mesmerizing marine life. The locals have too adopted to the circumstances since the quest of finding shiny left-over of battle don’t have gradually washed away from their minds, and they’ve realized that the real treasure lies within the numbers of tourists willing to come and dive into their culture, rituals, ceremonies, and aqua lifestyle.

Traditional Heroic Sports in Iran

Many beloved customs and ceremonies give up to the destruction of time in Iran, and they have long lost their value among the people. Some, on the other hand, have withstood the storm and not become stories. The traditional heroic sport of Iran is one of them.

Where can you watch these rituals being practiced? That’s a good question. In cities like Tehran, Yazd, Kashan, Isfahan, Shiraz, and other megapolises traditional heroic athletes gather around at certain times and hours of the week to practice the passed-on cultural rituals of Pahlevani (sportsmanship power-moves in-synch with traditional Persian ceremonial music) in a round pit punched in the center of a Zoorkhaneh (the holy gymnasium in a circular shape).

Some people track back the origin of this holy sport to the early days of the Ashkanian dynasty, some 1500 years ago, where the religion of Mehrvarzi ruled the souls and minds of people. To walk into a Zurkhaneh and watch the broad, brawny Pahlavans (champions) toss heavy objects in the air lick chopsticks uttering loud and encouraging huff and puffs in-synch with the tone of the traditional Daff (a traditional Persian musical instrument) shows the true sportsmanship of the first pre-Islamic Persian ethnics. Also, it shows how deeply they value their authentic traditions, which have been passed along them over a couple of hundred generations.

Traditional Heroic Sports in

Luckily, traces of Zoorkhaneh as the exciting rituals, as mentioned above, still can be pinned down on the best touristy path. It begins with Tehran spearing through the central deserts to cities like Isfahan, Kashan, and Yazd, finally landing the travelers at Shiraz – Iran’s central hub of heart-piercing poetry and the glorious ceremonial capital of the well-respected Achaemenid empire. On every stop along this path, Zoorkhanehs are present, and in them, Pahlavans doing their routines so you won’t need to take any unnecessary detours to visit the other ones in other places.

To sum it up, it doesn’t make any difference if you’re just in the country for a few days or a couple of months. Unless you don’t spend all that time in-full wondering in nature and keeping your distance from the major cities, you’re bound to come across one of these Zurkhane places. This will turn out to be one the most amusing adventure and sports activities in Iran while you’re visa validation hasn’t expired yet.

by Ali Habibi