Laft Qeshm Island

This fishing village on the northern coast of Qeshm Island is the best place in Iran to encounter the fast-disappearing traditional culture of the Persian Gulf. Perched on a rocky slope overlooking the Khoran Strait, Laft has a wonderfully photogenic roofscape of badgirs (wind towers) and minarets. Views are best from the hill near the ruins of the Portuguese-built Naderi Fort. From this vantage point you’ll also see dozens of ancient wells and a white-domed ab anbar (water cistern). A few hundred metres north of Laft is one of Qeshm’s many lenge-building yards. These traditional cargo boats are still used to carry goods back and forth across the gulf. Laft is also the place to go for a boat trip into the nearby Harra Sea Forest.