Cypress of Abarkuh

🧭What kind of place is it?

The tree is a Mediterranean cypress, and estimates of its age vary. What you find on a visit is a living tree with a very broad trunk; the ground around it has been laid out and fenced to keep it healthy.

👀What you will see

• The trunk is about 11.5 metres around at ground level, and its sheer size is clear up close.
• The tree is estimated at about 25 to 28 metres tall, with its green crown spreading above the trunk.
• The fence keeps visitors at a distance and protects the trunk and the ground around it.
• A lightning rod has been fitted to protect the cypress, and the tree is cared for by specialists.

💡Something interesting

In early 2004 the Cypress of Abarkuh was placed under the Department of Environment as a national natural monument. Stories credit its planting to Zoroaster or to Japheth, son of Noah; these tales are part of local belief and do not prove when the tree was planted.

🎒Good to know before you go

• Don't cross the fence or climb the trunk; climbing and carving names into it have damaged the tree in the past.
• Take your photos from outside the fence too, so the trunk and branches stay unharmed.