Yazd

Introduction

Yazd is the capital of Yazd province in central Iran, and the historical city has been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2017. It sits within the Central District of Yazd County, which it also serves as capital of.

Before you go

Getting there

Yazd sits roughly midway between Isfahan and Kerman, southeast of Tehran, and is connected to the rest of the country by plane, train and bus. Long-distance buses arrive from Isfahan (about four hours), Na'in (about two and a half hours) and Shiraz (five to six hours). The main bus station lies well outside the city centre and has cafes and shops inside the building. To reach the centre, public buses leave every fifteen minutes from a stop by a small white hut in front of the station and run to Shehneh Bus Station, from which you can pick up a bus to almost any part of Yazd, including the old town. A taxi booth also operates in front of the bus station.

Shahid Sadooghi International Airport is about ten kilometres west of the old town area, with international flights to Dubai and daily flights to Tehran and Mashhad. The train station serves a line linking Tehran and Kerman (about six hours) via Kashan (three to four hours), with several trains a day including an overnight service; one train daily also passes through Isfahan (three to four hours). There is no train connection to Shiraz. Taxis can also be hired for longer runs, including to Na'in and Isfahan, and a route to Na'in can take in the Chak Chak and Meybod sights.

Getting around

Most of Yazd's sights cluster in the old town near the Friday Mosque, and the warren of old passages and buildings between them is best explored on foot — nearly everything in the historic quarter is within easy walking distance of everything else. Ask your hotel for a good map before you set out, and given the desert climate, plan your walking for the cooler parts of the day and favour the shaded, narrow routes. The city also has a long cycling heritage, so two wheels are a well-established alternative to two feet.

• On foot: The default way to get around the old town; most places are within easy walking distance of each other.
• By bus: Local buses run across the city and work with a pre-paid card, which is worth arranging if you plan to use them regularly. From the main intercity bus station, which sits well out from the centre, frequent buses run to Shehneh Bus Station near the city centre, where you can pick up a bus to virtually any part of Yazd, including the old town; the stop at the main station is by a little white hut in front of the building.
• By taxi: Taxis are inexpensive for rides anywhere inside the city. Motorcycle taxis are another fast, cheap option, but settle on a price beforehand. Snapp, which works like Uber, is cheap and efficient for app-arranged rides. A taxi booth also operates in front of the main bus station.
• By train: The train station connects Yazd to the national network, with services toward Tehran, Kerman, Kashan and Isfahan; there is no train connection to Shiraz.
• From the airport: Shahid Sadooghi International Airport lies west of the old town; a taxi or pre-arranged transfer is the practical way into the city, and once in the centre the sights are walkable.

There is no metro or tram system, so walking, buses and taxis cover local movement. For trips further afield, taxis can be hired to nearby destinations such as Na'in, including routes taking in Chak Chak and Meybod, or onward to Isfahan.

Where to stay

It is best to stay in the old town near the Friday Mosque, from which you can walk to most sights. There are many decent hotels to choose from, and a number of traditional houses have been converted into atmospheric hotels — some good, others not so much. Many of them offer clean comfortable rooms encircling peaceful central courtyards where you can eat, drink tea or puff away on a ghalyan while gazing at the sky.

• Orient Hotel — run by the owners of the Silk Road Hotel across the street, with a glass deck on the second floor giving panoramas of the city, the Jame' Mosque and a background of desert and mountains. Tailored to families and group travellers, with a nice central courtyard, hot water and good shower pressure, and lunch and dinner served on site.
• Silk Road Hotel — hidden in an alley near the Jameh Mosque, look for the signs pointing the way on the wall. The most popular and affordable of the backpacker hotels, with private rooms with ensuite bathrooms and a comfortable dorm, an excellent buffet breakfast and free wireless internet included, and traditional food in the lovely courtyard restaurant. Tours in and around Yazd are offered, including overnight trips to the desert oasis Kharanaq, where they run another guesthouse.
• Kohan Hotel — a little pricier and difficult to find, but worth the effort. It has a beautiful courtyard restaurant, an underground qanat room to explore, and good views of the old city from the roof. Family run, with a tourist information office whose young man speaks German, English and a little Spanish and can advise on Yazd and other cities, plus bus, plane and train timetables. Tours include camel rides, overnight stays in the desert and bike riding in the desert.
• Kourosh Hotel — traditional architecture and modern amenities in the middle of the city, with breakfast and Wi-Fi free.
• Fazeli Hotel Yazd — in the centre of the historical area at Vaghto Saat square, its main building dates from the late Safavid period and was restored in the Qajar and Pahlavi periods. Free internet, public Wi-Fi, non-smoking rooms, laundry service, concierge, air conditioning, minibar, rooftop terrace, breakfast buffet, family rooms, 24-hr front desk, self-service laundry, daily housekeeping and flatscreen TV.
• Restup hostel — on Saadi alley, with comfy rooms looking onto the central yard, free WiFi and buffet breakfast, and a friendly host family; Mo is enthusiastic and has a good knowledge of English.
• Hotel Toranj — in the centre of the old town, with comfy rooms, most with a view of the central yard, free WiFi and buffet breakfast, and a very atmospheric coffee shop with a roof view. The staff are professional and have good knowledge of English.
• Hotel Dad — a hotel from the 1930s in the old centre of town, traditional in style, with a swimming pool with poolside service, a sauna and jacuzzi, a traditional Iranian and an international restaurant, and a coffee shop.

