Matin Abad Desert Eco-Camp

Set in the desert near Kashan, Matinabad Desert Camp faces the Karkas Mountains on one side and a salt lake on the other. The camp spans 23 hectares, with organic gardens and paddocks for camels and ostriches worked into the grounds. It is Iran's first desert eco-camp of its kind. Rooms are split across three styles: 20 modern rooms inside a traditional caravanserai, 15 domed huts cooled and heated for the climate, and eight equipped tents. The huts borrow their rounded roofs from the building style of central Iran's desert villages, built to keep air moving through in the heat. A restaurant and tea house serve produce grown on the camp's own farm. Guests can ride camels or take a horse-drawn carriage out across the sand, and watch the sunset from the dunes. Nights are given over to stargazing, with a fire lit for guests to sit around after dark. It is a working stretch of desert, not a backdrop. Bicycles are available for riding through the dunes, and there is a sand volleyball court and a play area for children. You can hear little beyond wind and camp life after dark. Days end quietly, with the salt lake catching the last light before the stars take over.