Small Rural Villages in Western Iran
After spending the night in Zanjan, I woke up early in the morning and took a taxi to Sanandaj, making my way to Marivan smoothly.
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| The route from Zanjan to Sanandaj. I took a taxi. It cost about $15(+5$ tips) |
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| 8,430,000/570000 = 14.5$ *(I gave the driver tips about 5$) |
According to Google Maps, it was a long distance journey of 287km, and the plan was to arrive in Sanandaj, then immediately head to Marivan, and by evening reach the small mountain village of Uraman Takht, about 60km away, to stay there for a few days.
It was a grand journey covering a distance of 440km in just one day. I had no doubt then that I could go without any problems since I had researched the route well, but in the end, it was too ambitious...
The journey path through dry rocky cliffs and across open plateaus felt as light as those who had finished their arduous lives on earth heading towards the sky, and the road descending from the sky to the ground felt like becoming a new life gently falling like a feather, leaving behind an angel's wings.
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| It was like a road leading to heaven.🪽 |
After spending the night in Zanjan, I woke up early in the morning and took a taxi to Sanandaj, making my way to Marivan smoothly.
According to Google Maps, it was a long distance journey of 287km, and the plan was to arrive in Sanandaj, then immediately head to Marivan, and by evening reach the small mountain village of Uraman Takht, about 60km away, to stay there for a few days.
It was a grand journey covering a distance of 440km in just one day. I had no doubt then that I could go without any problems since I had researched the route well, but in the end, it was too ambitious...
The journey path through dry rocky cliffs and across open plateaus felt as light as those who had finished their arduous lives on earth heading towards the sky, and the road descending from the sky to the ground felt like becoming a new life gently falling like a feather, leaving behind an angel's wings.
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| We were going down lightly, as if we were coming down to the ground with wings. |
Looking down at the plains stretching from the edge of the hill, I reflected on the journeys
of those who crossed empires long since fallen into slumber.
Thousands of years ago, the
processions of soldiers traversing vast empires and the journeys of messengers who rode
horses through here to announce invasions have all vanished forever into history, but
modern residents and travelers passing through this place, not much changed from the
past, can still feel their forgotten vistas.
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| Like a giant gate created by the gods, a magnificent rock was approaching us. |
When I arrived in Sanandaj, passersby approached me out of curiosity, and one group kept
asking if I had come to meet an Iranian girlfriend, which I denied.
I wonder if people
sometimes come here for international romance, or if they've seen such things on TV.
To the people here, it seemed more shocking and curious why a foreigner would come here,
rather than the fact that I was Asian.
After that, I had to answer the question of why I came to Iran hundreds of times during my
stay.
Iranians generally acknowledge that their country is beautiful, has decent security, and
people are friendly, but perhaps due to their extremely closed image, they seemed to think
their country is viewed negatively by foreigners.
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| The atmosphere here was just like a scene from a movie. |
The second taxi driver from Sanandaj to Marivan spoke some English and introduced me to everyone we met while resting at the rest stop.
While driving, we listened to each other's
favorite songs and enjoyed the scenery.
He told me stories from his soon-to-be-married girlfriend to his former job and about the
people around him.
He said that initially he ignored my call because he had no intention of
driving the 100km distance from Sanandaj to Marivan, but when I, a foreigner, repeatedly
sent call requests, curiosity got the better of him and he accepted. It was a lucky day.
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| This was probably taken on the road to Marivan. |
Despite having left early in the morning, the sun was already setting as it approached 5 o'clock. I had arrived in Marivan, but from here, no taxis would accept trips to Uraman Takht.
I stopped at a nearby restaurant to eat while anxiously checking the taxi app, but
even after 30 minutes, no taxi driver accepted my request.
Occasionally, children who spotted me, a foreigner, came over, and following the request of
a father held captive by their hands, I took photos with them.
While eating watermelon
given to me for free by a fruit vendor, I began to ask around about the journey to Uraman
Takht.
A local resident hailed a taxi for me and tipped me off that I might find taxis going to
Uraman Takht if I went to the intercity bus terminal
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| A view of the small bus terminal in Marivan. There are taxis here, but it was difficult to find taxis going to Uraman Takht. |
With the help of a taxi driver who introduced himself as Abdulrem, I arrived at Marivan's
intercity terminal, and there I asked taxi drivers about the way to Uraman Takht.
They told
me that because the terrain there is steep and dangerous, it's impossible to go at night and
that I should come back here tomorrow morning.
In the end, I had to stay in Marivan, but I didn't know any hotels, so while I was worrying, Mr.
