Maranjab Desert

Maranjab lies north of Kashan on the southern edge of the Dasht-e Kavir, a landscape of sand dunes, tamarisk and haloxylon scrub, gravel plain and the great salt flat of Namak Lake, which is a hard white crust rather than water for most of the year. Through it ran a Silk Road branch, and the Maranjab caravanserai, built under Shah Abbas I in 1603 with a well and a walled courtyard, still stands and now functions as basic accommodation for desert visitors. Trips run from Kashan for sunset on the dunes and for overnight camping, and the salt lake with its polygonal crust patterns is the other standard stop. Stars here are exceptional because there is no settlement in any direction.

History

The Maranjab caravanserai was built in 1603, in the reign of Abbas the Great, on a branch of the Silk Road as a stop for traders crossing the desert; it is square, covers 3,500 square metres and has 29 rooms, and a freshwater well about 5 km to the east stays drinkable because the sand filters out the salt (Wikipedia, Maranjab Desert).

What you'll find

• The Safavid caravanserai - a 1603 stopping place still in use.
• Sand dunes and haloxylon scrub - the southern edge of the Dasht-e Kavir.
• Namak salt lake - polygonal crust patterns across a dry white flat.
• Very dark skies - no settlement within a long distance.

When to go

October to April; summer in the Dasht-e Kavir is dangerous. Overnight is the point, for the stars and the dawn. Weekends bring Iranian groups in numbers. A guide and four-wheel-drive are strongly advisable.

Things to know

Navigation is genuinely difficult and people get lost and stuck; do not go alone without a guide. The caravanserai accommodation is very basic with shared facilities. Weekend litter is a growing problem. Salt crust is soft in places and swallows vehicles.

Nearby

Kashan is south; the Dasht-e Kavir opens north and east.

Key facts