Shushtar Travel Guide

General Information

Shushtar is a city in and the capital of Shushtar County, Khuzestan Province in Iran. At the 2016 census, its population was 192,028. Shushtar is an ancient fortress city, approximately 92 kilometres (57 mi) away from Ahvaz, the centre of the province. Much of its past agricultural productivity derives from the irrigation system which centered on the Band-e Kaisar, the first dam bridge in Iran.

Based on Wikipedia, In the Elamite times Shushtar was known as Adamdun. In the Achaemenian times its name was Surkutir. The modern name, Shushtar, is connected with the name of another ancient city, Susa (or Shush, in Persian pronunciation), and means greater (or better) than Shush.

During the Sassanian era, it was an island city on the Karun river and selected to become the summer capital. The river was channelled to form a moat around the city, while bridges and main gates into Shushtar were built to the east, west, and south. Several rivers nearby are conducive to the extension of agriculture; the cultivation of sugar cane, the main crop, dates back to 226. A system of subterranean channels called Ghanats, which connected the river to the private reservoirs of houses and buildings, supplied water for domestic use and irrigation, as well as to store and supply water during times of war when the main gates were closed. Traces of these ghanats can still be found in the crypts of some houses.

Get in and around

The closest major airport to Shushtar is the Ahvaz or Dezful airport. Air travel is available from/to some major cities.

You can use taxi, however the easiest way to travel is via a hired car and its not expencive.

There are plenty of scheduled bus services from some major cities like Tehran and Khorramabad.

An overnight train from Tehran departs every second day. Shushtar railway station is located west of the city centre.