Lake Urmia was once one of the largest salt lakes in the world — bigger than the Dead Sea — but it has shrunk dramatically since the 1990s due to diversion of tributary rivers and drought. What remains is still striking: shallow, hypersaline water that turns shades of pink and red in summer as salt-tolerant algae bloom, ringed by flat salt flats and distant mountains. The ecological crisis is real and ongoing, but the lake is still worth visiting.
The mud along the lake's shores has a long reputation for therapeutic bathing. Salt and mineral-rich deposits make for the kind of mud bath that gets taken seriously by Iranians from across the region. The city of Urmia — the largest city in West Azerbaijan province — lies on the western shore and serves as the base for visiting the lake. Tabriz, a larger city, is about 140km to the east.