The North of Northwest
From Sardasht to Maku
1st Day
Travel to the extreme northwest of Iran will start from Sardasht. A city where civilians were targeted during an awful chemical bombing made the city internationally well known. Therefore, it is not surprising to see a street named Hiroshima in the city because there is also a street named Sardasht in this Japanese city.
In spite of the memory of hard times, Sardasht’s pristine nature has been always attractive for travelers. Shalmash Waterfalls and Zab River are the main natural attractions of this city and Bistun Historic Bathroom, a Qaja heritage at the heart of Sardasht, is also another important historical attraction of the city.
Leave Sardasht for Oshnavieh; Oshnavieh is an amazing city located in the vicinity of the border of three countries: Iran, Iraq and Turkey. It is highly celebrated for its cherry gardens. Up-countries of Oshnavieh are also popular among tourists. It should be also mentioned that there exist many hot water springs along the road of Oshnavieh to Urmia.
2nd Day
Spend night in Oshnavieh and leave it for Urmia, the capital city of West Azerbaijan Province, tomorrow morning.
Undoubtedly, you know Urmia by its beautiful Lake. In addition, there are many other spectacular attractions inside city as well, including Shahrbani Palace, Se-Gonbad (three domes) Tower, Urmia Museum, Noh-Pelleh (nine stairs) Ice House, Barandouz Bridge, Urmia Caravanserai, Old Bazar, and Akhond Historic Bathroom; visit all these places takes at least one day. You can pay a visit to Urmia Dam at night and enjoy the delicious foods sold there. Prepare yourself to leave for Khoy tomorrow morning.
3rd Day
Khoy city and Razi border are of crowded passages along the border of Turkey. Khoy is also celebrated by the name of Shams-e Tabrizi. It is interesting to know that Khoy has signed the twinning pact with Konya in Turkey and Jermuk and Vayk in Armenia. Don’t forget to spend one night in this city and visit monuments as Pouria-ye Vali Tomb in person.
4th Day
Leave for your travel’s destination, Maku, on the forth day’s morning. The city is located inside a valley where a river named Zangmar is flowing. immediately after arriving at Maku you can go for its attractions. Interesting in this respect are Chapel of Dzor Dzor, Basaltic Rock Columns, Baqcheh Jooq Palace as well as St. Mary Church in the north of the city.