Miankaleh Peninsula

Miankaleh is a sand spit running about sixty kilometres east to west along the south-eastern Caspian, enclosing Gorgan Bay behind it, and the whole peninsula and bay form a protected area and biosphere reserve that is one of the most important wetlands in the region. In winter it holds enormous concentrations of waterbirds, with hundreds of thousands of ducks, geese, swans and coots on the bay, along with pelicans and flamingoes, and it is a key site on the flyway between Siberia and the Middle East. The spit itself carries pomegranate scrub, dunes and grassland, with a small resident human population and a herd of goitered gazelle. Access to the core is controlled and requires permits.

What you actually see

• Winter waterbird concentrations - hundreds of thousands of birds on the bay.
• A sixty-kilometre sand spit - the barrier enclosing Gorgan Bay.
• Goitered gazelle - the protected herd on the peninsula.
• Pomegranate scrub and dunes - the vegetation along the spit.

When to go

November to March for the birds, which is the reason to come. A day. Permits are required for the protected core and must be arranged through the environment office in advance. A telescope is essential.

Honest expectations

Permits are needed and are not always granted, and the core area is closed. Caspian water level changes and pollution have affected the site. There are no hides or visitor facilities. Winter weather on the spit is cold and exposed.

Nearby

Behshahr is south; Gonbad-e Qabus lies east in Golestan.