TEHRAN – Tourism authorities of Ban-e Sarv in the western province of Ilam plan to boost the tourism infrastructure of the small village, the provincial tourism chief has said.

As the main tourist attraction of the village, the access road to a collection of old cypress trees will be improved, Farzad Sharifi explained on Friday.

Rare species of cypresses at a historical site in this village should be introduced at the national level, as they cannot be found in any historical area throughout the country, the official added.

The collection of old cypress trees of Ban-e Sarv has been added to the national heritage list.

The evergreen cypress has been presented as an outstanding tree in the world. For being always green, Zoroastrians believe that the tree has always had significant importance.

Home to almost half of Iran’s UNESCO sites, western Iran is a land of hospitable people, wild extremes, and wilder history, and it may be an independent traveler's adventure playground. The region also witnessed the rise and fall of many great empires once bordering Mesopotamia, Ottoman Turkey, and Czarist Russia.

From the fecund Caspian coast to the stark, mountainous northern borders, and the crumbling desert ruins of the southern plains, the region hosts everything from paddy fields to blizzards to Persian gardens.

ABU/AFM