Iraq – Kurdistan Summer Tour

Itinerary

Thursday 16 May – Erbil

• Arrival in Erbil on your own.
• OR: Arrive from the Grand Iraq Summer Tour.
• Exchange money on the local market (if necessary).
• Meet the group.
• Overnight stay in Erbil.

Friday 17 May – Erbil – Lalesh – Algosh – Duhok

• Drive to Lalesh.
• Highlight: Guided tour of Lalesh, the holiest place for the Yazidi people. A special population group that has its own religion.
• We check out the St. Matthew Monastery (Mar Mattei), one of the oldest, still in use, monasteries in Iraq.
• Drive to Algosh.
• Visit to the mountain churches of Algosh, which was once the front line against IS.
• Continue to Duhok.
• City walk through this bustling town.
• Overnight stay in Duhok.

Saturday 18 May – Duhok – Amadiya – Rawanduz

• Drive to Amadiya.
• Highlight: Former palace of Saddam Hussein. Nowadays there are only a few walls but the views are still spectacular.
• Drive to Rawandas, with regular stops along the way for photos.
• Shanidar Cave, here are the remains of some Neanderthals.
• Overnight stay in Rawandas.

Sunday 19 May – Rawandas – Sulaymaniyah

• Highlight: Walk along the famous Hamilton Road.
• We regularly stop along the way for photos of the special landscape.
• Drive to Sulaymaniyah.
• Walk over to the local souk.
• Overnight stay in Sulaymaniyah.

Monday 20 May – Sulaymaniyah – Halabja – Suleimaniya

• Drive to Halabja.
• Genocide Museum with the impressive cemetery.
• Drive to Sulaymaniyah.
• Visit to the Red Prison, where Kurds were imprisoned and abused in the time of Saddam Hussein. It’s now a museum.
• Overnight stay in Sulaymaniyah.

Tuesday 21 May – Sulaymaniyah – Erbil

• Drive to Erbil.
• Along the way we stop at an old caravanserai in Koisinjak. Here you’ll feel like you’re traveling back in time.
• After arrival in Erbil, we will take a walk through the Citadel of Erbil.
• The bazaar of Erbil.
• Big farewell dinner.
• Overnight stay in Erbil.

Wednesday 22 May – Erbil

• End of tour, depart by your own means.