Iraq

Considerable parts of this fascinating country - its ancient Mesopotamia a cradle of civilization - are again safe for visitors, such as the Kurdish area up north; elsewhere, even Baghdad and the ruins of Babylon are also doable, but escorted rather than independently. And always monitor the changing situation.

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Top 50 attractions in Iraq

Most people these days associate Iraq with war and dictatorship, but the tourism industry here has been slowly building back, and there are some amazing sights to be seen. This video gives a quick taste of 50 of them, well worth a look!

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David Paul Appell April 3, 2026 at 1:16pm

Ambitious tourism plans from Iraq to start diversifying away from oil, but is it feasible? And this was published well before the country was dragged into the current Iran/Gulf war https://www.dw.com/en/iraqs-ambitious-tourism-plans-impossible-drea...

Iraq's ambitious tourism plans: Impossible dream come true?

Iraq wants to diversify its economy away from oil and toward tourism. Although Western travelers have made headlines in once-dangerous Iraq of late,…
Ed Wetschler December 26, 2025 at 4:45pm

A great look at what it's like to visit Babylon today https://edition.cnn.com/travel/babylon-iraq-ancient-wonder-hanging-...

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/babylon-iraq-ancient-wonder-hanging-gardens?cid=ios_app
Joseba Basabe March 17, 2025 at 8:55am

Joan Torres´ blog AgainsttheCompas.com focusses on "offbeat" destinations - more than a few of which are considered dodgy by mainstream travellers - and Iraq is of course on that list. Here´s The site´s latest take on visiting this country: https://againstthecompass.com/en/travel-iraq-federal/
Jorge Carlos Tejada Sobrino December 5, 2024 at 2:11pm

Just recently CNN took a look at the sharp uptick in tourism to Iraq: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/western-tourists-going-to-iraq-for-v...

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/western-tourists-going-to-iraq-for-vacation/index.html
Jordan Simon March 2, 2024 at 2:08pm

A few years ago a lot of us were seeing Iraq´s capital on our TV screens on a regular basis, but wracked by war, during and after the U.S. invasion. So it´s nice to read about this newer, visitor-friendly side of Baghdad: https://farewellalarms.com/top-5-baghdad-tourist-attractions-that-y...

Top 5 Baghdad Tourist Attractions That You Should Not Miss

Federal Iraq welcomes tourists again
Ahmed Abbas July 3, 2023 at 12:58pm

Kurdistan continues to develop, touristically speaking, and now comes word that a new hiking trail has opened in the region to help visitors experience another side of Iraq: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/news/zagros-hiking-trail-kurdistan

Kurdistan opens up an incredible 200 km trekking route

The region has all the elements of the perfect hike: great natural beauty, layers of history, existing trail networks, a rich, deep culture, and an…
Wissam Al Khoury May 24, 2023 at 6:27am

Kurdistan up north continues to be Iraq's strongest region, touristically speaking, attracting more than six million visitors last year - it even has mountain resorts with skiing in winter and fresh, outdoorsy appeal the rest of the year: https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/30340-Over-six-million-tourist...
José Balido January 17, 2023 at 11:16am

TheCrazyTourist.com has a great roundup of top bucket-listers in this country - check it out: https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-places-visit-iraq/
Max Pesling November 5, 2022 at 5:45pm

Wow, near a Kurdistan town less than an hour north of Mosul archaeologists have recently unearthed more than a dozen huge bas relief carved rock panels carved into the walls of an old irrigation canal and dating back some 2,700-years to ancient Assyria. The government plans to turn this into a tourist attraction, nicely adding to the awesome archaeological allure of Iraqi antiquity: https://www.albawaba.com/editors-choice/major-archaeological-park-s...

Major 'Archaeological Park' Sets Iraq to Tourism Prosperity | Al Bawaba

Authorities in northern Iraq on Sunday unveiled an "archaeological park" of 2,700-year-old carvings from the rule of the Assyrians, including showing…
Wissam Al Khoury August 26, 2022 at 9:14am

Some 3½ hours south of Baghdad, the Ziggurat of Ur is Iraq's answer to Egypt's Pyramid of Giza. As the capital of Mesopotamia, it was the center of civilization around 4,000 years ago, and is now open to visitors: https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220822-the-ziggurat-of-ur-iraq...

Iraq's answer to the pyramids

Egypt may have the Pyramids of Giza, but Iraq has the Ziggurat of Ur – an incredibly well-preserved engineering achievement that towers over the ruin…

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Top 50 attractions in Iraq

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