Palangan

Palangan is built into the sides of a narrow gorge in the Kurdish mountains, with stone houses stacked one above another on both banks of the Tangivar river so steeply that the roofs form the paths and terraces of the level above, and a bridge joins the two halves. The stone is local and the houses are dark grey, which sets them against the green of the terraced gardens and the water. Trout farms have been built in ponds along the river through the village and are its main business alongside farming, so fresh fish is what the few restaurants serve. A ruined castle stands on the height above. It is small, steep and entirely lived in rather than preserved.

History

The village has been lived in since at least the pre-Islamic period and has been rebuilt several times, most recently about five hundred years ago, with the ruins of the earlier village some 2 km away. It was the centre of a district of the Ardalan principality, usually governed by a member of the Ardalan family, and in 1576 a Qizilbash emir, Sulaq Hoseyn Tekkelu, was appointed its governor (Wikipedia, Palangan, Kurdistan).

Highlights

• Houses stacked up both gorge walls - roofs used as the streets above.
• Dark local stone building - grey houses against green terraces.
• Trout ponds in the river - the village's working fish farms.
• A ruined castle above - the fort on the height over the gorge.

When to go

April to June and September to October; winter snow closes the roads. Half a day. Spring brings water down the gorge and green terraces. Iranian holidays bring domestic visitors in numbers.

What to expect

It is steep throughout with a great many steps and no vehicle access inside the village. It is residential and not set up for tourism; facilities are minimal. Mountain roads in are slow. Photographing houses and people needs permission.

Nearby

The Hawraman valleys lie south-west; Sanandaj is north-east.

Key facts