22-Day Iran Cultural Tour from Tehran with UNESCO Sites and Villages

• Arrive at Imam Khomeini Airport and check in to your hotel in Tehran to get ready for an exciting tour.

• Start the first day at the capital's Grand Bazaar.

• Visit the National Museum of Iran.

• Head to the National Jewels Treasury.

• See Golestan Palace, the result of roughly 400 years of construction and renovation.

• Begin by visiting Saadabad Palace.

• Move to Tabiat Bridge and Ab-o-Atash Park.

• Visit Milad Tower, the tallest building in Iran, and sightsee the entire capital from the top.

• Proceed to Tehran Ghadim Gate.

• Leave Tehran and head to Qazvin, the city of calligraphy and another capital of Iran during the Safavid dynasty.

• Visit Jame Mosque of Qazvin, Chehel Sotoon, Qazvin Saraye Sa'd-o-Saltaneh, and Aminiha Hosseiniyeh.

• Visit Soltaniyeh Dome in Soltaniyeh city, Zanjan Province, the third largest dome in the world after the domes of Florence Cathedral and Hagia Sophia.

• Continue to Zanjan and visit the Saltmen Museum and Rakhtshoy Khaneh of Zanjan.

• Head to the beautiful city of Tabriz.

• Explore the Bazaar of Tabriz, Blue Mosque, El Goli Park, and Parvin Etesami's House.

• Visit the rocky village of Kandovan.

Stay overnight.

• Take a tour from Kandovan village to Takht-e Soleyman.

• Drive about 300 km toward the southwest to the border shared by Iran and Iraq to see the wonderful city of Marivan.

• Visit Marivan Lake on arrival with your Iranian tour guide.

• Sightsee the villages surrounding the lake while heading to the next stop, Palangan Village. Here, the roof of one house serves as the courtyard of the upper house.

Stay overnight.

• The next stop is Kermanshah. Sightsee Taq-e Bostan, a site with a series of large rock reliefs from the Sassanid Empire of Persia era.

• Visit Tekiye Moaven Almolk, another famous site in Kermanshah, with your local tour guide.

• Drive to Alisadr Cave in Hamadan, the world's largest water cave, with walls extending up to 40 meters and several deep lakes.

• Visit Ganjnameh Waterfall and the Ganjnameh inscriptions in Hamadan. According to Herodotus, the Greek historian, Hamadan, one of the oldest cities of great Persia, is believed to have been the capital of the Medes around 700 BCE.

• Head to the Avicenna Mausoleum with your Iranian tour guide.

• Proceed to the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Base of Hegmataneh.

• Next, visit Stephen Gregory Church.

• Enter the classic city of Kashan and see one of the nine famous Persian gardens, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Fin Garden of Kashan.

• Take a walk through the city's bazaar to interact with the locals.

• Begin by visiting Agha Bozorg Mosque.

• Explore a Kashani house.

• Head for Noushabad, an underground city located within 5 km of Kashan.

• Reach Abyaneh village. Characterized by a peculiar reddish hue, the village is one of the oldest in Iran.

• The next stop is Natanz.

Stay overnight at an ecolodge.

• Drive to Isfahan, a city that used to be the capital of Iran during the Safavid dynasty.

• Visit Naghsh-e-Jahan Square. On the western side of Naqsh-e Jahan Square, see the Ālī Qāpū Palace. It is forty-eight meters high, and there are six floors accessible by a staircase. Opposite this magnificent palace is Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, one of the architectural masterpieces of Iranian architecture built during the Safavid Empire.

• Sightsee Shah Mosque, another mosque built by order of Shah Abbas I, also known as the Royal Mosque.

• Explore Qeisariye Bazaar with your Iranian tour guide.

• Move to Jolfa district and visit Vank Cathedral.

• Go to Chehel Sotoun Palace, a World Heritage Site built by Shah Abbas II for entertainment and the reception of guests.

• Proceed to Shahrestan Bridge, the oldest bridge on the Zayande Rood River. It dates back to the Sassanid era. There are two more famous bridges in Isfahan, Khaju Bridge and Sio Se Pol Bridge.

• Head to Yazd.

• Visit Meybod, Chak Chak, and Kharanagh village along the way.

• Reach Yazd with your Iranian tour guide.

• Visit badgirs, with wind towers and rooftops.

• Reach the Tower of Silence.

• Move to the Fire Temple. It is a place of worship for Zoroastrians.

• Next, visit Jame Mosque of Yazd, Alexander Prison, 12 Imams, and Amir Chakhmaq Complex.

• Take a journey to Shiraz and visit three of the most critical sites in Iran.

• Explore Pasargadae, which used to be the capital of the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great.

• Visit Naqsh-e Rostam, the necropolis of the Achaemenid dynasty (c. 550-330 BC), with four large tombs cut high into the cliff face, and Persepolis, which was inscribed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979.

• Start the day by visiting Nasir-ol-Molk Mosque, the "Pink Mosque".

• Walk toward Karim Khan Citadel.

• Stroll through Vakil Bazaar.

• After lunch, visit Eram Garden.

• Visit the Tomb of Saadi in the afternoon.

• Spend the night at Hafeziye.

• Fly to Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran.