Gonbad-e Kavus sits at the southern edge of the Turkmen Sahra, the steppe lands stretching north to the Turkmenistan border. This is the Iranian heart of the Turkmen people: a Sunni Muslim, Turkic-language minority whose herders have ridden the famous Akhal-Teke and Yomud horses across these grasslands for centuries. The landscape is mostly flat and treeless, punctuated by rolling hills, herds of horses and sheep, and the occasional Turkmen yurt camp during the warmer months.
The villages around Gonbad-e Kavus are a good place to see Turkmen culture at close range — embroidered traditional dress, distinctive felt rugs, and a horse-trading tradition that still draws buyers from across Central Asia. Independent travel can be slow but is rewarding; a guide booked through a Gonbad hotel will make the experience considerably easier and is essential for visiting the horse studs.