Daytrip to Rawanduz

The plan for the day was to make a daytrip to Rawanduz from Erbil.  The information available suggested that I take public transport in the form of shared taxis to Soran and then change to a private taxi.

After breakfast, I headed out around 0830 to hail a taxi to the shared taxi station.  I said “Soran Garage” to the driver and he replied “Family Mall” which was supposed to be the area for the station.  I walked through the big empty station to find buses and taxis in the platforms behind.

It was easy finding the correct vehicles as drivers help all prospective passengers to the right cars.  A car to Soran had just filled up and I would be the first for the next one.  I took the front seat but was asked to shift to the back seat of the full car while one passenger hopped out.  The middle passenger was a bit large and it was a bit tight for the passenger that opted to wait.

We hit the road around 0900.  The journey was a little squishy for me too but for a 2h journey it was bearable.

The later part of the journey was a little windy.  It is known as the Hamilton Road named after the New Zealand engineer Archibald Hamilton that designed the road linking the area to Iran.  It was all part of the plan to exploit the region’s oil resources and transport it out.

With a little altitude, Soran felt cool when I arrived.  Ann had suggested that I wear shorts to avoid looking like a Turkmen so that I’d get more favourable attention as a tourist.  I was starting to regret my choice of apparel today.

I walked around briefly and with nothing in particular to interest me, I sought a driver to take me to Rawaduz.  The first and only driver I approached was nice and quoted me IQD5000 (USD4) for the 20 min uphill ride.  Explaining that I wanted to have a little tour to the Bekhal waterfalls and then come back, he revised the price to IQD10000 for a simple return-trip and IQD15000 for loop excursion with some sights which I didn’t really understand.  It seemed quite reasonable to me, so I agreed.

He turned out to be a good driver and guide, taking me to a few awesome viewpoints.  I learnt that there were two different canyons, one with a river and the other with a small trickle.  We drove past the teleferique (cable car) which runs up to Mt Korek Resort but didn’t stop.

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Next was the Bekhal waterfalls, which were very touristy with shops and restaurants.  With selective photography, I was able to make it look like a quiet scenic spot.

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Finally, we visited the Shingelbana resort, on top of the cliff high above Bekhal waterfalls.  I had no idea why he had brought me to this expensive resort just for the view.  I then clicked when he took me to the passenger cart track that looped around the resort, a portion of which was off the cliff-edge looking down at Bekhal waterfalls.

He found a break under the fence and took me on to the maintenance track adjacent to the cart track.  The access ramp was missing its floor so it was a little hairy getting across but today I learnt that I don’t have a fear of heights!

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After about 2h with him, I was dropped at Soran’s bus/taxi terminal for my journey back to Erbil.  I opted to wait for a shared taxi as thought with fewer seats, it would fill faster.  Very wrong!  One van filled up while waiting and left.  At IQD6000 for the van vs IQD10000 for the taxi, most people were opting for the van.  With the second van approaching capacity, I decided to swap on to the van and we left shortly after.  It was actually more pleasant in the van.

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I noticed along the way various picnic areas by streams.  Ann had told me yesterday that Kurds like nature and they would spend weekends and holidays getting into the countryside rather than go to big cities.  That makes sense as I see a lot of hill resorts as well.

I arrived back in Erbil and was dropped off opposite the bus terminal where I took a taxi back, getting to the hotel before 1600.  As I had skipped lunch, I had an early and larger-than-normal dinner of kebab across the road.