Derak Desert

Derak village lies in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, on the Makran coast, and belongs to Konarak County. It is 15 km from Zarabad and 150 km east of Chabahar. Derak is one of the major tourist attractions of Sistan and Baluchestan Province. Because the desert and the sea meet here, the village has distinctive, one-of-a-kind scenery. Derak is the only beach in Iran that lies right next to a desert, and only a few places in the world share similar features. Most of them are in Africa, southern Australia and western Asia. So when planning your trip around Iran, be sure to set aside time to visit Derak, the place where the desert joins the sea.

The area around Derak also has a distinctive climate and a variety of natural attractions. The vegetation includes date palms, salt-tolerant plants and various subtropical trees. This diversity of plant life provides a good habitat for many local birds and animals. For this reason, Derak has become a popular destination for nature photographers and bird-watching enthusiasts. Until a few years ago, Derak was not known as a tourist attraction and only a few nature lovers had heard of it. But around Nowruz 1396 (2017), a Twitter user from Sistan and Baluchestan posted several photos of Derak and introduced the area to many people, and the routes to reach it were discovered.

Note that Sistan and Baluchestan is one of the hottest provinces in Iran. The best times to visit Derak beach are early spring, mid-autumn or winter, since in these seasons you can enjoy a mild, pleasant climate.

The lone tree of Chabahar, which stood where the sea meets the desert, was itself one of the area's sights. Unfortunately it was treated with disrespect and was cut down by unknown people. However, a few hours after the news was published, a group of Derak villagers, in cooperation with the Zarabad Cultural Heritage Office, planted another palm tree in the same spot. Derak beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, and its lone palm tree had become a symbol of the beach. One of the notable features of the Derak area, which few people visit because of the difficult route, is the place where a seasonal river meets and crosses the sand, finally forming a river-and-sea delta surrounded by shifting sands, which creates striking scenery. This area can be reached from Gezidar village toward the coast by a dirt road.