Chemi Rezan valley • دۆڵی چهمی رێزان • Galî Çemî Rêzan • وادي جمي رزان
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subpagesChemi Rezan route • رێگای چهمی رێزان • طريق جمي رزانChemi Rezan caves • كهوف جمي رزانBafil waterfall • تاڤگەی بافل • شلال بافلMordblax (Chemi Rezan) • موردبلاخZerzi caves • كهف زرزيQizqapan cave • ئەشکەوتی قزقاپان • الكهف قزقابان
Chemi Rezan Valley -- nicknamed the Stone Age Valley for its many anciently occupied caves -- is resplendent with natural beauty and human history.
Like many places in Kurdistan, it is hard to pin down an exact name for it. The whole valley once carried this name, but Bafil Waterfall (its main attraction) has stolen the limelight and the name. Perhaps people once referred to the waterfall in Chemi Rezan and over time the waterfall became Chemi Rezan. The wonderful broader valley was thus demoted to drive-by status: the valley, once the eponym, is now known as just رێگای چهمی رێزان regai Chemi Rezan, meaning route to Chemi Rezan.
However, unless you only want to picnic in the cool mists of the waterfall, there is so much else to see. It is a long valley through which flows the Tabben River, which flows in from the northeast and ultimately enters the Little Zab River downstream of Dukan. The waterfalls feed a tributary of the Tabben. There is also the Fetwaid River (نهر فيتواجد). Aside from natural features, there are also some villages and historical sites.
View out from Chemi Rezan of the main road to Silemani from Erbil.
View exiting Chemi Rezan, facing what I believe is the Piramagrun mountain range.