Qeshm geopark

[Parvaneh]

Introduction:Qeshm geopark (Persian: ژئوپارک قشم )

Qeshm geopark with an area over 30000 hectars on western side of the Island between longitudes of 26 44 62 and 26 35 00 by north and latitudes of5544 28 and 55 44 44 by east.

In fact, Qeshm geopark is a linear area in east limited to Tabl- sorkh axis, in west to Goor-Kani axis, in north to the northern Qeshm geopark has 8 major sites including:

-Chah Kooh Channel

-Stars oftadeh valley

-A`li Channel

-Tandis ha valley

-Shour valley

-Namakdan

-DOULAB

-koorkoora kooh

Also Qeshm geopark has a museum exhibiting the area`s wild nature, and images of geological phenomena in the geopark.

Qeshm geopark in the Middle-East registered by the global network of geopark in 2006.At present only 17 countries have registered geopark, and due to Qeshm geopark, Iran is among these 17 countries. Obviously, Qeshm geopark is of higher importance due to its strategic location in the Persian Gulf. On the other hand Qeshm geopark has got a proper position in the region and in other geopark as it is located between eastern Asian and European geopark. Due to its variety of geological phenomena and variety of its sites, Qeshm geopark has better position in comparison with other geopark. Of course this variety is not limited to geological phenomena. There are other varieties in ecology, archeology, environment, wild nature etc.

The fact that the coasts are located beside the geopark has multiplied the beauty of this geopark. Another major feature of Qeshm geopark is its adjacency to Harra forest added its nicety.

http://www.qeshmgeopark.blogfa.com/cat-3.aspx

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Location: in Qeshm Island,South of Hormozgan province in Persian golf.

Days of trip: (Without plane) 4-5 Days from Tehran to Tehran (Without heavy traffic you need 20 hr driving from Tehran to Bandar Abbas, then 1 hr by boat to Qeshm island)
Attention: In holidays there is heavy traffic in all roads around Tehran.

Best time to visit: October to May

Daily time visit: No limit

Difficulty level: Easy

Requirements: (Depend on your plan) Guide or GPS track, water, food, warm and waterproof clothes and tent, waterproof shoes, headlamp

Legal permission need: No

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Overall risk: -

Animal risk: No

Lost risk: No

Rescue: Yes, you can call 115

GSM Mobile Antenna: Yes

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Hotel: Yes

Village:

Shop: Yes

Gasoline: Yes

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How to get there:
1- Go to Baihaghi or sout terminal of buses in Tehran (more info), Also you can use air plane or traine.
2- Take a bus ticket to Bandar Abbas
3- Take a boat to Qeshm island



Nearest airport: Bandar Abbas airport

Nearest train station: Bandar Abbas station

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Location on map:




Also see :

viewtopic.php?f=46&t=1723&p=3212
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=886&p=3205
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=887&p=3199
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1717&p=3193
viewtopic.php?f=37&t=1719&p=3198
viewtopic.php?f=37&t=1217&p=2041
viewtopic.php?f=37&t=1649&p=2781



Pictures:

[Parvaneh]

Geosite s Map of Qeshm

http://www.geopark.ir/content/media/80047heg//map.jpg

[Parvaneh]

Are you keen on feeling the smell of local sea food and Taste it? are you going to get familiar with customs and life style of Local people o Qeshm Island? then we suggest you try Local Inns and restaurant which are completely managed and design locally.
here is the list of those Local Inns which are Geopark assistant.

http://www.geopark.ir/content/media/80047heg//local%20Innss.pdf

[Parvaneh]

Hotels' List of Qeshm

http://www.geopark.ir/content/media/80047heg//hotels.pdf

[Parvaneh]

Geopark Wild Life

Bird Sanctuary

In 2003, the Environmental Management Office submitted a proposal for the establishment of a Bird Sanctuary on the North-East coast of the island, to include the broad expanse of inter-tidal mudflats between Qeshm town and the village of Dargahan. This was approved by the QFA administration. The sanctuary extends for about 11 km from east to west, and 500 metres out to sea beyond mean high water mark. It also includes a strip of land 120 metres wide above the mean high water mark (giving a total area of about 680 ha). This is one of the most important areas for migratory water birds on the island, regularly holding large numbers of Dalmatian Pelicans, Greater Flamingos, Eurasian Spoonbills, herons, egrets, shorebirds, gulls and terns. It is also an important fishing area, with about fifteen permanent fish traps. These will be unaffected by sanctuary status, but the construction of further fish-traps will be prohibited. It is hoped that it will be possible, in the future, to construct a research centre with accommodation for students in or adjacent to the sanctuary.

Marine Turtles

The waters around Qeshm Island support a rich and divers marine fauna, including extensive coral reefs off the south coast. Important marine resources include a major shrimp nursery in the Khuran strait off the north-coast of Qeshm, and important nursery areas for bottom-dwelling and pelagic fish off the south- east coast. The inter tidal mud flats, Mangrove area and coral reefs provide suitable habitat for a wide variety of annelids, mollusks, crustaceans and fish which form an important food source for larger fish, water birds, marine turtles and marine mammals. The exceptionally high productivity of coral reefs and mangrove ecosystems have been well documented in many parts of the world, and is widely acknowledged on Qeshm Island, where over the last 11 years, the QFA and local communities have been engaged in Program of mangrove planting in other areas of mud flat around the Island.

