General information

Kashan mesmerizes you with architectural wonders and history. Located 220km from Tehran, it is a great itinerary for those who are interested in Iranian architecture and culture. In this article, we have tried to provide a general Kashan travel guide to tourists.

Kashan is the first large oasis along the Qom-Kerman road. This road runs along the edge of the central deserts of Iran.

There are several historical houses in Kashan that belonged to 19th-century Iranian merchants. Some of these beautiful houses now turned into hotels. So you can stay enjoying Iranian architecture.

Fin Garden, Abyaneh village, and Aqa Bozorg Mosque are some of the attractions of this beautiful city.

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How to get Kashan

Boroujerdi House, Kashan

Kashan has an airport. However, the only connect city in Mashhad. The nearest airports are Tehran and Isfahan.

You can get on a train to Kashan. It is about 250 kilometers. Besides, it is approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes.  In addition, there are trains during days and nights to this city from Tehran. Kashan Train Station is located in the eastern part of the city.

Kashan is located 250 km south of Tehran. So you have a three-hour ride from the capital to Kashan on the highway. Besides, Qom is an itinerary that you can have on your way to Kashan.

Kashan attractions

Kashan Historical Houses

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Tabatabaei House, Kashan (Credit: Amir Pashaei)

Beyond the clay walls, there are some paradise enclosed! There you can find magnificent Kashan Historical Houses with beautiful stained glasses and a courtyard!

Abbasian House and Ameri House are some of the beautiful buildings. However, there are many residential houses to visit in this city.

Tabatabaei House has seven windows toward the courtyard. So while the other houses of the time had only three to five ones. Besides, the building has four courtyards, the biggest has a pond with fountains.

In addition, the house consists of the interior part (andaruni) for the family members and the exterior part (biruni) for strangers. In fact, gardens and ponds add charm to this beautiful historic place.

Fin Garden

Fin garden

The Fin Garden is a beautiful Persian Garden. It is also on the UNESCO World Heritage Site. In fact, it is home to Fin Bath, where Naser al-Din Shah ordered the murder of Qajar chancellor Amir Kabir (1807 – 1852).

Walls and four circular towers surround the 2.3 hectares garden. In fact, it is actually a four-garden pattern of a Persian garden. It is a square garden is divided into four parts by water canals. In addition, the four gardens represent four elements sky, earth, water, and plants. The Zoroastrians believe that they are in harmony in nature.

The buildings of Fin Garden are two hammams (bathhouses); the bigger dates back to the Qajar era (1789–1906) and a smaller one built during the Safavid period (1501-1736). In fact, the latter was the place where Amir Kabir was murdered. There is also a shotor gelou (two-story pool houses) and a recreational pavilion.

Aqa Bozorg Mosque

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Aqa Bozorg Mosque

Built in the late 18th century, Aqa Bozorg mosque is the finest Islamic complex in the city. Since it has symmetrical designs, iwans, and minarets.

The four-story mosque has a sunken courtyard and badgirs (wind catchers). Besides, there are two large iwans at the mosque. Quranic inscriptions adorn the wooden door of the mosque and its mud-brick walls. There is also a beautiful mihrab at the mosque.

Hence, the mosque is one of the best manifestation of 19th century Persian architecture. The mosque and its theological school are located in the center of Kashan.

Tepe Sialk

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Tepe Sialk, Kashan

 This large ancient archeological site is in a suburb of the city of Kashan, near Fin Garden.

After three seasons of excavation, the archeologists discovered that the oldest settlements in Sialk date about 6000-5500 BCE, and its ziggurat was built around 3000 BCE.

Tepe Sialk has two mounds. The French archeologist Roman Ghirshman excavated the site in 1933.

They found pottery pieces, metal tools, and domestic implements made from stone, clay, and bone in the place.

The site is still under excavation however there are some facilities for the visitors. However, a center in the place displays a small collection of excavated artifacts but most of these antiquities are kept at the Louvre, British Museum, New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the National Museum of Iran.

Noushabad underground city

Noushabad underground city

Located within 5km of northern Kashan, Nushabad underground city is located at the center of Aran va Bidgol.

