Gali Ali Beg and the Hamilton Road

The Hamilton Road - the 1930s engineering classic threading Kurdistan's gorges toward the Iranian border - saves its showpiece for Gali Ali Beg: a canyon where waterfalls pour off the walls, the main fall framed so photogenically it decorates the 5,000-dinar banknote. Kurdish families have made the gorge their picnic parliament - tea stalls, kebab smoke and paddle boats below the spray - while the road onward stacks more falls (Bekhal's roadside cascade the busiest) and switchbacks toward Rawanduz's canyon town. It is northern Iraq at its most relaxed and green.

Highlights

• The banknote falls - Gali Ali Beg's canyon drop.
• Bekhal cascade - the roadside curtain and its tea stalls.
• The Hamilton Road - gorge engineering of the 1930s.
• Rawanduz canyon - the town on the chasm lip beyond.

When to go

April to June runs the falls at snowmelt fullest; September-October gives calm and colour. Fridays and holidays bring the joyful crowds - choose your energy.

Practical notes

Permits and transport in the Kurdistan region work differently from the rest of Iraq. At the gorge itself the paths are slippery with spray and crowded with stalls at peak times, though the scenery carries it.

Nearby

Rawanduz, Soran and the mountain lakes toward the border.