Green Turtle

Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) is known to occur in Qeshm Island waters through the year. It seems this turtle has chosen around the Island as its foraging place. But it has no nesting in Qeshm Island. According to several interviews with local fishermen of Qeshm Island; they stated existence of the Green turtle nesting that used to be found in abundance in southern beach and in the skirt of Qeshm town.

Hawk's bill Turtle

Hawk's bill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata bissa): Environment Management office, Mr. Bijan Darrehshouri, who is known in Iran as Marine turtle reviver, of Qeshm Free Area found out the nesting of Hawksbill Turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) in Qeshm Island and for the first time in Iran, it began protecting and studying on these animals. Each year, an estimated 200 Hawksbill Turtles come to lay their eggs in the soft sand above high water mark on a 25-km stretch of beach between Direstan Gulf and Suza town, on the south coast of the island. With the efforts of the Environmental Management Office and at the request of the GEF Small Grants Program, this stretch of beach, including a strip of land 120 meters wide above mean high water mark, has been declared a protected area for the turtles to help conserve the habitat. For the past six years, the Environmental Management Office has been working with the people of Shibderaz village in this project to protect the nests and eggs of the turtles. The project includes awareness rising by conservation and art work, developing a community based eco-tourism plan including income generation activities, and preparation of CDs, booklets and videos on the lessons learned for wide dissemination. Five to seven local youths are employed for five months each season to find the turtle nests, remove the eggs, and rebury them at the main project site, where they can be protected (by wire mesh) from predation by dogs and foxes until they hatch. The hatchlings are then allowed to make their own way into the sea. Details of clutch size, incubation period and hatching success are meticulously recorded, as well as details of temperature, humidity etc. Adult females individually mark with permanent tags, and it has been demonstrated that some females will visit the beach three times in a season to lay eggs. The Tags are prepared by Australian Embassy office in Iran. Two small huts with power and water supply have been constructed by the Environmental Management Office at the main project site near Shibderaz, to serve as a base for the project employees. The project has been extremely successful, not only in terms of improving the hatching success of the turtles, but also in involving the local community in an important conservation project. The success of the turtle project is now clearly a source of some pride to the villagers of Shibderaz, who are frequently requested to show their turtles to visiting dignitaries. A grant has been provided through the UNDP GEF Small Grants Program to Shibderaz village council and the Environmental Management Office. For centuries, Qeshm women, who have been involved in art works and fine handicrafts businesses, have quickly empowered themselves in authentic Kilim-weaving and art works. Over the last seven years, successive training courses held and led by Mrs. Darrehshouri in Qeshm villages. Each training course is for 3 months and an average of 15 local girls and women have been trained. Meantime, the significance of protecting hawksbill turtles has increased among other local residents. Community Weavers have also been inspired to create turtle motifs on their Kilims and other products to help increased the families’ role in protection of the environment and saving the endangered turtles. The currently woven Kilims in Qeshm Island are characterized by exclusively local identity bearing unprecedented design and motifs.

[Parvaneh]

[Parvaneh]

Hara Protected Area

Hara Protected Area (85,686 ha) was established in 1973 to protect the most extensive stands of natural mangrove forest on the south coast of Iran. It was upgraded to National Park in the mid-1970s, but subsequently downgraded to Protected Area again in 1980. It is situated within a larger Ramsar Site (100,000 ha), designated as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention in June 1975. As a Contracting Party to the Ramsar Convention (the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat), the Government of Iran has an inherent commitment to maintain the ecological character of this wetland. The Protected Area was designated as a UNESCO (MAB) Biosphere Reserve in June 1976, and was identified as an ‘Important Bird Area’ by Birdlife International in 1994. A general description of the area is given in A Directory of Wetlands in the Middle East.The importance of the mud-flats and mangrove areas along the North Coast of Qeshm Island for migratory water birds has long been recognized, and was one of the principal reasons for the establishment of Hara Protected Area in 1973 and designation of a Ramsar Site in 1975. Water bird surveys and censuses have been carried out in the Protected Area and Ramsar Site by personnel of the Department of the Environment in most winters since the early 1970s. However, it is only since the establishment of the Environmental Management Office that the full importance of the mud-flats along the north-east coast of the island, between Qeshm town and Dargahan, has been recognized. This site has recently been designated as a Bird Sanctuary.

Abundance and variety of Coral Reefs

Abundance and variety of Coral Reefs Totally, there are 21 species of coral reefs under a group of 8 families in three considerable sites i.e. Naz Islands, Hengam Island and Zeitoon site around Qeshm Island. Across the coast of Zeitoon site, corals of Poritidae family can be seen which are known as dominant species, and on the other side, another family of corals (Faviidae) in the Naz Islands, have also been identified as dominant species. Across the coast of Hengam where the transparency of sea water has given it a wonderful landscape; coral reefs can be observed so clearly. Considering the fact that coral reefs are highly enriched in these three coastal areas, several species of ornamental aquarium fish, turtles, and soles can abundantly be seen there. Furthermore, along the Coast of Hengam Island, Humpback and Bottlenose dolphins can also be observed in that site which has created a beautiful portrayal to the Island. Humpback dolphins have been identified as migrants from the ocean. Annually, a large number of tourists are attracted to visit the site. .