10 Best Cycling Routes in Iran Cycling in Iran is one of the best ways of traveling for active globetrotters. If you are a cyclist and would like to visit Iran, there are numerous destinations on offer. As Iran has a varied climate, you can cycle in mountains, deserts, forests, and the coastal roads of your choice from the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea. Due to the vastness of Iran and the different weather conditions from the north to the south, cycling in Iran is possible at any time of the year. In this post, you will read about the best cycling routes in Iran. If you would like to know the Best Cycling Time in Iran, please check the link below: IRAN CYCLING SEASON In urban areas such as Tehran, Shiraz, and Esfahan, there are no exclusive cycling lanes on the roads. The roads are so busy with countless numbers of cars and motorcycles making them unappealing to cyclists. On the one hand, air pollution is an issue, and on the other hand, most of the roads between the cities are highways or motorways. Cycling is not recommended on these roads for safety reasons. If you are interested in cycling from one big city to another, you have to find a minor or back country road. It is often better to exit the highway in urban areas and start your cycling trip using the appropriate back country roads for your cycling tour. Below, you will read about the 10 most beautiful places for cycling in Iran: 1. Cycling in Lavasanat Lavasanat district is a Tehran countryside region, 40 km outside the capital. It is located in the northeast of Tehran in the Central Alborz Mountains taking only 40 minutes to reach by driving on a mountainous
10 Best Cycling Routes in Iran Cycling in Iran is one of the best ways of traveling for active globetrotters. If you are a cyclist and would like to visit Iran, there are numerous destinations on offer. As Iran has a varied climate, you can cycle in mountains, deserts, forests, and the coastal roads of
Mountain Biking in Lar National Park This video is about a part of a long cycling trip with a Swiss mountain biking group who started their trip from the southern part of Iran towards the north of it and this part was the end of their adventure in Iran. The location is Lar National Park which is located in the north east of Tehran Province. This adventure started from a village on the west side of the park and finished in Polour village which is located in Mazandaran province. Polour is located in the south face of Mt Damavand nearby Haraaz road. The trip was performed in the month of May in 2019. Many tours were planned by us in the park during May in the years and we have never seen huge volumes of snow on the way but in that year we had a lot of snow in early spring in April and it made some good challenges for the group in the canyon. We knew such a thing would happen and sent two of our guides to check the route before we sent the group. We had a session the night before with the group and we explained the situation to them. and prior to that month of the year, water levels are a bit high and there’s a lot of river crossing to do so a few numbers of people skipped this part and we send them to the Lar valley through another gate with our 4x4 cars. You can see in the video that the scenery changes after the canyon is passed and from the snowy situation of the canyon which looks like winter, we enter another region which looks like spring with green fields. In general, this situation made for an amazing trip for
Mountain Biking in Lar National Park This video is about a part of a long cycling trip with a Swiss mountain biking group who started their trip from the southern part of Iran towards the north of it and this part was the end of their adventure in Iran. The location is Lar National Park
Iran Classic Route The word CLASSIC got more and more popular as Lonely Planet’s travel guide books used it for all of their main destinations and routes around the globe. Most travelers, who had limited time for their holiday, preferred to follow this route to visit the most famous parts of each country. For such a huge country like Iran, the Classic route covers only a fraction of it. Iran Classic route includes 5 Major Tourist Destinations of Tehran, Kashan, Esfahan, Yazd, and Shiraz which are the most well-known tourist destinations in Iran and are stretched across a straight line from Tehran, in the southern part of the Caspian Sea, toward Shiraz, in the northern part of the Persian Gulf. This ancient Persian travel route passes by 7 of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites out of the 27 which are among the most popular cultural and historical attractions in Iran. The route is the most popular travel itinerary during the spring season and is on the Best Iran Tours list. It is possible to explore the Iran Classic route and most of Iran’s highlights in two weeks, but you have to move fast. Most travelers start this route from Tehran but some of them choose to start it from Shiraz. If you have even less time than two weeks to visit Iran, we recommend you fly to Tehran and eventually fly out of Shiraz or vice versa. The best time to follow this route is between March-May which is Iran’s high season when the weather is perfect for all cities. The majority of travelers visit Iran during this period. Moreover, autumn (during September and November) is another ideal season for those who would like to join the Classic route. For those who would like to have an activity
