TEHRAN–A total of seven natural properties across Ilam province has recently been inscribed on the national heritage list of Iran.

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

Mahuteh Waterfall, Barreh Zard and Telesm caves, and Almas Strait were among the properties added to the list.

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.

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/AM