Shahdad has a hot desert climate. The city is located at the edge of the Lut desert, which is one of the hottest an driest places in the world. The Summers are long and extremely hot, while the winter are short and mild. Throughout history Shahdad has been a popular desert gateway between Kerman and the Kaluts of the Lut Desert.
In researches of Shahdad some kilns have found that show the city had been an industrial town and all of them declare that Shahdad had been one the main centres of metal industry in three millennium Bc. According to the discovered earthen it belongs to second half third millennium Bc. Four axes have found in this region that some pictures of animals such as fish, cow, and lion are engraved on them. They undoubtedly belonged to lofty people who used them in their religious and governmental ceremonies.
What makes Kalout Shahdad unique, is amazing wind-sculpted dunes created over the course of thousands of years. The landscape starts changing a few kilometres north of the last Takhab oasis village, where the desert becomes dominated by Yardings “sandcastles’), known as the “Kaluts.” The unusual hills dominate the desert over an area of 145km-long and 80-km wide stretching towards Birjand. The Kaluts have been sculpted over thousands of years by unidirectional winds, however the locals might share more mythical stories with you.
These kalouts are located in an area 40km east and northeast of Shahdad. They have been generated by the extreme soil and water erosion and extend from northwest to the southeast of the region. The kalouts cover part of the western fringe of Lut Desert with an average length of 145 km. There is little vegetation in the desert region. In the addition to the kalouts, there are other beautiful attractions to the east of Kerman, the lowest region of Lut Desert to the east of a salt mine called ‘Gowd-e Namak’, which is situated in the western region of the kalouts.
At this point, the altitude is a mere 56 meters above sea level and is recorded as the lowest region in Iran and not only the hottest place in Iran, but the hottest place on Earth. They call this place ‘Gandom Beryan’, which means roasted grain. The temperature in Lut Desert can exceed 70˚C in the shade, which makes it even hotter than ‘Death Valley’.
Here, there is only sand and silence. No signs of life can be seen these days. There is no vegetation at all. Winds blowing through the lofty sandy pyramids across the desert create a wonderful environment. Kalout Shahdad is a great place for watching sun rise and sun set.
There is a special desert camp designated to host tourists who want to stay the night in desert. Spending the night under the sky and watching the crystal clear stars is a life-time experience which can never be forgotten.
