kandovan

is a village in Sahand Rural District, in the Central District of Osku County, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. This village exemplifies manmade cliff dwellings which are still inhabited. The troglodyte homes, excavated inside volcanic rocks and tuffs similar to dwellings in the Turkish region of Cappadocia, are locally called "Karaan". Karaans were cut into the lahars of Mount Sahand. The cone form of the houses is the result of lahar flow consisting of porous round and angular pumice together with other volcanic particles that were positioned in a grey acidic matrix. After the eruption of Sahand these materials were naturally moved and formed the rocks of Kandovan. Around the village the thickness of this formation exceeds 100 m and with time due to water erosion the cone shaped cliffs were formed.[2] At the 2006 census, the village population was 601, in 168 families.[3]

Stay in a luxury historic attraction with a strange architecture outside the imagination with mountainous and baylife conditions amongst the natural cliffs in the heart of the mountain alone in the 5-star International Hotel Laleh Kandovan. The rocky hotel of Laleh Kandovan is the third rocky hotel in the world with a beautiful and mountainous nature, located in the heart of the historic village of Kandovan. This village dates back to the seventh century AH. The Laleh Hotel has 40 banks (Natural Stone Room) with jacuzzi and all modern amenities. The hotel is also 40 km away from Tabriz. One of the special features of the water pipe hotel is that one of the best minerals in Iran is Kandovan mineral water and is very useful for kidney diseases. The Laleh Kandovan Hotel is unique in its kind, and it is why it attracts many fans from all over the world. Other facilities include a lobby, a coffee shop, a restaurant, a dry cleaning room, a traditional trip, a conference room, a hotel safe (reception), Internet access in the lobby, a taxi service.