TEHRAN -- Hezar- Daf Festival is to be held in Palangan village, Kordestan province, in late April, said the director general of the province’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Department.

Mansour Mehrzad told ISNA that this year may be the last chance for a possible registration of Palangan on the World Best Tourism Villages list. 

Iranian Association of Architects has named this year as Kordestan province to have more introduction of this western province, because Kordestan boasts numerous historical and ancient monuments and villages with valuable texture. 

He explained that close to 300 hectares of Sanandaj texture is historic type. In addition, Bijar and Saqqez are also considered historic sites, he added. 

This indicates that Kordestan is valuable in terms of architecture and historical texture, he said. Today, the province has turned into a tourist destination, he added.

 Fortunately, 12 million tourists visited Kordestan province during past Iranian year (ended on March 20,2025). In addition, nearly 534,000 tourists visited the province from March 15 to April 4, showing an 18-percent rise year-on-year.

He put the number of foreign tourists at 44,734.

He continued that currently, Kordestan boasts 6,000 residential beds for tourists, which can not address the needs of all guests. 

“We have raised the residential bed capacity to 41,000 persons with the help of formal and informal ecotourism sites.”

Mehrzad pointed out that six tangible and intangible heritages of Kordestan province have been registered on the National Heritage List this year.

He said backgammon has been registered on the National Heritage List. “We proposed backgammon for national registration in 2011. The backgammon geography was titled by the name of Kordestan province in 2016.” 

The echoes of the ancient melodies resonated, in Palangan, one of the Kordestan’s oldest villages, enriching the spirits of thousands of fellow countrymen.

The historic village of Palangan, a nominee to be on the World Best Tourism Villages list, played host to approximately 50,000 tourists and travelers from across Iran, in April 2024.

The Hezar-Daf Festival, which means one thousand drums in Persian, was organized with the presence of provincial officials and media groups.

The inaugural Hezar-Daf Festival in Palangan took place tree years ago, the cultural ceremony, serving as a spiritual and cultural heritage, is held on the last Friday of the very first month of the Persian calendar, with the participation of various drumming and artistic groups in the tourist village.

Being celebrated each year with particular grandeur and attended by tourists from both within and outside the province, the Hezar-Daf is one of the most beautiful customs of this historic village.

KD