Iran Classic Route The word CLASSIC got more and more popular as Lonely Planet’s travel guide books used it for all of their main destinations and routes around the globe. Most travelers, who had limited time for their holiday, preferred to follow this route to visit the most famous parts of each country. For such
Ski Touring Mount Damavand The video is about an adventure ski touring trip performed for a bunch of young Spanish adventurers who had a lot of experience in mountains and ski areas. 21th of March is Persians' New Year and this tour was performed after the New Year. Damavand Mountain is one of the most challenging mountains of Iran in the winter season and if the weather is bad, it's not going to be an easy climb. They had very bad weather during this trip but all the group climbed the peak and had a successful ascend. As the weather was bad it wasn't possible to take videos from this challenging trip but I hope that the few pictures and videos shown can speak for themselves. Hope you enjoy the video and if you like it subscribe to our channel to see more of the beauty of our country. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4o0lK2YJML0 https://www.adventureiran.com/mount-damavand/
Ski Touring Mount Damavand The video is about an adventure ski touring trip performed for a bunch of young Spanish adventurers who had a lot of experience in mountains and ski areas. 21th of March is Persians’ New Year and this tour was performed after the New Year. Damavand Mountain is one of the most
Alborz Ski Region in Iran Iran embraces numerous ski resorts in different mountains of Alborz and Zagros. The most important Ski Resorts were built before the Islamic Revolution, during Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's ruling, and they are still among the best in the country. Alborz mountain starts from the northwest of Iran near the Turkey border and stretches all the way in the south of the Caspian Sea toward the northeast of Iran near the Afghanistan border. Alborz district is divided into three sections, West Alborz, Central Alborz, and East Alborz Mountains. Central Alborz region has a lot of high-altitude peaks above 4000 m, and Mount Damavand, Iran's highest peak with 5610 m, is located in this part as well. In central Alborz, there is a specific region called Alborz Ski Region that starts from Mount Tochal (3960m)- Tehran's highest mountain- and stretches northward to Kolonbastak-Sarakchal ridge with a width of about 20 km. This region has 4 different ski areas that you can see on the map below. Moreover, some famous mountains outside of the ski area are the perfect place for off-piste skiing or Ski Touring. Ski Resorts in Alborz Ski Region in Iran: Tochal Ski Resort Tehran sits at the foot of Tochal mountain which has a ski resort on its heights. The peak altitude is 3960m and the highest point of the ski resort is 3850m. From the Velenjak neighborhood in the north of the capital Tehran, you will have access to the gondola which will take you up to 3700 m after three sections. From there you can take a lift to go to the highest point of the ski resort which is near the Tochal peak (3960m). The length of the gondola from the first to the last station is about 7.5 km
Alborz Ski Region in Iran Iran embraces numerous ski resorts in different mountains of Alborz and Zagros. The most important Ski Resorts were built before the Islamic Revolution, during Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s ruling, and they are still among the best in the country. Alborz mountain starts from the northwest of Iran near the Turkey border
