ImmersiveIran > About Iran > Destinations > Villages > Meymand Iran: The Oldest Village in Iran
These people live in the caves that their ancestors made thousands of years ago! With over 12,000 years of history, Meymand Village of Kerman province is one of the oldest continuously inhabited human settlements in the world.
The people of Meymand, high in the rugged hills, live a life that feels like a bridge between ancient history and enduring tradition. Hundreds of hand-dug cave dwellings carved into soft rock have made Meymand a UNESCO-recognized cultural landscape that feels both timeless and intimate.
A Life Shaped by Nature and Time
Meymand is believed to have formed over thousands of years as humans adapted to the harsh environment of the region. The soft rock hills provided natural protection, encouraging early inhabitants to carve their homes directly into the mountains. Over time, this evolved into a unique settlement pattern where people lived seasonally between valleys, pastures, and highlands. This lifestyle allowed them to survive in an environment that demanded flexibility, movement, and deep knowledge of nature.
Hand-Carved Stone Homes in Harmony with the Desert
The cave dwellings of Meymand Village are one of the most striking architectural wonders in Iran. Hundreds of hand-dug caves carved into the soft rock of Kerman’s hillsides create a wonderful landscape. These ancient dwellings, some dating back over 12,000 years, stand as a testament to human ingenuity.
The caves are carved entirely by hand without mortar or modern materials—everything hollowed directly from the earth. Each dwelling features multiple chambers at different levels, including sleeping areas, kitchens, storage rooms, and traditional bread ovens built into stone. The thick earthen walls provide exceptional natural insulation, keeping interiors cool in summer and warm in winter—a sustainable design perfected over millennia. Small openings for doors and windows allow light and air while preserving thermal efficiency. The cave homes are built at varying elevations, with many families owning multiple caves at different altitudes to match their seasonal movements between valleys and highlands. Unlike modern architecture that imposes on the landscape, the architecture of Meymand grows organically from it—a perfect marriage of human creativity and natural resources.
Rather than staying in one place year-round, many villagers lead a semi-nomadic, agro-pastoral lifestyle that shifts with the seasons. In the winter, families huddle together in their cool, earthen cave homes down in the valley, weaving carpets and tending to daily chores. Come spring and early autumn, they move with their flocks of sheep and goats to lowland pastures, building temporary seasonal shelters to take advantage of fresh grasslands. In the summer’s heat, they climb to higher pastures and mountain meadows where the weather is milder and grazing is rich.
The rhythm of movement—spending parts of the year in cave villages, pastures, and orchards—is a living expression of harmony with an environment that can be both harsh and generous.
What’s also great about the cave dwellings is how they regulate temperature, keeping cool in the summer and warm during winter. The caves are entirely carved from the rock without the use of mortar or additional construction materials, exemplifying early sustainable architecture.
Meymand is likely influenced by Zoroastrian principles of harmony with nature and protection from the elements. These dwellings reflect the Zoroastrian reverence for the natural world, with their use of the earth, fire, water, and air elements in design. Meymand also has remnants of ancient Zoroastrian sacred sites, including fire temples where fire was worshipped as a symbol of purity. While the village today is primarily Muslim, the villagers still observe some pre-Islamic traditions. Additionally, some scholars suggest that ancient Zoroastrian burial practices may have influenced the region’s burial sites, although towers of silence are not present in Meymand. The village’s oral history also carries tales of Zoroastrian roots.
Locals continue to bake a traditional type of bread in stone ovens situated within the caves, preserving culinary practices that have been passed down through generations.
Unlike other cave settlements, the residents of Meymand practice a mixed lifestyle, moving between different elevations seasonally while maintaining their cave homes.
The surrounding area is rich in petroglyphs and ancient symbols, some dating back to the Neolithic era, depicting hunting scenes and mysterious signs.
The villagers speak an ancient dialect of Persian that includes words and structures no longer commonly used in modern Persian.
The villagers also grow crops like walnuts and almonds, and traditional crafts such as felt and carpet weaving still echo through family life.
A Unique Experience in Every Season
