Current Time in Khorramabad, Iran

Khorramabad is the capital of Lorestan Province in western Iran, set in a green valley of the central Zagros Mountains at an altitude of about 1,150 metres. Steep ridges rise on every side, springs and small rivers cross the town, and oak forests cover the surrounding slopes, giving the city a freshness unusual for the Iranian interior. Its name means the flourishing place, and the choice was not accidental.

Around three hundred and eighty thousand people live here, most of them Lurs, one of the oldest groups in Iran, speaking their own language and maintaining strong tribal and family traditions. The city is the commercial and administrative hub for a mountainous province, handling agriculture, livestock and, increasingly, tourism. Its position on the main road and rail corridor between Tehran and Khuzestan gives it wider strategic value.

Settlement in this valley goes back thousands of years. The caves of the region have produced some of the earliest evidence of human occupation in Iran, and the bronzes of Luristan, made in the first millennium before the common era, are prized in museums around the world for their stylised animals and elaborate horse fittings. The town was known in the Sassanian period as Shapurkhast and later served as a seat of the Atabegs of Lorestan, local rulers who governed the mountains with considerable independence for centuries.

The great landmark is Falak-ol-Aflak Castle, a massive brick fortress with twelve towers standing on a natural rock above the city. Founded in Sassanian times and rebuilt repeatedly, it now houses an anthropological museum and is one of the most photographed monuments in Iran. Below it lie the remains of Gerdab-e Sangi, a circular stone water structure of the same period, and a tall brick minaret whose original mosque has vanished. Outside the city, the Bishe Waterfall, reached by a scenic railway line, and the mineral lake of Keeyow attract weekend visitors, while the mountain valleys offer some of the finest hiking in western Iran.

Cultural life is closely tied to Luri identity. Traditional music played on wind instruments and drums, epic songs, dances performed in long lines at weddings, and richly patterned felt and kilim work all remain part of everyday life. The castle museum, a small archaeological collection and lively bazaars selling honey, walnuts and dairy products give a good introduction to the province.

Khorramabad is served by a domestic airport, a station on the celebrated Trans-Iranian Railway, whose bridges and tunnels through the Zagros are recognised by UNESCO, and a motorway running north to Tehran. Buses and shared taxis provide local transport. Lorestan University and Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, together with several technical colleges, make the city the educational centre of the province.

Khorramabad offers a combination not easily found elsewhere in Iran, pairing an imposing ancient fortress with mountain scenery, waterfalls and a living tribal culture. For travellers heading between the capital and the south-west it makes a natural and memorable stop.