Shazdeh Garden in Mahan

Shazdeh, the Prince's Garden, lies in the foothills of Jupar below Mahan, forty kilometres from Kerman. A rectangle about four hundred metres long, it is enclosed by a mud-brick wall and set on a slope: the water runs down the central axis from top to bottom, spilling over the steps of the terraces and gathering in long pools. The garden was laid out around 1850 under the Kerman ruler Mohammad Hasan Khan Sardar; the work was interrupted by his death, and some of the buildings were left unfinished. At the lower end of the axis stands a two-storey entrance pavilion with an arcade, at the upper end the owner's residence; between them are planted cypresses, pines and fruit trees. The water arrives from the mountains along a qanat and moves by gravity alone, without pumps, purely on the difference in height. The contrast is deliberate: outside, stony desert and bare slopes; behind the wall, shade and the constant sound of falling water. In 2011 the garden was inscribed on the UNESCO list as part of the Persian Garden nomination, together with eight other historic gardens of Iran. There is an entrance fee; the garden is at its best in the shade by the cascades on a hot day. It is 40 km from Kerman, and the mausoleum of Shah Nematollah Vali is nearby in Mahan - the two are usually seen on a single trip. Payment in cash.

On the map