6 Day Desert Skies: Astro-Tourism in Maranjab & the Lut

5 nights in total.
Maranjab caravanserai (2 nights): a restored Safavid-era caravanserai on the edge of the salt desert, with simple rooms around the courtyard and shared bathrooms.
Yazd (1 night): Dad Hotel,
4★, en-suite double room.
Lut desert camp (2 nights): a simple private camp near the kaluts with tents, mattresses and bedding, and basic shared toilets.
A 5★ upgrade for the Yazd night is offered as a paid add-on (see Rooms & Add-ons).

English-speaking expert astro-guide (shared small group of 2–12; private guiding on request)

Full board - ALL meals provided, at the caravanserai and desert camp. In Yazd: breakfast at the hotel and dinner in a traditional courtyard house; lunches on the road days at local restaurants.

Private 4x4/vehicle & all ground transfers

Telescopes and the guided star sessions

All camp equipment and camp fees

Entrance fees to the sites on the itinerary

24/7 on-the-ground support

By road only: about 1,360 km in a private vehicle, with a 4x4 for the desert tracks and short hops around Maranjab and the Lut. The long days are Day 3 (Maranjab to Yazd, about 480 km, 6–6.5 hours) and Day 4 (Yazd to the Lut, about 500 km, 6.5–7 hours); we stop every two hours or so. The Yazd night is there so that no single day exceeds 7 hours of driving.

Star nights: four guided sessions (Days 1, 2, 4 and 5), each 2–6 hours after dinner. Sessions depend on the weather; if clouds or dust roll in, your astro-guide moves the session to later that night or to the next clear evening.

Moon and season: the darkest skies are in the week either side of the new moon, so ask us to match your dates to the moon phase. The bright core of the Milky Way is visible in the evening from about March to early October; from November to January you see the fainter winter Milky Way, Orion and the bright winter stars instead.

Cold nights: in the October–April season desert days are mild, but nights drop close to or below freezing, especially from December to February. Bring a warm down jacket, hat, gloves and thermal layers for the long sessions outside.

Facilities: the caravanserai and the Lut camp are simple, with shared bathrooms and limited power for charging, so bring spare camera batteries and a power bank. The Yazd hotel has en-suite rooms. There is little or no mobile signal in the deserts.

What to bring: a camera that shoots in manual mode, a sturdy tripod, a wide fast lens if you have one, and a red-light head torch. White torches and phone screens are kept off during sessions to protect everyone's night vision.

Drones: please leave your drone at home. Flying one in Iran needs a special permit, and drones are often held at customs on arrival.

Dress code: women need a headscarf in public and loose clothing covering arms and legs, including in towns and at Yazd's historic sites; in the camps you can dress for the cold.

Arrival and departure: the tour starts at Imam Khomeini Airport (IKA), Tehran, and ends at Kerman International Airport (KER) around midday on Day 6. If your flight lands in Tehran late in the evening, we can book an airport-hotel night before Day 1 on request (extra cost). Kerman has domestic flights to Tehran for international connections; we can book these on request.

International flights to/from Iran

Travel insurance (required)

Iran visa / e-visa authorization (we can arrange it)

Drinks, tips/gratuities and personal expenses

Camera equipment (bring your own)

Anything not listed under Included