Iraqi Kurdistan
Trail Development
The Zagros Mountain Trail is a 215km long trail through the Kurdistan region of Iraq. It begins at the monastery of Al Qosh in the west, and takes walkers along ancient pilgrimage routes, trading paths, and shepherds’ tracks to reach the foot of Mount Halgurd in the east.
See our trail development work featured in The New York Times Voyages Magazine.
Where We Are Now
API conceived of this long-distance trail in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) in 2018. Abraham Path Fellows were in the region researching local cultural heritage. In 2019 we began scouting walking trails in the Kurdistan Regional Governorate (KRG), and we've been hard at work ever since.
Over the last few years, we've:
- Scouted nearly 200 km of trail following the Zagros mountains and the Zab River, from the ancient Al Qosh Monastery in the west, to Halgurd Mountain in the east, passing through Akre, the Shanidar Cave, Rwanduz, and other natural, cultural and historical sites
- Established relationships with 36 communities along the trail
- Connected with five homestay host families
- Engaged 10 day-stage hiking guides
- Initiated relationships with seven outdoor clubs representing hundreds of local walkers
The trail is a work-in-progress, and there will be opportunities to walk on it throughout 2023 and into 2024. To be kept informed of these journeys, and other updates, please sign up for our mailing list.
You can help us make this happen! Please make a gift today, and let’s walk!
Images from the
Kurdistan Region of Iraq
