• Iran Birdwatching Tour

  • Gulf of Gwadar

    Bird migration in Gulf of Gwadar

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  • Duration

    14 Days & 13 Nights

  • Location

    Tehran, Ahvaz, Hormuzgan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Mazandaran, Semnan

  • Start

    Tehran – Iran

  • Finish

    Tehran – Iran

  • Type

    Adventure Natural, Bird-Watching

  • Group Size

    8-16

  • Physical Grading

    Standard

  • Tour Code

    # 14

Iran Birdwatching Tour

Iran Birdwatching Tour is an extraordinary tour for professional photographers. In the Iranian ecosystems approximately 8,000 species of plants, 197 species of mammals, 535 species of birds, 227 species of reptiles, 21 species of amphibians, 160 species of freshwater fishes and 710 species of marine fishes have been recorded. Iran is one of the most important countries in the Middle East and Western Asia for conservation of biological diversity. Habitat diversity in Iran allows for a wide range of animals to inhibit in Iran. With regards to ecosystem diversity of marine and coastal zones in the North and South of the country, it consists of 25 ecological types and units, in which the most important are coral reefs, bays and small islands. Bakhtegan, Bamu, Golestan, Lake Urmia, Tandooreh, Kavir and Khabr Parks are among the well-known Iran National Parks inhabiting Persian leopards, Indian wolves, wild boars, maral deer, wild goats and gazelles.  Qeshm Geo-park has bio-geographic importance, vast of terrestrial, shore and sea areas, uniqueness and rarity species, biotic structure systems, high diversity, representativeness, physiognomy feature, natural characteristics, productivity, spawning, breeding and nursery grounds, integrity or self-sustaining ecological entity. Wildlife Refuges are Dar-e Anjir, Miandasht, Mouteh, Naybandan, Robat Shur and Shadegan. Arasbaran, Arjan, Hara, Gano, Lar, Hamoun, Miankaleh, Touran, Miankaleh, Anzali and Mozaffari are listed as the Protected Areas of Iran.

Plan Your Trip

Highlights

• Tehran
• Minab
• Merkan
• kuh-E-Genu
• Bandar Abas
• Nayband
• Asaluyeh
• Ahvaz
• Kelardasht
• Miankaleh
• Behshar
• Turan National Park
• Delbar

Itinerary

Arrival at IKIA International Airport, meet and greet and transfer to the Domestic airport to fly to Bandar abas, a major port on the shores of the Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Persian Gulf. From here we will drive eastwards and southwards to the small town of Minab for a three nights stay. Some of the journey will take us through a stark desert landscape, but we will make a number of stops to check out patches of irrigated agriculture, date gardens and tree-lined wadis. O/N Minab (Hotel-B)

From our base in Minab, we will explore southwards along the Mekran (or Makran) coast of Persian Baluchistan. This is an extremely inhospitable region of barren ‘moonscape’ deserts, saline flats and coastal sand dunes, with temperatures regularly soaring to the high 40s Centigrade (well over 100 Fahrenheit) in July and August. There are, however, some patches of acacia and tamarisk woodland in the dry river beds, and it is here that we will focus much of our attention. O/N Minab(Hotel-B)

Full day Bird watching like a 2nd day. O/N Minab (Hotel-B-Lunch Box)

This morning we will visit Kuh-e-Genu, an isolated mountain rising to 2370m, only 25km north of Bandar Abbas. The spectacular winding road up the mountain takes us through a variety of vegetation zones until we end up in scattered junipers not far below the summit. Special birds we will be looking for here include See-see Partridge, Desert Lark, Long-billed Pipit, the restricted-range Hume’s Wheatear, Streaked Scrub (or Scrub) Warbler (now considered a monotypic bird family in its own right), Upcher’s Warbler, Eastern Rock Nuthatch and Striolated Bunting. We should also come across Red-rumped Swallow and Blue Rock Thrush. Back to Bandar Abas, transfer to the airport, fly to Ahvaz, transfer to the hotel, O/N Ahvaz(Hotel-B)

The city of Ahvaz lies on the vast alluvial plain of the Karkheh, Dez and Karun rivers which rise amidst the snow-capped peaks of the Zagros Mountains far to the north. Much of the plain is now a treeless desert with scattered patches of irrigated agriculture, but along the Karkheh and Dez rivers there are narrow strips of dense riverine woodland, dominated by tamarisks, poplars and Salvadora persica. These woodlands have been protected since the 1960s as the last remaining natural habitat of the critically endangered Mesopotamian Fallow Deer. O/N Ahvaz (Hotel-B)

Early morning heading to Iraq Border, where there is a rich growth of marsh vegetation we shall concentrate on finding another great specialty of this region, the little-known Iraq Babbler. This very local and now globally threatened species is largely confined to the Mesopotamian marshes in neighboring Iraq, but extends over the border into southwestern Iran. As we explore this area we will stop briefly at the ziggurat of Choqazanbil, a stepped pyramid of great antiquity that dates back to the 13th century BC and the Elamite dynasty. O/N Ahvaz (Hotel-B)

