Northern Iraq

Iraqi Kurdistan

Trek

Mountains, Valleys & Ancient Citadels

Overview

Ten days in Iraqi Kurdistan: the Zagros mountains, the citadel of Erbil, the Neanderthal cave of Shanidar, the cliff monastery of Rabban Hormizd, and the 500 steps that climb to the citadel of Akre. The days are real trekking; the evenings are tea and conversation. Ali knows this land as home and leads the trek himself.

Itinerary

Arrival in Erbil

Erbil International Airport, then the Erbil Citadel - continuously inhabited for more than 6,000 years - and the Qaysari Bazaar below it: textile dyers, cardamom, bargaining in three languages.

Shanidar Cave & Rawanduz

Shanidar Cave in Barzan, where the remains of ten Neanderthals have been found - the last of them dating back more than 70,000 years. Continue through the mountains to Rawanduz: the great canyon and the Hamilton Road, cut into the cliff face.

Rawanduz Trek

A full day in the Zagros. Gali Ali Beg, Kurdistan's most famous waterfall, in the afternoon, with the option of a night camp at the Bekhal falls.

Amedi & Dohuk

Amedi, perched on its flat-topped mesa 3,900 feet above the plain - the town that never added a house - through the Badinan Gate to the Great Mosque. Continue to Dohuk.

Lalish & Alqosh

Lalish, the holiest temple of the Yazidi faith, in its valley among the oaks. Then Alqosh: the old village on the mountainside, the Rabban Hormizd Monastery carved into the rock, and the restored tomb of the Prophet Nahum.

Sulaymaniyah

The Amna Suraka museum of the Anfal era, the Grand Bazaar and the Qashla. The Roman Theater in Azadi Park - the second-largest park in the Middle East - and Salim Street for the city's cafe life at night.

Sulaymaniyah Trek & Dukan

Trek the valleys around the city. Lunch at Dukan with the Lower Zab spread out below the dam.

Ahmed Awa Waterfall

The waterfall east of Sulaymaniyah, and the green valleys around it.

Akre & Return to Erbil

Akre: its mosque, its market, and the climb of 500 steps between the old houses to the citadel - the path the town follows at Newroz. Sunset from the top, then the drive back and a farewell dinner in the Erbil Citadel.

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