Qamchqay Ancient Castle

Iran, Iran

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Qamchqay Ancient Castle (also spelled Qomchoqay Castle) is one of the oldest known military fortresses in Iran, located near Qamchqay Village about 45 kilometers from Bijar in Kurdistan Province, built on a high mountain overlooking deep valleys. 

The site is associated with a very ancient period, with archaeologists and historians proposing dates ranging from the 3rd–4th millennium BC (Sumerian or early Bronze Age) to the 8th–9th centuries BC (Median period), and inscriptions found nearby interpreted as hieroglyphic or proto‑ikonographic writing link it to influences from early Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations.

The castle’s estimated original area is around 5,000 square meters, surrounded by massive stone walls whose heights are reported in local sources as reaching up to 200 meters in some sections, and it is described as a strategically placed military stronghold designed to control the area and protect against invaders. The route to the castle is difficult and remote, accessed either by a long hike through a scenic valley (sometimes called the “King’s Valley”) or by a rough dirt road, and because it lies in a protected natural area.