Iran

The Prehistoric Sites of the Khorramabad Valley

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The Prehistoric Sites of the Khorramabad Valley show evidence of human occupation dating back to 63,000 BP.

Khorramabad Valley is one of the few natural passages in the Zagros Mountains, and it was a key route of human dispersal out of Africa. Inside five caves and a rock shelter in the valley, traces of habitation by Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans have been found. These include shell pendants from the Persian Gulf, stone tools and ochre pigments.

Community Perspective: Zoë managed to get up to Kogan Cave and recommends visiting the museum at the castle for more background on the whole valley.

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Official Information
Full Name
The Prehistoric Sites of the Khorramabad Valley (ID: 1744)
Country
Iran
Status
Inscribed 2025 Site history
History of The Prehistoric Sites of the Khorramabad Valley
2007: Added to Tentative List
Added to tentative list
2025: Inscribed
Meets criterion iii
WHS Type
Cultural
Criteria
  • iii
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UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
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UNESCO.org

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  • Community Category
  • Paleontology: Human evolution
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First published: 02/07/25.

Zoë Sheng

The Prehistoric Sites Of The Khorramabad Valley

The Prehistoric Sites of the Khorramabad Valley (Inscribed)

The Prehistoric Sites of the Khorramabad Valley by Roman Bruehwiler

Don't do what I did: come here in winter! It gets snowy in the area. The area is still open though. The main attraction and definitely ONE of Iran's main attraction to see is Falak ol-Aflak aka Shapur Khast Castle which is based on the town of Khorramabad. It makes me wish I had a drone to cover it better, similar to Palmanova. The pictures you can find online are better and definitely something that will inspire you to go. So maybe Iran isn't quite on the "green" list of places to go with their political drama but if you DO make it to Iran then don't just visit Tehran and ensure you visit the castle.

The location of the valley encompasses the entire area. In fact I don't think it REALLY wants to cover the castle as well. It is more about the caves that are not all visitable as far as I understand. Let's first finish off the castle though. Inside, which is mainly nice for the shape, you also gets a museum. It covers the entire valley stuff too so while it isn't going to be major insight into life 40,000 years ago you will learn more about the area and it's surely a must-see.

As for caves, I suggest Kogan Cave. It's a bit south of Khorramabad. It took me an hour to reach the places to park but wait, you still have to hike up to the actual cave! It takes a good …

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