Searching color and Motif in Salt Domes of Ivanak

Iran is an extensive land with many different and unique attractions. Most of these attractions are located nearby but we don’t know them. Salt Domes are one of the natural and beautiful and valuable geological attractions. There are many salty domes in Iran among which some are more highlighted.

Salt domes are dome-like unevenness that are formed from salt in the core. Salt domes play a main role in forming Kavir and salting waters especially in dry regions. On the other hand, recognizing salt domes is important because of the possible existence of oil, sulfur, potash and salt sources around them.

Iran salt domes are considered to fall in the category of the shallow salt domes that are usually less than one kilometers deep from the ground level. Other categories can be the salt domes with average depth and deep salt domes that are not existed in Iran.

There are many salt sources near Tehran and in Imam Reza Road that made beautiful landscapes around them. In the heart of salt dome of Garmsar there are different salt sources that have made cracks in the high salt hills.

To see these salt sources, it is enough to leave Tehran for Garmsar in a morning. If you are lucky enough and the weather is good, you can see the beautiful Damavand peak from Garmsar road. Watching Damavand from everywhere can be considered itself a unique tourism attraction you can count on it in this trip. Before reaching salt domes of Garmsar you can see other geological attractions along the road. The colorful mountains that are the result of long years of water erosion.

Reaching the area of the mine, the appearance of the ground becomes more attractive. The colorful layers of salt sediments have made beautiful landscapes in this region. As if the slides of a colorful cake are in front of you. All around you have been covered with salt stone and a slide of salt cake that attracts the attention.

Here is a museum of various natural motifs and colors ready to be displayed. Salt crystals that are too hard to break. The edges of these crystals are both beautiful and harmful. Here you cannot sit down even you are very tired, because each small crystal can extremely damage you. You can see salt stone’ pieces in red, white, orange and purple colors, in other corner.

There are three craters of mines near Ivanaky salt domes. Although, part of the mines has been closed for safety considerations. A rather deep pool with approximately 100 meter length has been formed inside the cave, in result of collecting rain water in the crater of the mine that is deeper than the surrounding areas.

The high density of salt in the water of cave leads to a wonderful reflection in the water that works as a mirror. Inside this artificial cave that is seen by a large crater in the heart of salt domes, the salty stalactites and stalagmites in the crater have been formed the volume of which increases toward the inside.

If you are interested in visiting this region that is also famous as the salty dome of Ivanak or Garmsar salt dome, it is enough to be accompanied by a geologist to see the beauties of this region, in addition to be familiar with formation process of these colors and forms.  

There are similar samples of salty domes in other regions of Iran that are mostly unknown. One of the best samples is placed in Bushehr province and another in Hormoz island as well as Qeshm salt dome and salt cave.

Please don’t leave any mark of yourself in visiting the natural attractions and don’t take anything with you as souvenir. The existence of this salt stone is just beautiful here, in the heart of the nature. let’s the natural attractions to be worth visiting in future, too.

To access salt mines of Garmsar you have to go to Garmsar or Ivanaki, because they are placed in the middle of Ivanaky to Garmsar route. Leave Tehran for Semnan driving in Imam Reza road. You will reach Ivanaky after Sharifababd. Proceed the route to Garmsar, after 15 kilometers, the signs of salt domes appear in right side of the road. one of the most explicit of them is the sign of Salt Dome of Qaem in the right side.

It is about three kilometers dirty road from the beginning of the road to the entrance of the mine. After two kilometers you can park the car and proceed walking.