Qatruyeh Desert, Neyriz

🧭What kind of place is it?

The area lies about 1,600 to 1,720 metres above sea level and has a hot, dry climate. Even so, it is a wet clay desert, and in winter its ground can become slippery and give way underfoot. The slopes of the southern Zagros lie to the north, and the Ziarat and Chah Bereh mountains to the east.

👀What you will see

• Salt parts of the plain, seen as bare clay pans or salt flats with no plants.
• Plants on the non-salty parts, where saxaul, wormwood and salt-loving plants grow.
• The slopes of the southern Zagros north of the desert, marking where the open plain meets the heights.
• The Ziarat and Chah Bereh mountains on the east side, framing the plain.

💡Something interesting

Qatruyeh National Park and the Bahram-e Gur Protected Area are in this area, and the Persian onager is one of its best-known animals. Life in the villages around is tied to the dry climate; herding, and later pistachio and pomegranate orchards, have been how people here make a living.

🎒Good to know before you go

• In winter don't drive onto the clay surface of the desert; wet ground can make a car sink.
• To see the different parts of the plain, look for the edge between the bare salt flats and the patches with saxaul and wormwood.