Lorestan

Lorestan is a province of western Iran.

Regions

Lorestan is divided into 10 administrative counties, and home to some 1.700.000 people. Outside of the main cities, as listed below, the province is dotted with hundreds of villages.

North and East Lorestan has a very cold snowy winter with pleasant summer. Central Lorestan includes the capital city of Khorram Abad with moderate weather during a year. The area is covered by Mediterranean Forests. South Lorestan has moderate winters with very hot summers. Pole Dokhtar and Kuhdasht are notable cities.

Another socio-economical division of Lorestan could be considered as following: Eastern Lorestan – mostly located on Silakhor Plain- which is more industrialized. Borujerd is the major centre. Western Lorestan, less developed area but a special centre of archaeology in Western Iran. Khorram Abad is the center.

Cities

Chief towns:

• 1 Khorram Abad — provincial capital with a tall citadel called Falak-ol-Aflak (the Heaven of Heavens), a relic of the Sassanid era, now a museum
• 2 Borujerd — many historical sites and monuments are located in and around the city
• 3 Aligudarz
• 4 Dorud
• Koohdasht
• Azna
• Delfan
• Selseleh
• Aleshtar
• 5 Nurabad
• 6 Pol-e Dokhtar

Other destinations

The towns of

• Oshtorinan
• Zagheh
• Manoolan

The villages of

• Vennai
• Fial

Understand

Lorestan is mostly populated by Lor people which are a pure Iranian ethnic - similar to Kords. The majority of people do farming.

Talk

The language is mostly Lori - an Iranian local language. Persian is used easily. English can not be used frequently with average people.

Get in

By plane

Khorram Abad Airport

By train

Dorud and Azna are connected to National Railway.

By bus

Frequent bus services to all cities. Borujerd and Khorram Abad have good connections to many Iranian cities by bus.

By car

Lorestan is located between Tehran and Khoozestan and is paved with good highways. From Tehran you can drive 4 hrs to get to Borujerd.

Get around

Mini buses and vans are the most common vehicles for travelling inside the province. Shuttle Taxis known as Savari are also available. Don’t trust and use personal unmarked cars.

See

• Falakol Aflak Castle of Korram Abad
• Jame Mosque of Borujerd
• Gahar Lake of Dorood
• Soltani Mosque of Borujerd
• Kio Lake of Korram Abad
• Bazaar of Borujerd
• Gahar Lake Dorood
• Oshtorankooh Mountain Azna
• Ab sefid waterfall Aligoodarz
• Chegan waterfall Aligoodarz
• Shevi waterfall Dezful
• Nozhiyan waterfall Dorood
• Emamzade qasem Azna
• Kamandan village Azna
• Wark waterfall of Sepid Dasht
• Bishe waterfall of Dorood
• Great waterfall and Seven fountain of Sepid Dasht
• Hashtad Pahloo (80 sides) Environmental Protected Area in Poll e Dokhtar

Itineraries

• Stay 2 days in Borujerd and visit Jame and Soltani Mosques. Visit the old Bazaar and go to Chogha Hill. Spend a day with friends in Goldasht or Vennai and eat local kebab and yogurt drink. Preferably, stay in Zagros Hotel.
• Take a minibus to Khorram Abad (2 hrs) and spend two days there. Many historical monuments are around the city among them Falakol Aflak Castle is the most exciting.
• Join a tour – not very easy to find one – to stay overnight in Oshtorankuh and fish in Gahar Lakes.
• Visit Ghali Kuh in Aligoodarz or see Pole Dokhtar.
• Visit Oshtorankooh mountain, Kamandan village, Bidestane village, Emamzade qasem mosques in Azna.

Do

• Fishing in Gahar Lake
• Hiking in Chogha Hill or Kio Parkland
• Climbing in many places – Lorestan is mostly covered by elevated mountains
• Skiing in Borujerd in winters
• Eating in Borujerd kebab restaurants

Eat

Borujerd has a good reputation for food. Kebab, local bread and ice cream are fantastic. Don't miss many halva and local sweets in Borujerd and other cities.

Drink

No alcohol is served in Iran. Soft drinks and bottled water are available easily. Doogh is a yoghurt drink that is very popular in Lorestan.

Stay safe

• Avoid travelling alone in villages or among tribes.
• Don't use unauthorised cars which work as taxis.
• Call police at 110 in case of emergency.

Go next

• Easily, take a bus ticket from a terminal anytime in any city and go back to Tehran.
• Take a mini bus or shared taxi to Khorram Abad and get to your flight.
• Go to Dorud and use a train to go to Tehran or Ahwaz.
• Go to Borujerd to get a bus ticket to Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, Ahwaz, Hamadan, Kermanshah, Sanandaj, Qom and so on.
• If you have your own car, go toward Borujerd and then Arak, Qom and Tehran.