Outside of Yazd, the Farvardinn Desert Inn sits across from the old Fortress of Fahraj village, close to the city on the Dasht-e-Lud desert. The owner, Masoud, speaks excellent English and a little French and is very knowledgeable about the area. It offers comfortable beds, a full buffet breakfast, new bathrooms, WiFi, kitchen facilities, dinner with a local family and camel-riding courses, and suits both backpackers and traditional travellers looking for a trekking base or an authentic place to relax. There is a bus and train booking service for minimal commission, and tours from one to twelve days can be arranged, including day tours to surrounding villages with an experienced guide, nomad tours from Yazd to Shiraz, and one-day hikes to Mt. Shirkuh.

Food & drink

What to see and do

Yazd rewards wandering as much as sightseeing. Walk around the historic neighbourhoods and relax in the parks, or hike up into the mountains for a wide view over the city. If you are the social type, settle into a cafe and chat with local Iranians, who are likely to be very interested in talking with you.

In the old town, the 14th-century Masjid-e Jame on Masjid-e Jame street off Imam St is known for its Persian mosaics and architecture, and its minarets are the highest in the country; it is worth admiring at night when it is lit up. Nearby, the Yazd Water Museum occupies a converted house at the corner of Qiyam St and Imam St, with information on the qanat water distribution system and cool underground rooms. Takyeh Amir Chakhmagh, built as a mosque and later used as a caravanserai, tekyeh, bathhouse and confectionery, fronts a square in the old town opposite the water museum; you can climb to the top for local views, including a nearby badgir, and the square's fountains are pleasant at night. The Cistern of Fatemeh-ye-Golshan is an easily viewed reservoir with four badgirs, and the Amir Chakhmagh Mosque stands next to the complex. Elsewhere, the Atashkadeh is a Zoroastrian Fire Temple built in 1934, and the Dakhmeh, or Towers of Silence, are huge circular walls on hilltops outside town where the dead were left to be picked clean by vultures — a quiet, serene place, with two hills, Golestan and Mankeji, that can be walked up. Dowlat Abad Gardens has a building with a beautiful large badgir and is one of the Persian gardens inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, while the Museum of Zoroastrians History and Culture near Markar square focuses on the daily life of Zoroastrian followers. Alexander's Prison, also known as Ziaiyyeh school, is a 15th-century domed school with a deep well in its courtyard; apart from the well there is little else to see, so it can easily be skipped.

Further afield, Pahlevanpour Garden in Mehriz town is another world heritage-listed Persian garden. Sar-Yazd Fortress in Saryazd village, near Mehriz, dates to the Sassanid era and sits alongside two caravanserais, a water reservoir and other half-destroyed historical buildings. Kharānaq is one of the last remaining mud cities in Iran, and Chak Chak in Ardakan is a Zoroastrian pilgrimage centre. In Meybod town on the road to Isfahan, Narin Castle is a mud-brick fort giving a good lookout over the town, and the yakhchals are ancient evaporation coolers once used to make and preserve ice in the desert.

For something livelier, Pahlevani and zoorkhaneh rituals take place close to Amir Chaqmaq Square: traditional Iranian martial arts practised in a domed zurkhaneh, with sessions of ritual gymnastic movements climaxing in koshti pahlavāni, a form of submission-grappling. A Traditional Persian Night, held at a hotel near the Museum of Coin and Anthropology on Alley 40, Imam Street, introduces Persian traditions, literature and music, with a welcome drink, storytelling, live classical Setar music, fresh fruits, Yazdi cake with bitter orange blossom tea, anecdotes and a three-course dinner in a quiet atmosphere; reservations are necessary and sufficient bookings are required for the event to be held.

When to go

Yazd is Iran's driest major city, so plan around the desert extremes rather than expecting a mild climate. Summer brings scorching, rainless days with blazing sunshine and low humidity, and even the nights stay uncomfortable. Rain is essentially absent in this season, so if you visit then, sightsee early in the morning or after dark.

Winter offers mild, sunny days, but the thin air and low cloudiness make mornings cold, with many days dipping below freezing. Haze is more frequent in winter, and dust events can occur year-round.

Three days in Yazd

Day one begins in the Central District of Yazd, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where the old city rewards slow wandering on foot. Start at the Friday Mosque, then follow the lanes of the historic quarter, noting the wind towers and the desert architecture that give the city its character. In the evening, eat where locals eat and try the regional sweets and pastries Yazd is known for.

Day two takes you beyond the city. Taxis and Snapp are the practical ways to reach the surrounding sites, including Meybod and Chak Chak, the Zoroastrian pilgrimage site in the desert hills. If you prefer to stay closer, spend the day among the Zoroastrian sites in and around Yazd, including the fire temple and the towers of silence.

Day three is for the bazaar and the old neighbourhoods, with time for tea and conversation. Yazd sits between Isfahan, Kerman, Shiraz, Kashan, Tehran and Mashhad, so it works well as a stop on a longer Iranian journey. Shehneh Bus Station and Shahid Sadooghi International Airport, with links to Dubai, connect the city to the rest of the country and beyond.