Take a Trip to Iran’s Dasht-e Lut Desert A.K.A. The Hottest Place on Earth
Wanna take a trip to the hottest place on Earth? No, you don’t need to dig down to the core to reach it. Just go to Iran and head to the spectacular Dasht-e Lut desert. Dasht-e Lut desert is a sandy and muddy salt desert plain north-east of Kerman, Iran. You can see here a series of eroded towers and walls standing high on the desert, making every traveler definitely notice the amazing land formations.
The Dasht-e Lut desert is in fact the hottest place on Earth and also the lowest place in Iran with a height of 56 meters above sea level and a temperature that reaches up to 65°C. No wonder why the area has little to zero vegetation with almost no water. It is also known to be the world’s 25th largest desert.
The desert is divided into three sections: the western, central, and eastern sections. The western is mostly sand mountains. The central section is the largest part of the desert, mostly flat, covered with sand dunes, and also has the lowest altitude among the three sections. Lastly, the eastern part is covered with ridges of large sand dunes which makes it hard to reach.
The sand castles of Dasht-e Lut called Kaluts can be seen in an area 40km east and northeast of Shahdad. These towers cover the western fringe of the desert with an average length of 145 kilometers. Other than the Kaluts, you can also check out the salt mine called Gowd-e Namak, located at the western region of the towers.
Because of its extremely hot temperature, Dasht-e Lut desert is also known as “Gandom Beryan” which means “Roasted Grain”. It can sometimes exceed up to 70.7°C in the shade which is hotter than Saudi Arabia’s Death Valley.
If you want to visit Dasht-e Lut desert, be reminded that you can’t go here by public transportation. It’s better to hire a driver or guide who can take you there, or join day tours from Tehran or Kerman.
