On Thursday and Friday afternoons in spring and autumn, the hippodrome at the northeastern edge of town holds horse-racing meets. Predominantly watched by male locals who're here to bet, the atmosphere is nonetheless friendly and as a foreigner you're likely to be as much an attraction as the jockeys.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
2.24 MILES
A Unesco World Heritage site since 2012, this 53m tower in Gonbad's centre looks like a buttressed-brick spaceship with the cross-section of a 10-pointed…
-
21.63 MILES
This ancient wall once stretched 190km from the Golestan Mountains to the Caspian Sea; like its equivalents in China and England, Alexander’s Wall was…
-
14.05 MILES
Locally known for being a former home of Turkmenistan's 'national poet' Makhtumkuli, the visually forgettable village of Haji Qoshan is one of the points…
-
2.3 MILES
This well-presented but very small museum exhibits seventeen 20th-century Turkmen carpets, labelled with dates of production and styles. There are also a…
-
17.53 MILES
Around a dozen square-plan fort sites lie along the course of what was once the so-called Alexander's Wall. All are just muddy shapes rising above the…
-
4.57 MILES
This large, ornate imamzadeh lies 4km southwest of central Gonbad-e Kavus. To the complex's direct west is a ragged area of wasteland that, viewed from…
-
11.72 MILES
Of the dozen or so amorphous remains of the former forts that was once used to guard the Sadd-e Eskander wall, this is one of the best preserved. It's 4km…
Nearby Iran attractions
2.24 MILES
A Unesco World Heritage site since 2012, this 53m tower in Gonbad's centre looks like a buttressed-brick spaceship with the cross-section of a 10-pointed…
2.3 MILES
This well-presented but very small museum exhibits seventeen 20th-century Turkmen carpets, labelled with dates of production and styles. There are also a…
4.57 MILES
This large, ornate imamzadeh lies 4km southwest of central Gonbad-e Kavus. To the complex's direct west is a ragged area of wasteland that, viewed from…
11.72 MILES
Of the dozen or so amorphous remains of the former forts that was once used to guard the Sadd-e Eskander wall, this is one of the best preserved. It's 4km…
14.05 MILES
Locally known for being a former home of Turkmenistan's 'national poet' Makhtumkuli, the visually forgettable village of Haji Qoshan is one of the points…
17.53 MILES
Around a dozen square-plan fort sites lie along the course of what was once the so-called Alexander's Wall. All are just muddy shapes rising above the…
21.63 MILES
This ancient wall once stretched 190km from the Golestan Mountains to the Caspian Sea; like its equivalents in China and England, Alexander’s Wall was…