Meymand Southeastern Iran

A Unesco site, this troglodyte village is a series of over 400 cave-houses with a total of more than 2500 kiche rooms burrowed into the gently sloping sides of a Y-shaped valley around orchard gardens. For thousands of years this was the winter quarters of shepherds who moved to Abadi in spring and from late summer to Sara-aghol on the plains south of the village. Wandering around the compact area you'll find a fire temple (now a small museum), Hosseinieh (prayer house used during Moharram), schoolhouse and hammam (public bathhouse), all identifiable by signs in English. The 1824 cave-mosque is one of the newest structures in town.