Abdulam said that although there aren't many hotels nearby, he would take me to a decent
place where I could stay, so I agreed.
The problem was that every hotel we went to was fully booked, so we had to go from one
hotel to another. Unfortunately, being the peak travel season, there were no affordable
accommodations suitable for a single person, and time had already turned to evening.
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| A small supermarket in small city Marivan |
Just as I was worrying about possibly having to sleep outside, Mr. Abdulrem asked if there
was one last accommodation left, but it might be a bit dirty for me to stay in, and asked if
that would be okay.
I naturally said OK. I felt sorry for Mr. Abdulrem who had gone to so much trouble finding
hotels for me, so anywhere I could just sleep would be fine, but it seems Mr. Abdulrem was
concerned about a strange traveler staying in a small, shabby accommodation.
He
repeatedly mentioned that the place might be a bit dirty, but other than the bathroom being
old and very cramped, it didn't feel too bad.
Then, suddenly, a person named Hamid, a friend of Mr. Abdulrem, came by. He turned on a
translator, wrote something, and showed it to me.
'If you're okay with it, please stay at our house. The hotels here are not clean.'
I tried to decline, thinking it really was okay... and how could I sleep at a stranger's house,
but he kept asking if it was really okay, and when I hesitated, he suddenly walked up to the hotel reception and got a refund for my hotel deposit.
Then he started loading my luggage
into his car.
Thus, I found myself unexpectedly getting into Hamid's car.
He was a truly wonderful person, and I will long remember his warmth with gratitude.
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| Night view of Marivan. |
On the way to his house, he called his younger sister Ms Forozan and told her about a
stranded foreign traveler, and Ms Forozan, who had studied in England, explained the
current situation to me in English.
She told me that he sincerely wanted to help me and that I should not worry but stay
comfortably at their home.
She said that it's currently peak season so all hotel reservations
are full, and there are only rooms for 3-4 people, so he didn't want me to spend a lot of
money there.
In the end, I went to the mart with Mr. Hamid, bought food for dinner, arrived at his house,
and fell asleep while eating dinner and watching a soccer game
In Iranians' homes, beautiful carpets are embroidered. If there's one thing that cannot be
missing in both poor and wealthy homes, it would be tea and Persian carpets
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| Mr. Hamid had chickens and rabbits living on his rooftop. |
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| beautiful night view of Marivan |
Mr Hamid's house was a three-story building, and on the rooftop, he was raising small
animals and vegetables.
I could feed the chickens and rabbits and look down at the city
scenery from the rooftop, where golden-shining lights were one of the characteristics of
Iran's night view.
Except for the green lights, which are religious symbols, many street lights were shining
yellow.
Later, when I showed Forozan the photos I took in Marivan, she told me that I seemed to
really like the old sentiment.
It's true. Except for my military service period, I preferred
somewhat rural places rather than crowded areas.
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| Here I took a taxi. Mr Hamid called a taxi for me. |
It is said that many Kurdish (Kordi?) people live in
Marivan, which belongs to Kurdistan Province. At work, Kurds prefer to wear Kurdish attire
rather than formal suits, though I'm not sure if it's specifically Kurdish clothing or just
regional traditional clothing.
He finally called a taxi driver going to Uraman Takht for me and left, wishing me a safe
journey. Even now, I occasionally exchange greetings with him and his family.
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| I waited here for a while to wait for other passengers. This taxi will depart only when several passengers have gathered. |
I paid about $5 for the roughly 60km journey and agreed to wait for other passengers to
depart together.
In exchange for the low fare, he seems to have asked if it was okay to pick
up and drop off passengers who wave their hands along the way.
I naturally said OK since it
was fine with me, and then the driver guided me to sit in the front seat.
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| A tortoise found on the way to Uraman Takht |
Thus began a journey of nearly two hours on rough mountain roads. To Uraman Takht, a
mystical village on top of a treacherous mountain where turtles roam.
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.
- No confirmed public transportation options were found from Marivan to Uraman Takht. It may be because it's off-season. You need to use a taxi, but there are no taxis going there at night due to the dangerous mountain roads. There is a taxi terminal in Marivan, so try negotiating with the taxi drivers there.
- There was no direct bus from Astara to Marivan, and since the bus schedules were not clear, I continued to use taxis. If you have sufficient information and time, you can also reach this place by transferring between several intercity buses.
For tips on booking taxis and hotels, feel free to visit the link below.
Snapp app - Cheap Taxi and hotel reservation
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Curious about what it costs to live in Iran? Click the link below for more.