Sistan & Baluchestan Adventures The video is about our adventure journey to Sistan and Baluchestan, which is Iran's most special attraction. This trip started from Tehran with a night train towards Kerman. A jeep took the group to Dasht-e lut desert. After staying one night in the desert they continued the trip towards the north through Kalouts fantasy city in the heart of the desert. After exploring and doing some photography in the desert they drove towards Zabol city (north east of Sistan & Baluchistan) which is one of the main cities of the province and its nearby Afghanistan border (about 50 km). Zabol civilization has a lot of stories in Iranian history and Kuh-e Khuaja in Zabol, standing as one of the most important Iranian historical city-fortresses, pre-Islamic and early Islamic, in the region is on the tentative UNESCO sites of Iran. We also visited Ghale-Now ancient town in the region that still has its special architecture. Afterward the trip continued towards the south to visit Shahr-i Sokhta, meaning ‘Burnt City’, which is one of Iran’s UNESCO sites registered in 2014. They drove to Zahedan, the capital of the province, and spent a couple of nights there to visit different attractions. In the morning they visited the ground Bazaar and the museum which is one of the biggest museums in the region. They had an excursion to the heights of Taftan Mountain which is the most important semi-active volcano of Iran which has an altitude around 4,000 meters above sea level. After visiting Zahedan and countryside attractions they traveled to Kalpuregan ancient village which is nearby from Saravan. Kalpuregan is like a museum of its own and as the capital of pottery in the world has a lot of history in itself. There’s still a lot of artists
Sistan & Baluchestan Adventures The video is about our adventure journey to Sistan and Baluchestan, which is Iran’s most special attraction. This trip started from Tehran with a night train towards Kerman. A jeep took the group to Dasht-e lut desert. After staying one night in the desert they continued the trip towards the north
Darbandsar Ski Resort in Iran ALBORZ SKI REGION Darbandsar ski resort in Iran is one of the main ski resorts in the country, located in Darbandsar village, northeast of the capital. From Tehran, it is only 65km away and takes one and half hours to reach it. The history of the piste goes back to around the time of the Iran Islamic revolution. Before the revolution, many local skiers traveled to Europe for the ski championships. With the help and support of a few ski enthusiasts from various countries, decisions were made to create a new ski resort in the Alborz Ski Region. They bought a brand-new lift from the Poma company in France in 1978. This lift was kept in Iran’s customs control for a period due to the timing of the revolution. This project was suspended until things had settled down so it took longer than originally planned. After a few years, actually, at the beginning of 1982, the Darbandsar piste was born. Subsequently, the locals bought more ski lift equipment to improve the piste and make it more advanced and keep pace with other pistes in Iran. The altitude is 2600m to 3600m. This piste, as mentioned, is located in the Alborz ski region in the Central Alborz Mountains. Darbandsar ski resort was originally a small piste in Iran. Fortunately, it now belongs to a private company that developed the region and purchased new ski lift equipment. It is fast increasing in size, overtaking Shemshak and Tochal pistes. Nowadays Darbandsar is an important and well-known ski hub for Iranian skiers. It is also becoming more popular with locals. Lift Systems: 1st station: 2600m Last station: 3600m The ski resort has two ski lifts, three chair lifts (two 4-seater ski lifts, one two-seater chair
Darbandsar Ski Resort in Iran ALBORZ SKI REGION Darbandsar ski resort in Iran is one of the main ski resorts in the country, located in Darbandsar village, northeast of the capital. From Tehran, it is only 65km away and takes one and half hours to reach it. The history of the piste goes
Shemshak Ski Destination ALBORZ SKI REGION Shemshak is the name of a village, and also a ski destination, in Rudbar-e Qasran District, in Shemiranat County, Tehran Province, Iran. It is a mountain village located in the southern part of the central Alborz Mountains in northeastern Tehran province. Shemshak is one of the highest villages in Iran, situated at an altitude of 2500 m to 2650 m, and is surrounded by mountains above 4000 m. Around a few hundred years ago, many people who bred stocks in the Plateau of Iran in the southern part of Tehran province came to this region with their sheep and goats during the summer as this region has rich pastures, perfect for them for their seasonal migration. They slowly migrated to this region about 100 years ago where they followed their traditional lifestyle. However, at the beginning of the 20th century, they noticed the soil on some mountains in the area was black. The locals realized this was coal. This discovery brought the Germans to the region to extract it, where they created many coal mines approximately 100 years ago. At that time, about 3000 people were employed in the mining industry where the area developed rapidly. This brought change for the locals working and living there with their families. Simultaneously, they had an electrical factory (power station) in the area designed by German engineers. Besides that, they built accommodation for their employees, a hospital, and a cinema. The change came when other fuels became available which replaced coal causing the mine to close. This had quite an impact on the people. At that time, a number of them who used to ski in Abali piste (the first Iran ski area), and a few foreigners who worked in the mine, brought their skis to
