Badab-e Surt, Iran’s unique tourist attraction

Badab-e Surt is an eye-catching natural spring in Iran’s northern province of Mazandaran.

Also called "Color Springs", it is located some 95 kilometers south of the provincial capital of Sari.

The tourist attraction has been registered as the second national natural monument of Iran after Mount Damavand.

Over thousands of years, flowing water from two mineral hot springs cooled and deposited carbonate minerals on the mountainside, producing stepped travertine terrace formations.

One of the mineral hot springs does not freeze in winter because of its salinity. It has a 15-meter-diameter pool that is usually used for swimming in summer.

The other is tart, red, and orange and delivers iron oxide from the depths of the rocks to the ground.

Badab-e Surt has been inscribed as the second saltwater spring in the world after Pamukkale spring in Turkey. It includes a variety of springs with very different flavors, smells, and water volumes.

Water from the springs can treat rheumatism, migraine headaches, skin disorders, as well as back and leg pains.

The sedimentary and mineral water flow of these springs has created intricate layers over time in various colors and sizes in its mountain downstream slope. With pine forests, shrubbery, bushes, and valleys surrounding the springs, the heights and hills have created a breathtaking scene.

MG/MG