The origins of the river

Zayanderud river or Zendeh Rood which literally means ‘productive or alive river” (the word rud in Farsi refers to river) is a river in Isfahan province which  Starts its 200 km long journey from a mount range in western part of Iranian plateau called Zagros mount range.

Where the river ends in ?

The river continues its way  through number of villages and towns  and at the end after passing through one of the largest provinces of Iran, dies in eastern part of Iran near Yazd Province nearby a small town called Varzaneh and forms a wetland named as Gavkhouni which USED to be the host of hundreds of species of birds every year. However , it yet is,but can not be compared with 2000S and before.

The alive river is now dead !

In mid 2000s due to global climate changes resulting in a long lasting drop in annual rainfall and  supplying the drinking water of  Yazd province from Zayanderud,the river dried in some seasons and eventually  later in 2010s it was completely dry for the whole year . Hopefully ,as a result of a radical increase in annual rainfall in 2019,it’s the first time that Zayanderud is alive for now 5 month in succession during the last 15 years.

Hisory and atractions

Among its curved way the river has been promising  hope and productivity to many villagers and farmers for centuries .Therefore, there are many historical city ,town, and villages along sides of the river bank including the famous city of Isfahan , as a result there are many historical bridges during the history over the river.

Entertainment

In the starting point of the river path there is a massive dam storing the water for agricultural goals. The  dam is an interesting place for camping, swimming and also fishing.There are also rafting clubs on some parts of river bank such as nearby  Zaman khan bridge where you can enroll in a rafting adventure.

Historical attractions

Bridges such as Khajou , Si-o-se-po , Marnan ,Joubi and Shahrestan are the most important and beautiful ones over Zayanderud river and most of them were built in Sfavid rein  during the era when Isfahan was the capital city of Iran.There are also other newly built bridges over this river all along it’s path.