Desert Cycling in Iran

Dasht-e Kavir also known as Kavir-e Namak (lit. 'salty lowlands') and the Great Salt Desert, is a large desert lying in the middle of the Iranian plateau. It is about 800-kilometre-long (500 mi) by 320-kilometre-wide (200 mi) with a total surface area of about 77,600 km2 (30,000 sq mi), making it the Earth's 24th largest desert. The area of this desert stretches from the Alborz mountain range in the north-west to the Dasht-e Lut in the south-east. It is partitioned among the Iranian provinces of Khorasan, Semnan, Tehran, Isfahan and Yazd. In the center of the desert lies the Kavir Buzurg (Great Kavir), which is about 320 km long and 160 km (99 mi) wide. In the western part of the desert lies the Daryahcheh-e Namak ("salt lake"), 1,800 km2 (690 sq mi). It contains some large salt plates in a mosaic-like shape. It is part of a 4,000 km2 (1,500 sq mi) protected ecological zone, the Kavir National Park. One of the most desolate parts of Dasht-e Kavir is the Rig-e Jenn.

Highlights

• across central part of Iran
• cycling in the border of Iran Kavir desert
• full support by car