You can see the summit of the mountain Piremigron from practically anywhere in the city of Sulaymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan.

This mountain inspires curiosity and adventure in anyone that visits the city, and in the past two decades the mountain has become a major destination for hikers, climbers, and mountaineers. There are two major summits visible from the city, the main one is Piremigron (2,611 m / 8,566 ft.) and the secondary summit is called P2 (2,568 m. / 8425 ft.). Until recently, few people reached P2 on account of the technical skills required to climb its steep cliff sides. However, as the level of skill rises in Kurdistan’s climbers, so do their objectives, and a group just raised the bar a little higher.

Peaks Mountaineering Crew, or Destey Shaxawani Lwtka from Kurdistan in Iraq has made it their mission to place summit signs on top of Kurdistan’s mountains. They take care to figure out the official elevation and mark it along with the official name of the summit on the sign. This helps anyone who climbs the mountains to develop a sense of altitude, and “collect” all summits with signs. You will also notice that a great deal of care is taken to produce an elaborate and decorative design, demonstrating the connection Kurdish people have with their mountains. They are proud.

Piremigron is found appx. 30 minutes drive from the center of the city of Sulaymaniyah and a number of trails leads to the top. The most popular route is a gentle winding trail that has some steep sections near the summit, but the mountain offers challenging ascents including rock climbing, mixed climbing, scrambling, and even hundred meter walls of bare rock.

The members of Destey Shaxewany Lwtke, Peaks Mountaineering Crew are instructors at our Hawraz Climbing School, the first climbing school in Iraq. We are a volunteer run organization and right now we are raising funds during our holiday fundraiser. Please visit the link below to learn more and please consider making a donation.