A journey to a land with pleasant weather
Come to Iran, if you are interested in traveling to prehistory; You can achieve one of human lifelong desires to travel to millions of years ago and visit landscapes where the traces of the biggest residents of the earth have been found. The same place where dinosaurs lived and, to date, only little traces of their footmarks and fossils and one tooth of them have been found by experts. Here is a place where hundreds of wonderful and beautiful plant fossils have been unearthed and accordingly, it has been named the paradise of geologists.
Zarand is the host of the fossil festival in these autumnal days and at the same time it sweet the mouth of tourists with Sohan and pistachio festivals.
How to come?
There are many different ways from train and aircraft to personal car and off course the bus provided to use for reaching to Zarand. If you are interested in traveling with personal car two paths are in front of you. The first one is passing through Kashan, Naein, Ardakan, Meybod and Yazd and moving to Fahraj and the road of Bafgh, going on towards Siriz and Zarand-Siriz-Bafgh road and you will arrive in Zarand after Jalal Abad.
The second path crosses Kashan, Natanz, Mourcheh Khort and reaches to Isfahan, after that you have Shahreza and Izadkhast on your path to reach Abadeh and Taft. Finally, entering the road of Fahraj move towards Bafgh and go on to reach Zarand.
If you choose the train for travel you should know that the access to different points in Kerman province is possible through the north-south railway of Iran and it has a special station in Zarand and therefore, you can have an easy travel to Zarand by train. But if you prefer the bus please note that most of the buses depart from the south terminal of Tehran and their destination is the terminal of Adineh in Kerman and they are active all day long. However, the west terminal and Azadi terminal have included Kerman buses, too. You have to take another bus from Kerman to Zarand, there are many buses and minibuses in Kerman terminal ready to take you to Zarand.
If you choose the air path for your travel, you must go first to Kerman, because the airline has just been defined for Tehran-Kerman. Again, you can use bus or minibus in order to reach Zarand. However, your destination in air traveling can be Rafsanjan airport instead.
Fossil Festival and the presence in the cemetery of prehistorical creatures
You can visit Dasht-e Khak (meaning soil plain) to see a place that is called the cemetery of prehistorical creatures. Although the research on dinosaur fossils that have been found in Iran is ongoing, there are many plant fossils in this region.
There is an active fossil museum where you can watch different kinds of plant fossils. In addition, you can participate in fossil festival that is held every year in the second half the year. In this festival people become aware of the place of living dinosaurs in Iran. the museum of fossil takes part in this festival with wonderful stones and plant fossils.
Zarand with Pleasant Weather and Simultaneous Happiness
It is stated about Boluk-e Zarand that is a region located 18 miles to Kerman: “it is a region of Simultaneous Happiness including many fields, its water is mostly supplied from Qanats and is highly fresh, it has a fertile soil and pleasant weather with abundant and inexpensive grains.” From the same 134 years ago that Etemad al-Saltaneh depicted the weather of Zarand in this way, to the present, the city has had many tourism attractions and is the host of pistachio gardens. So that there are more than 40000 hectare pistachio fields in this city.
Zarand is one of the agricultural poles of Kerman, the province, and albeit the locals believe in the pistachio of this city to have not only the best quality among other pistachios that are produced in the province, but also they consider it to be the best in all around the world in terms of nutritional value and quality. Moreover, Zarand embraces various mines of coal and ironstone and, accordingly, it is the host of several industrial factories. It is also interesting that the factories and mines are open to public visit and you can see the mines of coal and ironstone in person. Furthermore, your eyes can be the guest of the beauties of other cities like Khanook, Reyhan Shahr, Yazdan Shahr, Siriz and Jarjafak village that have become tourism destinations.
In addition, you can take a visit to the historical attractions of the region like Shahrokh Khan Four-towers located in Yazdan Abad, backing to 400 years ago. Qadamgah, Saqakhaneh, Hosseineh Galeh Mosque, Zarand-e No Tower (Zarandooyei) are other attractions. If you are inclined to mountain climbing, you should know that there are appropriate conditions in the surrounding foothills located six kilometers to the city.
Don’t miss the excursion into Zarand bazar where you can find various products, from pistachio, saffron and cumin to different Sohan-baking centers and buy souvenirs.
Souvenir and its Festivals
Zarand is full of pistachio gardens, so it is no wonder that it is qualified to hold pistachio festival. In addition to various kinds of pistachio and dried-fruits, dance and local music, you can also watch the traditional and local plays of Zarand like Choob-Bazi.
It is also stated that Zarand is the best producer of Saffron after Khorasan. Barberry in another souvenir of Zarand along with garden products. Different farm’s products from dairy-product to meat with a delicious taste can be supplied from this region.
Since Zarand is one of the centers of breeding ostrich in the country, you can find ostrich products like its organic and fresh egg and meat there.
Zarand Chelo Gusht (meat and rice) is one of the most famous foods of the region in which the meat is fried in oil without any additives and has a special taste. The festival of Chelo Gusht is also one of the most important ceremonies held in Zarand.
Zarand Sohan has been inscribed on the list of Iran National Heritages, therefore, it is not unjustified that we observe the holding of Sohan festival in Zarand. Unlike the shared picture we have in mind of Sohan, the product of Zarand is highly delicate, as thin as a piece of paper, it is handmade and has nutritional value. Unlike the Sohan of Qom, there is no oil used in making Sohan in Zarand. It is highly delicious and produced in different types as mixed with pistachio, sesame and cardamom etc., in froms of finger-food, honey, window etc. This Sohan is not only manufactured industrially in factories, it is also baked in all houses, too.
Komaj, Qavout and Kolompeh are among other Zarand souvenirs provided for tourists in various tastes and forms. Different kinds of nuts like pistachio and walnut as well as additives are used in making Komaj that give it a special taste.
Patteh, rug and carpet are other Zarand Souvenirs placed among the handicrafts of this city. You can buy high quality carpet from this region.
Where to stay?
There are many ecotourism houses active in this region where you can stay or try local foods.
Other residential options in Zarand is the hostels and since the city is located close to the capital city of the province you can think of staying in a hotel in one of the surrounding cities.