Halgurd:
Summiting Iraq's highest Mountain
- Alexander
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How To Summit Halgurd – Iraq’s highest Mountain
While most people would associate Iraq with destruction and endles desert, the country shows a various landscape. Especially the Kurdistan region is known for its lush valleys, waterfalls and also mountain ranges. The highest peak of both, Iraq and Kurdistan, is called Halgurd and lies just next to the Iranian border. Sumitting it was one of my favourite experiences while travelling through the area.
📜 Background Information of Halgurd
Standing at 3607m Halgurd is the highest mountain in both Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan. Technically, there is another peak about 4 km to the northeast — Cheekha Dar — just 4 meters taller. However, due to the military presence on both the Iranian and Kurdish sides, the peak is mostly closed to public. Because of this, locals recognize Halgurd as the highest peak.
As a consequnence of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s there still remain several active land mines. I don’t know if this is the reason, but you will need an official permit to access the area. Additionally it requires a lot of Equipment for attempting the summit. I’d recommend to find a Guide to organize the permit, give you necesarry equipement and guide the way so you won’t enter a landmine area by accident. Further below you will find more information about the equipment and how to find a Guide.
Travelling through Iraqi Kurdistan? Check out:
Table of Contents
🚕 How to get to Halgurd Mountain
You will start your journey from either Soran or Choman.
Soran is easily accesable by shared taxi / Mini Van from Erbil for 6.000 IQD within 90 mins. When going with a guide there is a good chance you will start here early morning.
Choman is the last town before Halgurd and sits very close to the Iranian border. In fact, it’s so close that some rental cars automatically shut off a few kilometers west of Choman to prevent vehicle theft across the border.
There are no regular taxis going to Choman, so your best option is to hitchhike from Soran, which takes around one hour. Be cautious, though — don’t stray too far from town on foot. When I passed through, I encountered several aggressive wild dogs outside of Soran.
Once you arrive in Choman you can spend the night there camping. You won’t find any guest houses in Choman online but you should find possible accomendation when asking in this Facebok Group.
💡 Couchsurfing shoud work perfectly fine in this area too.
🔗 More information on Soran & Rawanduz: How to visit Soran & Rawanduz
🧗♂️ Organizing Equipment and Guide
Besides the Permit you will need a lot of Equipent, including:
Hiking boots
45L+ hiking backpack
Snow gaiters
Helmet
Down jacket, windbreaker, fleece layer
Waterproof pants
Hiking socks
Ice axe
Trekking poles
Rope
Climbing harness
Hat or balaclava (to fit under a helmet)
Carabiners
Base-layer gloves and insulated gloves
- Crampons
⚠️ This List goes for Spring. While in Summer you most likely won’t need Crampons or Ice Axe, in Winter addtional equipment is necessary.
As you can see you’ll need a lot of Equipment, which is impossible to carry around for your entire travels. So there is no way around renting it. During my time in Iraq I managed to meet the owner of the hiking store in Soran, who operates as a certified guide for Halgurd too. You can find his store here.
Before arriving in Kurdistan, I spent a lot of time trying to find a guide online. I contacted roughly 5 guides who’s prices ranged from 250$-400$ and doesn’t even include transportation. This is insanely expensive for a day trip and more than I spent in a week in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Danial, the owner of Soran’s hiking store made me an offer of 200$, which included
The climbing permit
Full gear rental
4×4 transportation to the mountain range from Choman
His services as a guide
While $200 might seem steep compared to other costs in the region, for a fully organized alpine climb with safety risks, it felt totally fair. (Note: This price was for spring season with pickup from Choman. Summer climbs might be cheaper; winter climbs more expensive. If starting from Soran, expect an added fee for transport.)
Also, every second week, there is a team Danial knows, which you can join and would reduce the cost further.
I love hiking, and honestly — how often do you get the chance to summit the highest mountain in Iraq? Even though it stretched my budget, I have no regrets. The views, the challenge, and the isolation of the Kurdish mountains made it one of the most unforgettable experiences of my trip.
⛰️ Sumitting Halgurd Mountain
After grabbing some breakfast in Choman we left the town around 7:30am in a 4×4 and drove roughly two hours until we reached a height of approximatly 3000m. (Note: In Winter you will need to get out way lower, but more about that in the Winter section)
We prepared our gear, put on Hiking Shoes and Snow Gaiters before leaving the car and starting our hike. I quickly noticed that there is no real route. We just walked through unmarked terrain, which showed me it was a good idea to hire a guide for this.
Landmines:
After around 30 mins I started seeing the first Warning Signs. Basically those signs are triangles which used to inform about the landmines but are completly rusted out today. Without a guide or preparation you might not even know you are so close to active explosives. Throughout the next hour of walking I saw several inactive Landmines and Bullets covered in Rust on the the floor.
Eventually the entire area was covered in snow and it got steeper and steeper. The air got thinner and it got harder to breath. I got quite dizzy and asked for a break. We continued for 20 mins until we found a tall rock to regain strength, hydrate and eat.
Now it was time to fully gear up. We put on our harnet and connected each other on a rope for safety reasons and wear a helmet for the final stretch.
After fighting through a thick snow passage we reached the mountain ridge and were welcomed by the heaviest wind I ever got to experience. I loved this moment, was full of adrenaline and just started screaming out of excitement. The wind was howling so loud, you couldnt even hear my voice though.
Finally we reached the Summit of Halgurd Mountain. It took us roughly 4 hours and two breaks to make it to the top. I had enough time to take a few pictures before we turned around due to the heavy wind.
💪 Difficulty
I wouldn’t call Halgurd an extremely technical or difficult summit. It’s absolutely doable even for travelers with limited climbing experience. That said, this is not a walk in the park either.
You’ll be hiking in high-altitude conditions across snow-covered and steep terrain. While your guide will handle the ropes and safety equipment, you should have basic mountain knowledge, such as how to self-rescue with an ice axe in case of a fall.
As long as you have some descent Stamina you should be fine to summit Halgurd together with a guide, who would help you with Ropes and Safety.
⚠️This goes for the months April – October. In Winter the summit is way harder. More about that in the next chapter.
❄️ Summit in Winter
Halgurd in Winter is a whole different story. It comes with several challenges and you will need solid mountaineering experience.
First of all the roads will be covered in Snow, so the Ascent will begin way further down. This makes it already impossible to summit it within a day and turns the climb into a 2-3 day expedition.
Temperatures will be more extrem, wind even heavier and there is good chance of a Snow Storm hitting you. Also you would easily have to pay double or triple do any guide during winter season.
That said I didn’t do the summit myself during Winter time and can only forward to you what I know from my Guide and other locals.
Final Thoughts
🔗 A Full Guide to Travel Iraqi-Kurdistan
If you get the chance and have the necessary budget go for this activity! The landscapes from the top of Iraq are absolutely stunning, and the experience of summiting the country’s highest peak is something few travelers can claim.
And let’s be honest…
How many people can say they’ve Iraq’s highest mountain? I think that’s also a pretty epic conversation starter ;P
More on Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan
How to visit Erbil in 2025
How to visit Lalish in 2025
How to visit Rawanduz & Soran in 2025
How to visit Mosul in 2025
How to visit Akre in 2025 (Iraqi Kurdistan)
Halgurd: How to summit Iraq’s highest Mountain
How to travel Iraqi Kurdistan in 2025
How to visit Federal Iraq in 2025
Alex
Welcome off the beaten path!
I’m Alex, a 23 year old traveler who loves to explore the corners of the world, that still seem to be untouched. In this Blog I want to share my experiences with you.
