Zard-Kuh

Zard-Kuh is a massif in the central Zagros rising above 4,200 metres, and its significance is hydrological: the Karun, Iran's largest river by volume, and the Zayanderud that waters Isfahan both rise on its slopes, so the snow that falls here supplies a very large part of the country. The Kuhrang tunnel, driven through the range in the twentieth century, diverts water from the Karun catchment into the Zayanderud. The mountain is also the heart of Bakhtiari nomad country, and the seasonal migration of tribes with their flocks over these passes between winter and summer pastures is one of the largest such movements anywhere and still takes place, though in reduced form and increasingly by truck.

What you actually see

• The sources of two great rivers - the Karun and Zayanderud headwaters.
• Snowfields above four thousand metres - the range that supplies the water.
• Bakhtiari migration routes - the passes the nomad flocks cross.
• The Kuhrang diversion - water tunnelled between catchments.

When to go

June to September for the high ground; the migration crossings happen in spring and autumn. Two to four days. Roads to Chelgerd are open in summer and can close in winter snow.

Honest expectations

This is remote high country with no infrastructure and no rescue. Guides are needed. The nomad migration is a working movement of families and animals, not a display; approaching it requires care and permission. Weather changes fast at altitude.

Nearby

Chelgerd and the Kuhrang valley are east; Isfahan lies north-east.