Maharloo Lake, Shiraz

Maharlu Lake, known for its red color, is located 57 kilometers southeast of Shiraz in a village of the same name.

Introduction to Maharlu Lake:
Maharlu Lake is located on the Shiraz-Fasa road and Maharlu village, which dates back to the Safavid era.
This village is located on the southern slopes of the Zagros Mountains and was formerly known as Dasht-e Gol.
This lake is a habitat for migratory and non-migratory birds.
The most important species of these birds is the flamingo.
Other birds include ducks, storks, pelicans, green ducks, grebes, anqut, chukka and tanha.
Reptiles such as lizards, geckos, turtles and snakes are also seen around this lake.
Due to the excessive salinity of the water, no fish live in the water of this lake.
The lake has very salty water, and salt processing from this lake is carried out by the Eteshal Complex affiliated with Shiraz Petrochemical Company.
Two seasonal rivers named Sultanabad and Khoshk feed this lake.
But the lake’s water is supplied from several freshwater springs in its northern part and the Hamzeh and Sarvestan rivers.
The lake has an area of ​​about 25 hectares, but unfortunately its surface is drying up.
Recently, measures have been taken to revive the lake and its water level has increased to some extent.
The depth of the lake also varies in different parts and depends on the rainfall in the region.
On average, the depth of the lake is about one and a half meters.
In deep parts, it is up to about 3 meters deep.
Maharloo Lake was selected as one of the seven exemplary tourism areas of Iran in 2006.
Maharloo Lake, Shiraz

The reason for the lake’s red color:
The high evaporation of the water in this lake has caused its excessive salinity.
This salinity of the water has caused the growth of a type of red seaweed called “Kashend Ghermez”.
Excessive proliferation of this algae in the lake water has caused it to turn red.

Other attractions of Maharlu village:
Apart from the lake, tall arched houses with arched windows and almond, fig and pomegranate gardens located near the mineral water spring are other attractions of the village.
The villagers believe that the water of this spring is healing and cures skin diseases.
The shrine of Khadija Banu is located on top of a hill in the village where locals go for pilgrimage.
There is also a Shah Abbasi caravanserai, which belongs to the Safavid era, in this village.
Maharlu Lake Shiraz

Other information:
Access: Enter the Shiraz-Fasa road, after traveling about 20 kilometers, you will reach the beginning of the lake. If you continue the route for 57 kilometers, you will reach Maharlu village.
Best time to travel: Because most of the lake dries up in the summer, the best time to travel is from autumn to mid-May.

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