Iran - Andrew Burke [202]
The train station (off Map; 668 8001) is way out to the east of the city. To get here, catch a bus from outside Kowsar International Hotel; ask for the ‘istgah-e ghatah’ and you’ll be put on the right bus. Be at the bus stop well over an hour before your train is due to depart. A private taxi (IR45,000) can cost almost as much as the train ticket to Tehran. Alternatively, take a shuttle taxi south from the south end of Si-o-Seh Bridge.
Getting Around
Esfahani taxi drivers have a bad reputation, but in reality they’re not much worse than taxi drivers anywhere else in the universe – if they see someone fresh off the plane, train or automobile, they’ll try to take you. The cartel at Kaveh terminal will ask IR30,000 for a trip to a central hotel, but you should laugh at this and offer IR10,000. If you’re lucky, you might get it for IR15,000. Either way, settle the price before getting in. Alternatively, take a shuttle taxi or bus – traffic passing on the terminal side of the road is heading south into town. Getting from town to Kaveh is cheaper.
TO/FROM THE AIRPORT
The airport (off Map) is about 25km northeast of town and there is no airport bus service. To get there, take any bus heading east along Jamal-od-Din Abdolrazagh St from Takhti Junction. Get off the bus at Ahmad Abad Sq where the small Sorush bus terminal (Map) has buses to the airport. From the airport, ask around for any shuttle taxis heading into the city, from where you might need to get another to your hotel. A private taxi will cost about IR50,000.
BUS & MINIBUS
Buses and minibuses leave the local bus terminal, near Chehel Sotun Palace, every few minutes. Just ask – and keep asking – for one heading your way. Elsewhere in town ask at a bus stop and you will soon be pointed to the correct conveyance. Rides cost IR200 to IR500 and you buy books of tickets at booths along the routes. One very handy bus links the Kaveh and Soffeh bus terminals (IR500).
TAXI
Depending on the distance – and your negotiating skills – a fare in a private taxi around inner Esfahan costs anything from IR6000 to IR15,000. Luckily there are so many taxis that it’s easy to negotiate by threatening to find another one. Avoid the taxi drivers hanging around Imam Sq as they can spot tourists a mile off. To hire a private taxi for an hour costs between IR20,000 and IR40,000, and can be a good way to see the Ateshkadeh-ye Esfahan and Manar Jomban.
The long Chahar Bagh St is the city’s main thoroughfare, and every couple of seconds a shuttle taxi goes mostaghim (straight ahead) for about IR1000 per kilometre or so. To outlying destinations such as the transport terminals, look for taxis heading in the right direction from the following places: Takhti Junction, Laleh, Qods and Ahmad Abad Sqs (for anywhere to the east); Imam Hossein and Shohada Sqs (for the north); and the southern end of Si-o-Seh Bridge and Azadi Sq (for the south and west); or just ask anywhere.
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ESFAHAN TO SHIRAZ VIA THE ZAGROS MOUNTAINS
If the idea of a direct bus or flight between Esfahan and Shiraz sounds like a missed opportunity, then consider an alternative jaunt through the Zagros Mountains, where the sharp folds of barren ridge and flowing valley stretch like a giant crocodile’s back for 1500km from the Turkish border in northwestern Iran southeast to the Persian Gulf coast. The population is made up of Persian, Lori, Kurdish and a vast number of nomads, primarily Bakhtiari and Qashqa’i.
As a travelling experience, this trip definitely qualifies as ‘off the beaten track’. Few people speak English, transport can be infrequent and accommodation basic. Summers are pleasantly mild but during winter snows often block roads. But tourists are rare, welcomes are warm and the scenery absolutely breathtaking.
Shahr-e Kord
0381 / pop 137,000 / elev 2061m
The first leg is from Esfahan to