Chak Chak Zoroastrian Mountain Pilgrimage
Make the pilgrimage to Chak Chak, the most sacred site in Zoroastrianism after the Atashkadeh, where a cave temple carved into a mountain cliff commemorates a Sassanid princess who according to legend merged into the mountain while fleeing the Arab conquest of Persia.
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Desert Drive to Chak Chak
Drive through the dramatic desert landscape north of Yazd toward the Chak Chak mountain, the journey through bare rocky hills and salt flats creating a landscape of austere beauty that pilgrims have crossed for 1,400 years to reach the most sacred outdoor shrine in Zoroastrianism.
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Mountain Approach
Climb the steep path up the mountain cliff face where the pilgrimage route passes through bare rock toward the sacred cave, the physical effort of the ascent being part of the pilgrimage experience that thousands of Zoroastrians from Iran, India, and around the world complete each June during the festival.
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Cave Temple Entrance
Enter the cave temple where the carved wooden door — according to legend grown from a branch thrown by the princess as she prayed — marks the entrance to the sanctuary, the cave interior containing the sacred flame of the temple and the spring whose dripping water gives Chak Chak (drip drip) its name.
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Sacred Spring Dripping
Listen to the dripping of the sacred spring from the cave ceiling — the chak chak sound that names this place — the water that believers say tears still shed by Nikbanou, the princess who prayed for the mountain to protect her and according to legend was absorbed into the rock.
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Pilgrimage Festival
Learn about the annual Chak Chak pilgrimage festival in June when thousands of Zoroastrians gather for five days of prayer, music, and community gathering at this remote mountain shrine, the festival being the largest gathering of Zoroastrians in the world and a profound expression of their ancient faith.
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Valley View
Stand at the cave entrance to look out over the dramatic valley below where the bare mountains and desert plain stretch to the horizon, the view from this sacred height providing a perspective on the landscape that Iranian Zoroastrians have contemplated during pilgrimage for fourteen centuries since the Arab conquest.