How to visit Rawanduz & Soran in 2025

Alexander
June 20, 2025
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How to Visit Soran & Rawanduz in 2025 – The Middle East’s Greenest Corners

The Canyon of Rawanduz might be the most iconic site in Iraqi Kurdistan. It stretches for kilometers through a green valley, with a river making its way through the heart of the canyon. I haven’t seen anything like it anywhere in Europe or the Middle East.

Right next to it lie the two mountain towns of Rawanduz and Soran. Despite how unique this destination is, very few travelers make it here, and most who do still go with a guide simply because there’s so little information available.

In this guide, I’ll show you how to visit Rawanduz and Soran, how to get there, how to move around, as well as best spots to see.

Travelling through Iraqi Kurdistan? Check out:

Iraqi Kurdistan – A Travel Guide

📜 Quick History

Rawanduz used to be the capital of the kurdish emirate Soran, one of the most important Kurdish principalities in the 18th and 19th centuries. From here, Kurdish rulers like Muhammad Pasha Rawanduz launched ambitious military campaigns and tried to unify parts of Kurdistan long before modern borders existed. Since 1970 the village has been part of the autonomous region of Kurdistan.

🚕 How to get there

Getting to Rawanduz is fairly easy once you know where to go.

From Erbil:

Head to the Erbil Terminal and ask around for a shared taxi or minivan to Soran. A ticket in the minivan is 6.000 IQD, for the shared taxi 10.000 IQD. They leave once full, so there’s no fixed departure time. Minivans run from morning until evening, and shared taxis sometimes even operate late into the night.

Soran to Rawanduz:

From Soran you can easily hitchhike to Rawanduz. The price of a taxi is anything between 1.000 IQD and 5.000 IQD, depending on the traffic situation.

💡 The Soran Taxi Spot is very hidden behind a workshop. You can find the exact location here.

🌄 Soran

This mountain town was my base for almost a week thorughout my Trip through Iraqi Kuirdistan. In the city itself there is not much to do. There are several shops including Pharmacies, resteraunts, small supermarkets, shisha bars, tea houses and even a hiking store.

🥡 Where To Eat In Soran

The main thing you will eat here is Kebab. There is a palce called Swedish Pizza, even though I have no idea what the hell a swedish Pizza is even supposed to be. The two times I passed by it was closed though. Kebab places are everywhere around town. The one I liked the most I marked you here. A Kebab Sandwich is 1.500 IQD.

🤝 Where To Socialize In Soran

There is a tea house in Soran, called Yaran Cafè, which I can highly recommend for a rainy day or simply to make some new friends.

🛏️ Where To Stay In Soran

For 25.000 IQD a night I stayed at Hotel Diana Palace. It was the most pricey place I’ve been to in Iraq but very clean with a big comfortable bed. I didn’t hear of any other guesthouses in the town, yet there should be some hidden hotels, which simply aren’t marked on Google Maps.

⛰️ Rawanduz

Rawanduz is located right next to the Canyon.

🥡 Where To Eat in Rawanduz

There are some street food vendors. I don’t know why but the three times I’ve been in Rawanduz on both the weekend and weekdays most stores were closed and the town seemed a bit dead. However there are several tea houses that are as traditional it can get.

🛏️ Where To Stay In Rawanduz

Don’t! It’s a destination for Iraqi tourists and the only hotels here are overpriced resorts for wealthy Iraqis costing 100$ a night or more. Stay in Soran or go camping.

🏞️ Rawanduz Canyon

The highlight of Rawanduz and probably even of all of Iraqi Kurdistan. The best starting point to hike through the canyon I marked here. It lies just before Rawanduz on a small bridge. It’s super easy to hitchhike here. You can then hike through the canyon for around two and a half hours before you reach the Bekhal Waterfalls. More on that later.

🐗 Wildlife In Rawanduz Canyon:

Since the Canyon is so deep and isolated from the valley on top of it, it feels like the canyon has its own eco system. You’ll find many birds, rabbits and even snakes here. The snakes are actually poisonous so be a bit careful.

⛺ Camping In Rawanduz Canyon

I decided to go Camping in the Canyon, but didn’t have a tent on me. Around 1 in the morning a snake woke me up and I escaped back to Soran to sleep in a hotel for the rest of the night. Just take a tent with you and you’ll be fine. The atmosphere and sounds as well as the nightsky here was insane though. You can also rent camping equipment at Soran’s hiking store.

🌊 Bekhal & Gel Ali Bag Waterfalls

There are two major waterfalls in the region.

Bekhal Waterfalls

A very touristic place. Many people from Iraq come here for hollidays. While the nature here is quite exploited it still is a beautiful area. There are many shops and resteraunts here. Just know that everything here is a bit more expensive. You will actually end up here after the hike through the Canyon. You can return back to Soran or continue to Gel Ali Bag waterfall by hitchhiking very easily.

Gel Ali Bag Waterfall

You will need to hitchhike to reach this place. There even is an entrance fee of 500 IQD. It’s nice to see but too crowded for my taste. You can take boat rides in the tiny lake, shop fake branded Flip Flops and get really expensive Ice Cream here. As you can hear from my tone the place was not exactly my favourite but I guess it’s still nice to see if you are around anyway.

🚗 Day Trips from Soran

As I told you earlier I spend an entire week here. This gave me a good chance to take day trips from here. The Soran Garage, from where shared taxis depart, you can find hidden behind a car workshop here.

🕌 Akre

A historic town with one of the oldest mosques in Kurdistan. It’s about 2 hours away and can be reached by shared taxi.

👉 Check out my full guide: How to Visit Akre

🏔 Summit Halgurd: Iraq’s Highest Mountain

The highest mountain in both Iraq and Kurdistan. You’ll need a permit as well as a guide to reach the summit.

👉 Read more in my guide: How to Visit Halgurd Mountain

🏞 Choman

The last village before the iranian border. While I only passed by for breakfast the town is quite charming and lies next to the most beautiful lake in Iraqi Kurdistan. I marked you the lake here. It’s perfect for a hiking day trip.

⚠️ Note: You can only reach Choman by hitchhiking or with a guide. As far as I know, there are no shared taxis going there.