As a masterpiece of Sassanid architecture (224-651), the underground city has three levels between 4 to 18 meters underground.  

In fact, the complex tunnel is made around a freshwater spring. The Noushabad underground city is a place to pass the high temperature of the daytime.

It is also a refuge from raids like the 13th-century Mongol invasion. This marvelous labyrinth is comprised of tunnels, chambers, air ducts, staircases, and canals.

Read also: Some of Best Iran’s Tour Packages

Things to do in Kashan

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Walking around in the old city of Kashan

Kashan, with clay walls and historic alleys, is great for walking around. Especially during the afternoon when the weather is good. Then you can enjoy your walking more.

Do not miss the Bazaar of Kashan is a place that you should not miss! It was built during the 10th-century Seljuk era. Besides, it was restored during the Safavid era (1501-1736).

You can enjoy architecture and different parts of the bazaar. It includes timcheh, and rasteh. There are also mosques, qanat, and tombs. Hammams (bathhouses), and abanbars (water reservoirs) are other parts.

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Maranjab Desert

Maranjab Desert

This magnificent Maranjab desert is located 60 km north-east of Kashan. It boasts high dunes and a forests arch. You can also visit different animals. Wolf, jackal, hyena, fox sand, and the hawk in the desert are some of the animals.

In addition, one of the attractions of the place is Maranjab Caravanserai. It was built by the order of Shah Abbas of Safavid (1571 –1629).

You can also visit Maranjab castle and caravanserai. They were once located on the silk route.

Today you can stay at Maranjab caravanserai. It has 29 rooms and provides accommodates tourists. Do not forget to visit the salt lake. It is approximately 100 km east of the Qom.

Stroll in the red village

Abyaneh village

If you travel to Kashan, do not forget to stroll in Abyaneh. This beautiful red village is located near Kashan.

So with its beautiful clay houses. Besides, there are narrow alleys, so it is a great place to imbue in history.

The dialect of people as well as some words are dated back to the Sassanid era.

Women in flowery scarves and men in local costumes are walking in the village. 

One of the attractions of Abyaneh Village is the clothing of men and women. The multi-leveled village kept its original architecture and culture.

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Lodging in Kashan

Travelling Kashan provides you an opportunity to stay in historical houses. With this type of accommodation, you can live in a historic atmosphere. So you can experience the lifestyle of past people.

Saraye Ameriha Boutique Hotel

Ameriha Boutique hotel (credit: flyostrichfly)

Saraye Ameriha is one of the largest and most magnificent historical buildings in Kashan. It was launched as a five-star hotel in June 2014.

It has 38 luxury rooms and suites. They are in three categories of Presidential, Royals, and Suites.

The rooms are spacious units with beautiful designs. Besides, the rooms are carved ceilings, mirror decoration.

In addition, they are equipped with exquisite carpets, and comfortable furniture.

The Saraye Ameriha Hotel rooms are also equipped with LCD televisions, private bathrooms, and toiletries in the baths.

Mahinestan Raheb Traditional Hotel

Mahinestan Raheb Hotel

It was built during the Qajar era (1789-19225) and the Pahvali dynasty (1925-1941). The hotel is located in the center of Darb-e Baagh district.

It consists of three separate courtyards, andarnui, biruni, and khadameh yards.

The Mahinestan Rahen Hotel also boasts original Iranian architecture. So they have two sardabs (cellar), and shahneshin(dining room). They also have hashti voroudi (entrance hall), and badgir (windcatcher).

A total of 16 accommodation units w are on two floors with all modern pieces of equipment.

Morshedi Historical House

Morshedi Historical House

The four-star Morshedi Historical House is a 250 years old building in Kashan. It has been restored and opened as a traditional residence in 2015.

The Morshedi hotel has two floors with eight rooms. It includes four double/twin rooms and two triple rooms. Also, there are two five-bed suites. They all have modern amenities.

It is also equipped with a mini-bar, bathroom with bathtub and shower.

Some rooms in the complex have a traditional Iranian bath called khazineh. Due to the historic nature of the hotel’s construction, the high stairs are a part of the complex.

