Few places in Iran offer a more tempting invitation to hike, explore and reflect than the fabled Alamut Valleys and Shahrud .
Beneath soaring Alborz peaks, the landscapes are both inspirational and amazingly varied, a wild melange of Patagonia, Switzerland and Outback Australia, all spiced by a uniquely fascinating medieval history.
Nestled almost invisibly on widely spaced rocky knolls and pinnacles are the shattered remnants of more than 50 fortresses.
Shrouded in fabulous myths, they were the heavily fortified lairs of the medieval world’s most feared religious cult, and are collectively known as the Castles of the Assassins.
The most interesting are at Gazor Khan (Alamut Castle) and Razmiyan (Lamiasar Castle).
Note that Alamut Castle is not in Alamut town (aka Mo’allem Kalayeh).
Hiking
- Climbing majestic Shah Alborz
Climbing majestic Shah Alborz (4125m) in two days from Garmarud (and optionally continuing on to the Taleqani Valley near Karaj, completing a north–south traverse of the range, which would take another one to two days).
- Traversing the wilderness from Evan Lake to Tonekabon via the Dohezar Valley (five to six days).
- Garmarud to Kelardasht via Alam Kuh (4850m; Iran’s second-highest mountain), which takes between five and eight days.
Points Of Interest
This village, at 1700m elevation and just north of the no-torious Evin Prison, is one of Tehran’s most pleasant urban escapes
At 370,000 sq km the Caspian (Darya-ye Khazar) is five times the size of Lake Superior.That makes it by far the world’s largest lake.
This popular in town escape stretches ever more steeply up the mountainside at Tehran’s northern edge