Journey to Chabahar: Iran’s Balochi Coastal Gem

The jetty of chabahar.

The road from Bandar Abbas to Chabahar, about 663km. There was no suitable transportation to this eastern end. 

 Since before arriving in Iran, I had been contemplating for a long time how to get there with no buses or flights available. With no idea whether I should go via Tehran by plane, or try to find possibly non-existent flight tickets, I spent an hour standing in front of a restaurant with two suitcases, repeatedly calling for taxis, just in case.

Who would willingly drive such a dangerous 12-hour journey... To the occasional taxi drivers who accepted the call (most canceled after checking the distance), I sent messages in Persian offering to pay 2.5 times the price. After about another hour, I finally received an approval notification along with a message from a taxi driver saying he was departing for that location.

Before calling a taxi, I ordered seafood and soup at a restaurant with a nice view of the sea, but the shrimp tasted like frozen shrimp. I wonder if Iranians don't particularly enjoy shrimp dishes or seafood (shrimp, shellfish, etc...) because in central areas, seafood dishes were somewhat difficult to find, and prices seemed a bit higher compared to other dishes. 

Of course, for travelers from other countries, it's still very affordable. The meal I enjoyed here was about $14 for approximately two portions. In typical inland restaurants, a meal for one person costs about $3-4. If you want to eat more economically, you could enjoy a meal for less than $2

A typical squat toilet found in many public places across Iran.

It may be a slightly unpleasant topic, but one of the things I never quite got used to in Iran until the end was the toilets. In Iran, most people use squat toilets.

Even in this fairly upscale restaurant, there was a squat toilet. Once, I was invited to a wealthy friend's house, and there were two toilets in one bathroom. 

It was quite interesting to see both a sitting toilet and a squat toilet at the same time. In hotels and accommodations, these sitting toilets could be seen more frequently, while most restaurants, cafes, and public places had squat toilets.

Proof of identity, Iranian style. straight from my Chabahar cab ride!

To explain why I took a photo of the taxi driver's license, the taxi driver told me that he would bring his friend along on the way to Chabahar. 

I was already afraid of going to an unfamiliar place alone, and now hearing that another stranger would be joining us in the car, I felt a chill and wondered if I should look for a way to escape. All sorts of negative scenarios began to unfold in my mind.

What if the car headed to a strange, remote place and the man sitting in the back seat strangled me with a rope...? It would be hard enough to fend off one person, but how would I defend myself against two people attacking at once in the confined space of a car seat... I began to feel genuine fear due to my anxiety. 

The moment I saw the taxi driver's friend, that fear intensified. He was a well-built, muscular man who appeared to be over 180cm tall. I thought about saying I wanted to get out now, but I also felt lost about what to do with my three pieces of luggage in the scorching heat of over 40 degrees. 

In this situation, if these people had bad intentions, would they even let me out if I asked to leave? So I just spoke honestly to the driver. 

 "Honestly, you guys are fucking scary. Why are three of us going?"

 The driver exchanged words with his friend and then started laughing. Then he wrote something on a translation app and showed it to me. 

 "Are you scared? You can relax. We are taxi drivers. It takes over 12 hours to Chabahar and the road is very dangerous, so I can't drive alone. I've agreed to split the money with my friend, and we'll take turns driving." 

Then the two men handed me their driver's licenses. "If you don't believe us, take a photo of these.

The kind of silence you only find on back roads after dark.

Though my fear hadn't completely disappeared, as the sun set and our journey continued, I began to understand what the taxi drivers meant. I could also understand why other taxi drivers had canceled my calls before. 

 The journey was estimated to take 12 hours and 30 minutes, but it actually took about 15 hours. Additionally, there were dark stretches with not even streetlights. 

It made me think that there could even be robbers lurking in such darkness. In places where there was no sign of human presence for tens of kilometers and no lights, if someone were to stop the car and threaten us, there would be no one to call for help, and if something bad happened, there wouldn't even be a trace left behind. 

There was also a time when soldiers suddenly appeared in the darkness where no checkpoint was visible, stopping the car and asking for my passport, which I handed over with trembling hands. Even the soldiers seemed puzzled about why I was taking a taxi here.

 After the taxi drivers explained something for quite a while, the soldier finally permitted us to pass.

One last photo with the drivers who shared a 14-hour journey with me through Balochistan.

The journey that began in the afternoon before sunset finally reached its destination at 8 AM the next day. 

I wanted to let the taxi drivers rest at the hotel, but the reception refused, saying it was a single room. After pleading, I got permission for them to stay for about an hour, and after resting briefly with the drivers, we said our goodbyes.

I thanked them for coming all this way and told them to return safely, but feeling it was a shame to just let them go like this, I asked if I could add them on messenger along with a small tip. 

The taxi drivers readily shared their accounts with me and said they would contact me when they arrived safely, then promptly headed back.

While chatting later with the taxi driver, Mr. Morteza, he expressed that refugees from other countries had been continuously flowing into Iran until recently, and as a result, there weren't many jobs available for them.

(Photo source: https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/18/e1/8c/ba/darak beach-in-chabahar.jpg)

(Photo source: https://dynamic-media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo o/16/27/61/f3/darak-village-where-desert.jpg?w=900&h=-1&s=1)

 The reason I came to Chabahar was because I wanted to visit Darak Beach, a place where the desert meets the sea. 

