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Photo: Sarchia Khursheed, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
With 2127 m a prominent peak in the region, although dwarfed by the 3000 m peaks in the Erbil Governorate. It is a very popular tourist attraction year round, with a 4-km-long cable car taking tourists from Bekhal station to the top of Mount Korek. The mountain is a ski resort in winter, and among the top 10 highest rated ski resorts of Iraqi Kurdistan as of 2019.
Mount Korek is a mountain located in Erbil Governorate of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq, 50 kilometers away from the Iranian border.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Dry and dusty canyon in summer, lush and green from spring to autumn. An incredible sight year round! To get into one sector of the gorge (not the one marked in the map here), walk down from the town centre in the direction of Kawlukan (same direction as Soran). After the last switchback and before the bridge, there is a statue (or rather a bust) to the left. Behind it you can enter the gorge, and walk 5,5km to Bekhal Waterfall (however, there's not a footpath all the way and at times, it's right next to a high cliff).
Spectacular spring and waterfalls. Very popular with Iraqi tourists, who love to stand, sit or smoke nargileh in it.