TEHRAN – On Saturday, a scientific research center dedicated to desert studies was officially inaugurated in the Shahdad region of Iran’s Kerman province.

Shahdad region of the UNESCO-registered Lut desert is home to shifting sands, salt plains, meteorite fields, and rocky terrain, which offers visitors breathtaking vistas and unparalleled serenity of the intact nature and wilderness.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Kerman’s tourism chief said Shahdad is one of the most important gateways to the Lut Desert.

“More attention should be devoted to the Shahdad region, which is a top destination for domestic and international travelers,” Fereydoun Fa’ali said.

The official said upgrading tourism facilities is on the agenda for the Shahdad region. “Currently, many tourists visit Shahdad attractions, and fortunately, we do not face any problems with their accommodation,” the official added.

With the launch of this scientific center, local people and tourists will get to know more about the Lut desert and its wonders, Fa’ali said.

“We want to provide better conditions for the presence of sightseers in the Shahdad region as it is of special importance in the field of tourism.”

Shahdad has long been a destination for adventurers, nature lovers, off-roaders, and trekkers. It is home to giant dunes (locally called kaluts), shifting sands, salt plains, meteorite fields and rocky terrain, which offers visitors breathtaking vistas and unparalleled serenity of the intact nature and wilderness.

Also called Dasht-e Lut (“Emptiness Plain”), the salt desert is encircled by the provinces of Kerman and Sistan- Baluchestan, and South Khorasan. Seven years of satellite temperature data analyzed by NASA showed Lut was the hottest spot on Earth, with a temperature of 70.7°C in 2005.

The scorching desert is one of the top areas in the world for finding meteorites, thanks to its unique parameters. In recent years, significant finds have been made, with the efforts of national and international teams of researchers.

Lut is situated in an interior basin surrounded by mountains, so it is in a rain shadow and, coupled with high temperatures, the climate is hyper-arid. A steep north-south pressure gradient develops across the region in spring and summer, causing strong winds to blow across the area between June and October each year.

Those who set up camps are well rewarded when the sun sets to prepare the ground for a very bright moon and extremely vivid stars to show off in the absolutely clear sky of the desert.

The desert displays a wide variety of forms, including linear-, compound crescentic-, star-, and funnel-shaped dunes. It is home to giant Nebkha dune fields (dunes formed around plants) as well.

“The region has been described in the past as a place of 'no life' and information on the biological resources in this area is limited. Nevertheless, the property possesses flora and fauna adapted to the harsh conditions, including an interesting adapted insect fauna,” the UN body said.

AFM