TEHRAN – A selection of nine natural properties across the western province of Lorestan has recently been inscribed on the national heritage list. 

The Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts announced the inscriptions on Tuesday in separate letters to the governor-general of the province, CHTN reported.

Old plane, elm, and walnut trees as well as Abgarmeh and Sezar waterfalls were among the properties added to the prestigious list.

Lorestan, which is a region of raw beauty, was inhabited by Iranian Indo-European peoples, including the Medes, c. 1000 BC. Cimmerians and Scythians intermittently ruled the region from about 700 to 625 BC. The Luristan Bronzes noted for their eclectic array of Assyrian, Babylonian, and Iranian artistic motifs, date from this turbulent period. 

Lorestan was incorporated into the growing Achaemenid Empire in about 540 BC and successively was part of the Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanid dynasties.

Having an opulent tourist circuit with 26 UNESCO World Heritage sites, of which the vast Hyrcanian Forest and Lut Desert are among the natural properties, Iran seeks to acquire a greater share of the global tourism industry by 2025.

ABU/AFM