This morning we will catch a flight to Tehran. Iran’s capital is a large, relatively modern city at the base of the Elburz Mountains, situated at about 1600m (5250ft) on the edge of the great central desert basin. Behind the city the snow-capped peaks of the Elburz rise to over 4000m (over 13,100ft). After our arrival we will drive up the dry and barren south-facing slopes of the Elburz almost to the snow-line and then down through the luxuriant forests on the northern slopes to the densely populated, rice-growing areas along the shores of the Caspian (which has a surface 26m or 85ft below sea-level!). O/N Kelardasht (Hotel-B)

During our first full day at the Caspian we will visit patches of forest and scrubby secondary growth, as well as areas of farmland with small fields and hedgerows, somewhat reminiscent of the English countryside. The star attraction here is the Caspian (or Hyrcanian) Tit, a split from Sombre Tit that is restricted to the Caspian forest zone stretching from eastern Azerbaijan to northeastern Iran. It is by no means common, and so we may have to spend some time searching for it in the forest. O/N Kelardasht (Hotel-B)

On our second full day we will head up into the snow-capped peaks of the Elburz Mountains in search of some of the high-altitude species. Prime targets include Caspian Snowcock, Radde’s Accentor, Red-tailed (or Rufous-tailed) Wheatear (now often treated as distinct from Kurdish Wheatear), the diminutive Plain Leaf Warbler, Red-fronted Serin, Crimson-winged Finch, Grey-necked Bunting and, with a lot of luck, White-winged Grosbeak.
And …

Today we head eastwards to Shahrud (also known as Emamrud) for an overnight stay. Along the way we will visit some reed-fringed pools at the edge of the Caspian Sea where the restricted-range Black-headed Penduline Tit can usually be found, along with Little Grebe, Little Bittern, Western Marsh Harrier, Common Moorhen, Common Kingfisher, and Moustached, Eurasian (or European) Reed and Great Reed Warblers.

Iran’s largest reserve, Touran Wildlife Refuge and Biosphere Reserve, lies at the northeastern edge of the great Dasht-e-Kavir desert, about 150km southeast of Shahrud. Established in 1973 and covering 18,000 square kilometres, this vast reserve protects a wide range of semi-desert and desert habitats from Artemisia steppe in the arid foothills of the Elburz in the north through bushy Zygophyllum steppe, sparsely vegetated sand dunes and bare stony plains to the immense salt wastes of the Dasht-e-Kavir proper in the south. We will have the best part of two full days to explore this wonderful area, spending one night at Delbar.

Full day exploring Turan national Park, heading back to Sharud, transfer to the hotel, O/N Shahrud (Hotel-B-Lunch Box)

Today we will drive westwards along the northern edge of the Dasht-e-Kavir to Tehran for an overnight stay. If we still need to look for any species of the Elburz Mountains we can detour into the Parvar area above Semnan, or alternatively we can stop at likely looking spots along the way to check for migrants. We have another site for Red-headed Bunting en route. O/N Tehran(Hotel-B)

Transfer to the airport, fly back home and end of the tour

Gallery

Ahvaz
Ahvaz
Sistan and Balochestan
Sistan and Balochestan

Inclusion

Service level : Standard
Transport: Air Conditioned transport throughout the tour ,One-way air ticket Tehran to Bandar Abas and Ahvaz to Tehran
Accommodation : 3 and 4 *star hotels (Bed & Breakfast) & Local House (Full Board)
Meals : 14 Lunches And Dinners, Daily refreshments
Group Leader :English or Other Language Speaking Guide, Bird-Watching Expert Guide
Insurance: Travel insurance
Other Services: Visa arrangements, Marine & Airport Transfers

Exclusion

• Any international air ticket
• Any international and domestic air ticket
• Any expenses such as telephone calls, laundry, mini bar used in the room, tips etc.
• Tips and porter charges
• Any other services not specified above
• Visa fee
• All entrance fees

Important Note

• Please have in mind that in local house single rooms are not provided unless the client asks us for a single room. Also normally in local house, there are no beds.
• On sea trips in case of bad conditions of the sea the routes and timing may change
• In nature trips in case of climate changes and bad weather, changes in accommodation and programs may occur
• The booking process of the hotel starts upon receiving the flight details.
• Changes in the hotels may occur

Visa

In order to get the visa, we need 7 working days to get the invitation ref number from Iran foreign ministry.
The needed documents are: a completed visa application form (please Click here to fill the application form),
the copy of your passport; and also the scan of your former visa if you have traveled to Iran before .
The file of your passport copy should be as below:

• Size 40kb
• Format should be JPEG or GIF
• Size should be 5.5cm *4.3cm
• It should be digital

Responsible Travel

As the executive of nature tours in Iran & Globe, we have assumed our responsibility & role so seriously, know the tourism effect on our surrounded environment & local society, and try to plan & operate our tours in accordance with this foreground thought; For, we believe that the tour executive has a great effect on the means of transferring his/her experiments, to guarantee both the passengers health & environment conservation .

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