باداب سورت

Badab Soort - Badab-e Surt - Badab Surat

Useful Information

Location:	Badab Soort Road, Orost, Mazandaran Province. 95 km south-east of Sari, 7 km east of Orost village. (36.355145, 53.856450)
Open:	All year daily 6-21. [2022]
Fee:	free. [2022]
Classification:	Sinter Terraces
Light:	n/a
Dimension:	A=1,840 m.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Badab Soort, Badab Soort Road, Orost, Mazandaran Province, Tel: +98-911-665-5331.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

Description

باداب سورت (Badab Soort, Badab-e Surt, Badab Surat) is a spring with rimstone pools, also called travertine terraces. Two springs produce water which is warm and very rich in minerals. It flows then downhill and forms the typical rimstone pools which consist of deposited limestone. The water also has a high content of gas, which is the reason for the name, Bād is gas, āb is water, together it means literally gassed water. The gas is carbon dioxide of volcanic origin, virtually the same as in carbonated mineral waters. Soort is the old name of the Orost village and a Persian word which means intensity.

One spring is very rich in salt and forms a natural pond at the spring, which is used to cure rheumatism and some types of skin diseases by bathing. It's simple to keep the springs apart, as the second has a very high iron content, in the form of iron carbonate, and is thus orange. The water from this spring tastes sour. The rimstone pools were formed during the Pleistocene and Pliocene.

The site is freely accessible and there is no fee, nevertheless there are a lot of rule. It's not allowed to stay overnight, and as there are wild animals and dogs it's also not safe. While it is allowed to bathe in the pools and walk across the site, but only barefoot or with bathing shoes, not with regular walking shoes which could damage the rims. Also, the site has a lot of religious restrictions, which include that it is not allowed for women to swim in the pools. Their rule is actually "Article 14- Swimming in the Badab lake of Surat is currently not possible for respectable women..."

It seems the site is also known for tourists being ripped off. Locals explain that they sell entrance tickets (the site is free) or offer cheap overnight stays and vanish after receiving an advance payment.