Unfortunately, I couldn't go to this mystical beach, which reportedly glows blue at night due to bioluminescent plankton, because of the extremely hot weather. Having already had a dangerous experience in the hot weather on Hormuz Island, I decided not to act recklessly against the local's advice.

Camels grazing casually along the roadside in Chabahar.
a typical southern Iran moment.

 A very long time ago, this place was submerged deep underwater, but it is said that it gradually became land as the Arabian Plate and Eurasian Plate collided. In the surrounding area, I could easily find places that showed evidence of this, which tourism sites referred to as landforms called "Mars mountains.

Driving through the otherworldly Martian Mountains outside Chabahar.

Up close, the Martian Mountains look almost like sculptures carved by the wind.

 A surreal white path winds through the heart of Chabahar’s Martian terrain.

The white desert hills of Chabahar feel like a walk on another planet.

Each vertical line is said to represent about a thousand years of history, meaning this mountain was a layer that accumulated over approximately 3,000 years long ago, and in that place which has emerged as land over time, countless fossils might be sleeping. While Hormuz Island gives the feeling of a red Mars, this place felt like walking on the surface of a white Mars.

 Taking in the raw beauty of Chabahar where cliffs meet the sea.

A winding road hugs the coast of Chabahar, with the sea roaring just below.

The colorful fishing boats of Chabahar rest peacefully in the warm Gulf waters.

Numerous boats anchored in the clear turquoise waters of Chabahar, Iran, under a calm sky.

View from a car driving down a coastal road toward the blue waters of Chabahar, surrounded by rocky terrain.

Black goat with white face near a concrete bus stop and palm tree in Chabahar, Iran

This place, which was once a key point of maritime trade coveted by Britain, is connected not only by sea but also by land routes to neighboring countries, with numerous transport trucks carrying goods back and forth daily. 

One peculiar thing was that many cars were crowded at each gas station, and a local resident, looking at them with quite a displeased face, said: 

"Do you know why those cars are lined up parked there? Those people are waiting for their turn to buy oil there and sell it in Pakistan." 

"Then doesn't the government or police control this at the border?"

"No, they just look the other way. They can't do anything about this place. Originally, 

they weren't interested in us except for developing this area."

He looked at the trucks heading toward the border, saying that since there had been shootouts between the police and locals here before, the police were afraid of losing more lives and couldn't even touch the situation. 

 "Our people maintain their livelihoods by selling the oil we extract to Pakistan at very cheap prices. Resources are being sold off to various places at dirt-cheap prices"

Walking through the heart of Chabahar in traditional Balochi-style clothing.

A glimpse of daily life in Chabahar’s open air market.

Unlike the Shia, who make up most of Iran except for some regions, the Balochi people here are mostly Sunni, so conflicts arising from religious and cultural differences were also one of their issues. 

Despite the government's efforts(?), their feelings of alienation and discrimination were still not resolved, so the ideal integration as desired by the government seemed to still have a long way to go. 

On my last day in Chabahar, I took my first Iranian domestic flight from the local airport. Taking a plane from Chabahar Airport, which looked smaller than the bus terminal where I live, was exciting in many ways. 

Flying in a country where obtaining parts is not easy due to economic sanctions was somewhat worrying but also a thrilling adventure. 

 I'm not sure what type of aircraft it was, but the service was just like what other regular airlines in other countries provide, and although the plane felt like it was shaking like a high speed bus, I headed to Tehran with the Balochi people who boarded together without any incidents. 

The Balochi people here were laid-back. As soon as we arrived in Tehran, I stood up to get my cabin luggage, but since I was the only one rushing, I had to sit back down embarrassed and wait for my turn.

Here is some additional information and precautions

• When entering Iran by land, try to avoid very late night arrivals. If you enter late at night, you won't find any place to exchange money. It's also impossible to activate your mobile phone. 
• As of March 25, 2025, the current exchange rate in Iran is 98000 tomans to 1 dollar. When I traveled there, it was approximately 57000 tomans 2024. 
• Prices are very affordable. I stayed at economy hotels for about $8-20. Although sometimes the toilet had low water pressure, I was generally satisfied, and people were friendly. 
• When activating your phone, be sure to ask if they can install a VPN for you. It will be a great help to you. Never forget this. If the employee is a very nice person, give them a small tip and then look for a paid VPN. Free VPNs are sufficient, but paid VPNs perform very well. 
• The Snapp app is almost essential for travelers. If you have a close local friend, ask for their help. It has all the necessary functions such as delivery, finding accommodation, calling taxis, etc 
• When calling a taxi with the Snapp app, drivers often cancel for intercity travel because the price is too low. Once a driver accepts your call, try to negotiate paying more with a Persian message. While there are drivers who will take you to your destination at the price suggested by the Snapp app, if you can't get a Snapp taxi for a long time, it wasn't bad to offer about 1.5 times the price via message. Even if you offer a slightly higher price, it is still very reasonable compared to travel in other countries. If all else fails, try finding taxi drivers directly and negotiate the price. 
• There are several ways to get to Chabahar: you can take a taxi from Bandar Abbas like I did, paying about $80 and traveling for about 15 hours, or you can fly round-trip from the capital Tehran. You might also be able to use taxis or buses through neighboring cities. 
• The price for economy accommodation is approximately $20-30