Shemshak Ski Destination ALBORZ SKI REGION Shemshak is the name of a village, and also a ski destination, in Rudbar-e Qasran District, in Shemiranat County, Tehran Province, Iran. It is a mountain village located in the southern part of the central Alborz Mountains in northeastern Tehran province. Shemshak is one of the highest villages
Dizin Ski Resort ALBORZ SKI REGION Dizin is the biggest Ski Resort in Iran, located in Alborz province, northeast of Tehran province, which is on the southern slopes of the Central Alborz Mountains. Dizin ski resort was built around 1960 during the reign of Pahlavi (Mohammad Reza Shah) before Iran’s Islamic revolution. The piste is situated in a staggeringly beautiful geographical position, surrounded by a lot of high mountain peaks around +4000 m, which makes for a very cold winter with amazing visibility of the mountains in the Alborz range. You will have a stunning view of Iran’s highest mountain, Damavand (5610m), from the top of the piste on Sichal peak. From the last station of Dizin, you have to ascend a little bit. It takes 10-15 minutes to reach the peak (Sichal), the highest point in the region. From there, you will have a breathtaking 360-degree panoramic view of the numerous mountains in the heart of Alborz. From the peak, you can see Kolonbastak (4150m), the ridgeline of the Sarakckal mountains, a 15km mountain chain above 4000m with 3 peaks. In the south, you will see Tochal mountain (3960m) which is north of the capital, Tehran. Dizin is, without a doubt, the finest place for skiing in Iran. For those who are looking for a more challenging activity, there are a lot of regions around Dizin that are terrific for Off Piste skiing. You will need a local guide or experienced ski instructor for off-piste skiing in Dizin. There are a few mountains around Dizin that are excellent for Ski-Touring at the end of winter and the beginning of spring. Mount Kolonbastak and Mount Azadkuh are two of them, which are fairly close, and ideal for ski touring. Besides ski activities, the attractive Dizin region is
Dizin Ski Resort ALBORZ SKI REGION Dizin is the biggest Ski Resort in Iran, located in Alborz province, northeast of Tehran province, which is on the southern slopes of the Central Alborz Mountains. Dizin ski resort was built around 1960 during the reign of Pahlavi (Mohammad Reza Shah) before Iran’s Islamic revolution. The
Iran's Most Famous Mountains and High Peaks Iran has a long list of mountains above 4000m in different regions in the Alborz and Zagros ranges. Surprisingly, even in the deserts of Iran, there are many mountains above 3000 m plus a few famous mountains above 4000m. Moreover, along these two long mountain ranges, there are numerous special regions such as Dasht-e Lut or Sistan and Baluchistan province embracing some mountains which are not well known to travelers. They have an ideal climate, perfect for a winter ascend. It is impossible to list all of Iran’s mountains here. We have chosen only a few of them for adventurous travelers who would like to specifically experience Iran’s mountains. We considered many factors to create the list below from more than 100 mountain names that local climbers generally choose for their various activities. We appraised the combination of the mountains’ altitude, the levels of difficulty, accessibility, special regions, protected areas, exquisite landscapes, and Off the Beaten Track, to cover a multitude of activities bearing in mind the best season for each activity to cover the whole year. Besides, our 20 years' experience of performing a lot of tours in different regions of Iran was another important aspect as to why we have chosen these specific mountains in our Iran’s Most Famous Mountains and High Peaks List. According to your travel time in Iran and your level of fitness, we have special offers for you. Also included are popular activities such as Trekking, Mountain Biking, and Ski-touring. The list has been prepared by Adventure Iran’s mountain guides’ team. It reflects our point of view of what we think is just right for you. Certainly, there are a lot of other mountains which are not listed in our famous mountains of Iran. If you
Iran’s Most Famous Mountains and High Peaks Iran has a long list of mountains above 4000m in different regions in the Alborz and Zagros ranges. Surprisingly, even in the deserts of Iran, there are many mountains above 3000 m plus a few famous mountains above 4000m. Moreover, along these two long mountain ranges, there are numerous
