30 km from the city of Tabas and 2 km from the village of Kharv in south Khorasan province of Iran, among the rough mountains enduring the hot and relentless sun of the desert, there is a wonderful spring called Morteza Ali, which boils hot water on one side and cool water on the other. It refreshes the human soul. These springs travel a long way to enter the valley-like atmosphere, which is very similar to the Vashi Strait. Just walk a little in this valley to reach small and large springs that fall down the walls of the valley and fill your path with water.
This spring has been called Morteza Ali; Because its hot water is supplied from a spring called Morteza Ali and due to the very high amount of salts and minerals, it has a high concentration and therefore moves up to 300 meters parallel to the cold water and does not mix with it. On the right side of the valley, there are hot springs and, on the left, cold water springs, and as soon as you put your foot in the water, you can easily feel this temperature difference. Sometimes the temperature difference between the springs reaches 10 degrees Celsius, which is unique in its kind. If you put your foot in the spring, it will sometimes cool you down, and as soon as you feel cold, you can put your foot in a pool of hot water right next to the pool of cold water.
The beauty of this spring is astonishing and it is difficult to take your eyes off it; But raise your head a little to see the Zoroastrian tombs between the walls on both sides of the spring, each of which is connected by a tunnel; But it does not end there!
The culmination of the art is the last spring of the story, which magnificently brings before your eyes the thinnest arch dam in the world, known as the Shah Abbasi Dam. This very beautiful dam has a lot to say.
To reach the valley, first park your car in the parking lot and go down the stairs on the way to the valley to reach the open space where the spring water flows like a small stream. The further you go, the more the valley begins to show and the rock walls get taller and taller. As you move along the spring, there are many beauties that are slowly being exposed to your view.
At first, the path of the spring is very open and the pools of water are not visible, and you only see the smooth and wide path, which is filled with pebbles and its walls are layered due to water sediments, and the phenomenon They have formed an interesting structure called sandstone or conglomerate (1); But the further you go, the harder and rougher the walls of the valley become, and the less green moss that clings to them. When you reach the middle of the spring, the gorge becomes more closed and larger and sometimes giant rocks are placed in your path, which are sometimes difficult to cross.
Morteza Ali spring has many healing properties due to the presence of minerals and salts, which you can use this divine gift completely free of charge. It is interesting to note that the largest pond of this spring, which is located in the middle of the path, is known as Morteza Ali Bath because of its great depth, and tourists usually bathe in it because its water is very hot and sometimes even in its surroundings the heat builds up and breathing may be impaired.
But the exciting part of the story is always dedicated to games and entertainment. Morteza Ali spring is a river-like path with large and sometimes giant rocks that cover the whole route. Small and large springs that are boiling through the closed mossy rocks have a very pleasant sound; Of course, it gets lost in the hustle and bustle of travelers fleeing the desert who have taken refuge in the coolness of the spring. Take a step in the water, but remember that these large rocks do not provide a good place to dive or swim, so try not to run on the rocks that are mossy and extremely slippery.
Sometimes you can throw small pieces of bread in the ponds to see how the crabs and small and large fish of the spring come to you to pick up their food and leave.
As you walk along the spring, you will see holes in the cliffs that surround you on both sides, created in a certain order within the walls, each of which leads to each other through a tunnel.
These holes, known as graves or Gabr houses, are originally Zoroastrian burial sites, which were generally built in very high, valley-like places; But others believe the holes were houses connected by a tunnel. Another interesting point is that the holes are placed in a certain order and distance from each other in pairs on top and bottom of each other and it is said that the bottom hole was the entrance to the house.
Gabr is a Dari word meaning Zoroastrian, but later the word found an insulting meaning and was said to non-Muslims. In Lori, Gabr also means grave.
There are no amenities in this area! Anyway, you have traveled to nature and you should not expect enough facilities.
The area around the spring is full of mountains! But in the village of Kharv, which is located 2 km from the spring and has a good asphalt path, there are limited accommodations that you can use for overnight stays. Since this spring is located in the desert region of Iran, it may be better to choose the colder seasons of the year to travel and visit it.