When to visit Kashan

Kashan has a cold desert climate with cold winters and very hot summers. Kashan is one of the warmest cities on the Iranian plateau.  So spring and autumn are the best times to visit the city. Especially early spring is a great time to visit the place.

Read also: Best Time to Visit Iran: A Complete Guide

Top events

Rose Water Festival

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Rose water festival. Kashan

If you travel to Kashan from mid-May to mid-June the rose flowers mesmerize you. In every corner, you can see the rose water ceremonies.

The men and women pick up roses with pink petals before sunrise. Qamsar and Niasar near Kashan held the rose water festival here and there.

Rosewater is used in different traditional dishes, ceremonies, and Persian sweets and desserts.

Souvenir and handicraft

Rosewater

Original rose water is one of the souvenirs you can find in Kashan. During the rose water festival, Kashani citizens pick roses known as Mohammadi rose. Then they extract distilled water from the flowers. The longer the process of distillation is, the better will be the quality of the product. 

Persian carpet

Persian carpet, Kashan

Like Tabriz and Kerman, Kashan is known for its wool and silk carpets. Sleek medallions, curving, blossom-laden vine work are the popular designs of Kashan carpet.

Visiting Kashan Bazaar does not miss the beautiful handwoven carpets of the city.

It is a unique experience for enjoying Persian art and design.

You can also find various kinds of kilims and flat tapestry-woven carpets. They have different patterns and colors In Kashan.

Persian tile

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tile work in Shiraz

You may enjoy Kashan architecture and visit the beautiful tiles of the Aqa Bozorg Mosque.

Tile making is one of the oldest industries in the city. So you can see different buildings in the city.

you can even find some houses in Kashan in which the tiles decorate their gateways.

 pottery, making giveh(a kind of traditional Iranian shoes),  Sha’ar Bafi (traditional textile) and coppersmith works are other handicrafts of the city.

Local food and desserts

Koofteh somagh


Koofteh somagh

It means meatball with sumac in English. In fact, koofteh Somagh is one of the cuisines that you can try in Kashan.

Koofteh Somagh has grounded meat, chickpea flour, onion, and sumac.

This kind of koofteh (meatball) has a sour taste and you can eat it with bread. However, you can eat this with rice as well.

So try this delicious dishes. Tilid is one way to eat this food.

In this way, you should tear bread into pieces and pour them into the stew, just like eating abgusht!

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Shefteh Nokhodchi

It is a kind of meatball. It makes with grounded meat, egg, chickpea flour, and some dried herbs. You can garnish this food with pomegranate paste and fried onion. It is eaten with bread.

It is also one of the dishes that you can only try in Kashan. So do not miss this tasty meatball!

Cholo dizi

Cholo Dizi

It has meat, black-eyed pea, and rice.

Cholo dizi is delicious mixed rice. In fact, you can only try in Kashan.

Unlike its name, it is not related to abgusht! Although the name of the dish for abgusht is dizi as well!

The common point between cholo dizi and abgusht is its meat!

Read also: Top 20 Iranian Foods You Should Not Miss!

Best cafes and restaurants in Kashan

Manouchehri House

Manouchehri House

You can find middle eastern, and Persian cuisines at the restaurant.

It offers vegetarian-friendly, vegan options, and gluten-free options.

In fact, it is a restored mansion that provides a variety of local foods for you.

Address: No. 49, 7 Emarat, Sabet Alley, Mohtasham Street, Kashan 87134 Iran, +98 31 5524 2617

Abbasi Coffee Shop & Restaurant

Abbasi Coffeeshop and Restaurant

You can try delicious tasty Persian cuisines in this restaurant.

Kashan local foods are also available there in a  historical setting.

You can also try tea, traditional ice cream, and faloodeh at this place.

Address: Alavi Street, Kashan 87134 Iran, +98 31 5524 5764

Mirrors Hall

At this little beautiful restaurant, you can eat your food in a beautiful mirrored hall.

Vegetarian-friendly and vegan-options are available at the restaurant.

Address: Alavi Avenue, Kashan 87134 Iran, +98 31 5522 5522

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