With its ancient background, Tabas, shines like a gem in the middle of the Great Salt and Lut deserts, and was referred to as the gate of Khorasan in the past. Famous travelers such as Marco Polo, Alfons Gabriel, and Sven Hedin have visited Tabas and the surrounding areas, providing their readers with beautiful descriptions of this region in their travelogues.

Tabas UNESCO Global Geopark with an area of 22771 km2, is located in the northwest of South Khorasan province, acting as a transportation highway from south and west to east and northeast of Iran in a desert area with a hot and dry climate.  This geopark includes three districts of Central, Dastgerdan, and Deyhuk. Many geologists have called Tabas the geological paradise of Iran due to its high geological richness and diversity in terms of unique geological phenomena. This geopark reflects the evolution of the planet from Precambrian (540 million years ago) to Early Cretaceous (around 100 million years ago) without the slightest interruption, while its Paleozoic successions from the first geological period (Paleozoic, 250 to 540 million years ago) are unique in Iran and west Asia.

The beautiful Shotori mountain range in the eastern part of Tabas city, with a length of more than 200 km, separates central Iran from the Lut desert and has created a height difference of 2200 meters with the city of Tabas. Nayband Mountain is the highest point with a height of 3009 meters in the south of the geopark, while the southern parts of Tabas playa with a height of about 600 meters above sea level form the lowest parts.

Along with these mountain ranges and high mountains, low and flat desert areas such as vast deserts, huge sand dunes of Rig-e-Shotoran, beautiful desert of Tabas and playa with their unique attractions, and the igneous land of Poshteh Seiah, have doubled the beauty and value of this region. Kal-e-Jenni, Kal-e-Sardar, and Kal-e Tafto with permanent water flow in their beds, hot springs, new and old mines, erosion and tectonic forms are also among the beauties of this geopark.

Tabas has more than 40 types of unique mineral reserves, which have turned it into a collection of minerals, while 76% of Iran’s coal reserves are located in this geopark, making it the capital of the coal industry in Iran and the Middle East. In addition to the current modern mines, old mines such as lead and zinc mines of Ozbakuh Mountain, Chah-Sorb, and Seh-Changi are other potentials of Tabas Geopark in the field of mining tourism.

There are many cultural-historical and ecotourism attractions in Tabas UNESCO Global Geopark, along with its considerable geotourism potential. Golshan historical garden as a unique example of Iranian gardens with a history of about 250 years, the holy shrine of Hussein Ibn Musa Al-Kadhim, brother of Imam Reza (PBUH), the ancient citadel of Tabas, the ancient Korit Dam (the oldest, tallest, and thinnest arched dam in the world), Shah Abbasi Arch, as a masterpiece of engineering and architecture of our predecessors, caravanserais, schools, mosques, and water reservoirs are part of the most prominent cultural-historical buildings of this geopark.

The environmental values of the geopark, including the Naybandan Wildlife Refuge as the largest wildlife Refuge in Iran and the habitat of the Asian cheetah, the Senou forest habitat and, the largest habitat of Ferula assa-foetida in Iran, have raised it as a valuable natural heritage.

Historical evidence suggests that Tabas has always been a safe city throughout history while on the edge of the desert and away from government centers. Nasir Khusraw (Great Iranian poet, philosopher, medicine and tourist) also described the security of Tabas as admirable and unique, under which people lived in houses with the doors always open.

Tabas UNESCO Global Geopark welcomes tourists and visitors with its unique villages and tourist areas such as Kharv, Korit, Esfahk, Nayband, Peykuh, Pirhajat, Esfandiar, Sorond & Moudar, Ezmighan, and dozens of other villages with eco-tourism residences.

The use of this article is unrestricted by mentioning the source.