Climbing Halgurd
Within the Kurdistan region of Iraq, you’ll find the Zagros mountains which rise well over three thousand meters or almost twelve thousand feet. Wildlife is hard to spot, but the Zagros mountains are home to everything from bears to snow leopards, as well as large game animals. I had my sights on the nation’s highest peak which is Cheekah Dar located on the border of Iran, but locals convinced me to Halgurd instead. For most of the year Cheekah Dar isn’t accessible because of military patrols from Iran, but regardless it’s just a mere four meters or thirteen feet higher than Halgurd. Most importantly, Halgurd is said to be much more beautiful, just look at the photo above! So after learning all that, it was an easy decision and I set out to climb the highest peak wholly within Iraq.
Regardless of what mountain adventures you decide to do, you’ll likely base yourself out of the village of Choman. This is a nice sized town located in the heart of the Zagros mountains, and from here you have easy access to rock climbing, hiking, and camping. Even the drive here is great, and you’ll pass throw a few canyons an done of the most famous waterfalls in the region. Below is a photo of Gali Ali Beg falls, the highest waterfall in the country which appears on Iraqi bank notes.
No matter what time of year you do Halgurd, it will be a beautiful climb. I did my hike at the end of fall, where the first snows of the year were covering the valley. Below is my friend who I climbed with on his 112th time up Halgurd!
I’ve seen some incredibly beautiful photos of these peaks during the spring. The lower elevations of the park become a vibrant green and are covered with flowers of all colors. My trip was at the end of fall, where many trees were becoming shades of gold at the bottom of the peak, and the upper areas were covered in snow. I actually got lucky as a big storm had rolled in just the day before, and left some impressive rime ice on some of the plants and rocks. These spikey plants were my favorite, although I’d not want to fall onto one! At first I thought these tracks below belonged to a large game animal, but they actually are from a cottontail rabbit!
This photo above shows the bulk of Choman from the starting point of the hike. It’s actually fairly easy since it’s not but a few m iles and the elevation gain isn’t to great. The annoying thing about the hike however is that you’ll have to stay on a road and do a giant half circle before you get closer to the actual peak. Once you’re off the road the hike is much more interesting, and you’ll actually even be able to see an outpost from the Iranian military.
Above is the path that leads up to the summit. It looks like a serious scramble, but it’s actually mostly hiking with only one or two areas that you might need to use your hands. Once you past this area, you’ll return to some snow and will be able to see the summit block on your right.
The hike up Halgurd can be done in a matter of hours, but if you’d like to make more of an adventure out of it there are plenty of places to camp. Above is myself in the center and two locals who joined me for this wonderful mini adventure. My next visit will definitely be focused on some rock climbing in the area!
