Khoda-Afarin mountain pass is one of the most dangerous ones crossed by Iranian nomads in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province in the country’s south-west.
Livestock crossing the stairway
Khoda-Afarin means “Created by God” in Persian. It’s a dangerous, hard-to-pass route navigated by nomads in Gazestan region.
Khoda-Afarin is in fact a bridge, a natural passage made by mountain drift on the roaring river of Bazoft, where the water amazingly disappears under the huge rocks all of a sudden.
Its steep slope and narrowness makes this pass very dangerous. The slightest mistake causes the livestock to go berserk and fall off the precipices.
The women and children cross the river’s calmer parts along with the large cattle using Balam, also called Kalak or Sini; some type of traditional boat made of musk.
The Bakhtiari nomads have created stairs there, in the heart of hard mountain rocks, using axe and pickaxe. Some believe the stairs have been carved a thousand years ago. An inscription with Islamic themes is also engraved on the stones.
What follows are Mehr News Agency’s photos of Khoda-Afarin pass:
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