Hormuz Island sits on top of a giant salt dome, and minerals pushed up from deep underground have stained its hills red, ochre, yellow, purple and white. In the Rainbow Valley (Rangin Kaman) the colours lie side by side in striped slopes and gullies, while the nearby Valley of Silence is a maze of sculpted rock where the only sound is the wind.
On the coast, the Red Beach is just as extraordinary: iron-rich red soil runs down to the sea, colouring the sand and the edge of the water deep crimson. The red earth, called gelak, is even used by islanders in cooking — as a spice in a local sauce served with fish and bread.
Highlights
- Striped slopes of the Rainbow Valley
- The Valley of Silence
- Crimson sand of the Red Beach
- Tasting bread with gelak sauce
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