TEHRAN – The Golden Eagle Luxury Trains, a prestigious European operator of exclusive, long-distance rail tours, is scheduled to run new rounds of its services that offers extensive excursions throughout Iran.

Passengers from several countries including the UK, Spain, the U.S., Australia, Canada, and South Africa will aboard the opening southbound train that is scheduled to depart from Moscow on November 10th, IRNA reported on November 3.

Of an 18th-day itinerary titled “Persian Odyssey” the train will stop at various spots in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan before it enters the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad early on the 11th day of its journey.

Holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS), Nader Shah Museum, and mausoleum of the illustrious Persian poet Ferdowsi (c. 940–1020), are amongst destinations for one-day stop in Khorassan Razavi Province.

The backpackers will also have stopovers in cities of Kerman, Yazd, Isfahan, and Shiraz where rich collections of historical sites and natural beauties of the country stands within or nearby.

The journey will come to an end in Tehran by November 27, following a three-day stay in the capital that will include visits to the Treasury of National Jewels and the 19th-century Golestan Palace.

The final Persian Odyssey, which will be a northbound service, is slated to leave Tehran for Moscow on November 24, 2017, the Society of International Railway Travelers announced on its website.

According to Iranian officials, foreign tourist arrivals in the country have been more than double that of the global average since the nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), went into effect in January 2016.

PHOTO: Tourists walk on a platform at a station in Tehran after arriving in the Iranian capital on a luxury train from Budapest on October 27, 2014. (AFP PHOTO/Atta Kenare)

AFM/ PA