Qanats of Gonabad

A qanat is a gently sloping tunnel driven from an aquifer at the foot of high ground to a settlement on the plain, tapping groundwater and delivering it by gravity with no pumping and almost no evaporation, and the system at Qasabeh Gonabad is among the oldest and most impressive anywhere: the main tunnel runs for over thirty kilometres, the mother well is around three hundred metres deep, and construction is generally dated to well over two thousand years ago. It still carries water. The vertical access shafts run in a dotted line across the desert surface, which is how a qanat is recognised from above, and the underground gallery can be entered at points. Qasabeh is one of eleven qanats inscribed together as the Persian Qanat.

What you actually see

• A three-hundred-metre mother well - among the deepest qanat wells known.
• Thirty kilometres of tunnel - the gallery still carrying water.
• Lines of access shafts - the surface trace of the underground system.
• The underground gallery - accessible at points along the route.

When to go

April to June and September to November. Two to three hours. The underground sections are cool at any season. Access to the gallery depends on the caretaker and on water levels.

Honest expectations

Most of the system is underground and what you see on the surface is a line of shaft mouths. Gallery access is limited and depends on staff. It is remote and public transport is poor. Interpretation is limited in English.

Nearby

Gonabad town is at the outlet; the Khorasan desert runs south.