Kurdistan: Zagros Mountain Trail

Arrival in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Our team meets you and takes you to the hotel. In the evening, the great mound of the Erbil Citadel, a UNESCO World Heritage site, glows above the city, and the bazaar at its foot is full of life — a first taste of Kurdish hospitality, tea and kebab before the journey into the mountains.

A day of faiths that have lived side by side in these valleys for centuries. In Lalish, the holiest place of the Yazidis, pilgrims walk barefoot among white conical shrines around the tomb of Sheikh Adi — a living sanctuary of one of the oldest religions of Mesopotamia. Then Alqosh, an ancient Christian town on the edge of the Nineveh plain, with the monastery of Rabban Hormizd carved into the cliffs above it.

The first day on the Zagros Mountain Trail. We start at Shush, the western beginning of the route, and follow old shepherds’ paths across the slopes towards Akre, a town of stone houses stacked up the mountainside, famous for the bonfires of its Newroz celebrations. Local guides from the villages join us on every stage, and in the evening our hosts welcome us with a home-cooked Kurdish dinner.

From Akre the trail climbs into the mountains towards Hashtga. We walk through oak woods, terraced fields and small villages where life still follows the rhythm of the seasons — shepherds with their flocks, bread baked in clay ovens, tea offered to every passer-by. The landscape opens onto wide views of the Zagros ridges, and the night is spent with a village family.

Another day deep in the Zagros, from Safte to Isomaran. The path follows valleys and ridges used for centuries by traders and pilgrims, passing springs, orchards and remote hamlets that see very few visitors. Our local guide shares the stories of the region and its people, and in the evening we sit down to a meal prepared by our hosts from what their gardens and flocks provide.

Today we visit Shanidar Cave, one of the most important prehistoric sites in the world: here archaeologists found the remains of Neanderthals who lived some 75,000 years ago, including burials that changed our understanding of our early relatives. From the cave the trail continues through the mountains to Shivadiz for another night with a village family.

The highlight of the trek: a day on Bradost Mountain, a long limestone ridge of the Zagros rising above the valleys of the Greater Zab. Shepherds’ tracks lead across high meadows with views reaching to the snowy peaks along the borders with Iran and Türkiye. It is the most remote and wildest part of our route, and the last night in a village homestay.

The final hike leads to the Rawanduz canyon, one of the most spectacular gorges of the Middle East, with sheer limestone walls hundreds of metres high above the river. The old town of Rawanduz clings to the edge of the canyon, and the views from the viewpoints are breathtaking. After days in the villages, a comfortable hotel night and a celebratory dinner.

We drive back from Rawanduz along the scenic Hamilton Road through the mountain gorges to Erbil. Depending on your flight time there may be a last chance to walk through the bazaar below the Citadel and buy Kurdish sweets, spices or honey from the mountains. Transfer to Erbil airport for your flight home.