Snow blankets Soran mountains as resorts fill ahead of winter tourism rush

SORAN — Snow has covered the mountainous areas of the Soran Autonomous Administration in Erbil governorate, pushing local authorities and tourism officials to prepare for an expected surge in winter visitors.

Tourism officials said most villas and lodges at resorts including Korek Mountain, Shinglbanah, Przhe, Haji Omaran and the Balakayat area have already been rented out, leaving limited vacancies for overnight stays.

Faisal Sadiq, head of Soran’s Tourism Department, told 964media, “There are more than 4,000 places for overnight accommodation within Soran’s boundaries, and most of them are booked.”

He added, “We are monitoring all tourist locations and have issued necessary guidelines. We expect more than 100,000 tourists to visit Soran during the week following the New Year.”

Soran, known for its mountainous scenery, draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year from across the Kurdistan Region as well as from central and southern Iraq. Officials say the sector has expanded quickly, with efforts underway to develop master plans to modernize sites such as the Gali Ali Beg waterfall area and strengthen Soran’s position as a major tourism hub.

Beyond winter resorts, the area includes waterfalls and rivers such as Jundyan Waterfall, while visitors often travel to nearby attractions including Rawanduz Canyon, known in Kurdish as Kharand, and Bekhal Waterfall. The region also encompasses the Halgurd and Sakran mountain ranges.