Things to do in Kermanshah
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Kermanshah
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best window: mild days and green foothills, except the Nowruz holiday peak in late March.
Hot and dry, regularly over 30 C, with July and August hottest and exposed sites punishing at midday.
Second best window: cooler, thinner crowds and the easiest heritage road conditions.
Cold, wet and snowy, with the Paveh and Hawraman mountain roads sometimes hazardous or closed.
What's on
- Nowruz around 20-21 March, holidays about two weeks
Persian New Year: domestic travel peaks, hotels fill and some sites close or run holiday hours.
- Pir Shalyar Festival early February, by local announcement
Hawraman festival of music and ritual around Uraman Takht, with outsider access varying by year.
- Yalda Night around 21 December
The longest night, marked in family homes with poetry, pomegranate and watermelon.
Best things to do in Kermanshah
Taq-e Bostan
Sasanian royal reliefs and grottoes by a spring pool, the signature sight of Kermanshah for about 1,700 years.
Tekyeh Moaven al-Molk
A Qajar mourning hall whose tiles mix Karbala scenes with Shahnameh heroes and images of Persepolis.
Tekyeh Biglar Beigi
The second great Qajar tekyeh, paired with an ethnography museum on Kurdish dress, crafts and daily life.
Zagros Paleolithic Museum
Four galleries of Zagros stone tools and fossils, including material nearly one million years old.
Kermanshah Grand Bazaar
A covered Qajar bazaar with caravanserai courtyards, giveh shoes, kilims, spices and the city sweets.
Shafei Mosque
A richly decorated Sunni mosque in the bazaar quarter, a rarity among Iran major mosques.
Where to stay in Kermanshah
Taq-e Bostan and northern boulevards
car based stays near the main sight
Home to the Parsian hotel and the Taq-e Bostan reliefs, easiest with a car or taxis.
Bazaar and old city
walkers and budget stays
The tekyehs, museum, bazaar and hostels on foot, with simpler hotels than the boulevards.
Bisotun
one night heritage stop
Sleep in the caravanserai at the inscription site on the eastbound heritage road.
Think twice about
- Iraq border districts west of the province
Border zone by Iraq with closures at short notice and security sensitivity. No sightseeing near the border or crossings.
- Areas around military and security facilities
Stay away from security and military facilities. Never photograph checkpoints, police, soldiers or such sites.
- Paraw Cave interior
One of Iran deepest and most dangerous caves, expert expedition cavers only. No casual entry exists.
Best restaurants in Kermanshah
Heidari Restaurant
The recurring barbecue name for dandeh kebab, lamb ribs in tomato, lemon and saffron sauce.
Jamshid Restaurant
A traditional table for khoresh-e khalal, ash-e Abbas Ali and other Kermanshahi dishes.
Rezai Restaurant
A cheap local barbecue for chelow kebab and grilled chicken at resident prices.
Ellipi Restaurant
A budget Persian restaurant for rice, stews and kebabs away from the Taq-e Bostan cluster.
Nan Berenji Bazaar
Bazaar pastry shops for nan berenji, kak and date breads, plus Kermanshah animal oil.
Outdoor things to do in Kermanshah
Bisotun Inscription
Darius trilingual cliff inscription from about 520 BC, a UNESCO site and the key to cuneiform.
Temple of Anahita
A vast stone platform for the water goddess Anahita, huge in scale and still argued over by scholars.
Quri Qaleh Cave
A huge water cave with calcite chambers and a bat colony, visited on a guided route near Ravansar.
Hawraman
UNESCO listed tiered Kurdish villages and terrace farming in the Zagros, reached via Paveh.
Sarab-e Niloufar
A spring fed lotus lagoon west of the city, a local picnic and photography stop in late spring.
Mount Paraw
Hard Zagros foothill hiking with city views, while Paraw Cave itself is expert expedition only.
Best hotels in Kermanshah
Parsian Kermanshah Hotel
The city best full service hotel near Taq-e Bostan, top of the local market but not true luxury.
Laleh Bisotun Hotel
A night inside the Shah Abbasi Caravanserai at the foot of the Bisotun inscription cliff.
Kourosh Hotel
A functional central hotel apartment with large quiet rooms, booked via Iranian platforms.
Kermanshah Oak Hostel
The city best documented budget hostel, the budget name international backpackers actually use.
Is Kermanshah expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | IRR 80,000,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | IRR 200,000,000 a person |
| Splurge | IRR 520,000,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Book hotels direct or via Iran specialist platforms, as global booking sites do not operate normally in Iran.
- Reserve the Laleh Bisotun caravanserai night and Nowruz period rooms well ahead.
Is Kermanshah safe?
- Visitors face a real risk of arrest, questioning or detention in Iran, and Iran does not recognise dual nationality.
- Women must wear a headscarf and loose clothing covering arms and legs in public by law, including foreign visitors.
- Alcohol is illegal, drones are not to be flown, and demonstrations and political discussion with strangers are to be avoided.
- Borders and airspace may close at short notice and internet access is limited across Iran.
Kermanshah travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Do not expect foreign cards to work anywhere: sanctions mean cash only for visitors.
- Do not treat the splurge budget as luxury: Kermanshah has no luxury hotel or dining tier to spend it on.
- Many bazaar shops close on Fridays, good for architecture and bad for shopping.
Getting around Kermanshah: public transport and more
- Use taxis and shared taxis in the city and agree fares in advance.
- Hire a car and driver for Bisotun, Kangavar, Quri Qaleh and Paveh excursion days.
- Buses link the city with Tehran in about 9 hours and Hamadan and Sanandaj in about 3 hours each.
Who Kermanshah suits
| Solo travellers | OK |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | OK |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Kermanshah your trip
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