Trip Highlights:

Lar National Park and protected area
One days Mountain biking in the west part of massive Damavand Mountain
Visiting the semi-nomads and shepherd on the trek
Crossing the vast valley of Lar
Adventure biking with crossing rivers on the dirt road
Untouched landscapes, rivers, sounds and colors of nature in a non-touristic area
Passing through Central Alborz Mountains ideal for photography

TOUR CODE

096-STN-TRK

START

Tehran

FINISH

Tehran

REGION(S)

Tehran, Mazandaran

INCLUDED

MEALS: 2 Breakfasts, 2 Lunches, 1 Dinner
ACCOMMODATIONS: Local House: 1 Night
TRANSPORTATION: Private vehicle, Support vehicle
All transportation according to the itinerary Accommodation as mentioned in the itinerary Meals as indicated in the itinerary English speaking tour guide

NOT INCLUDED

Entry fee for the sites not mentioned in the itinerary
Travel insurance
International airfare
Excess baggage charges
Airport and departure taxes
Any extra hotel costs such as early check in or late checkout
Laundry
Mini bar used in the room
Meals not stipulated in the itinerary
Tips (optional)
Cost of medical immunizations
Bottled water
Phone calls
Any other service not mentioned in the itinerary

Lar National Park is a protected area on the foot of massive Mt Damavand (5610 m) with many impressive summits of Central Alborz mountain range over 4000m. Officially it is in two provinces of Tehran and Mazandaran. Lar is one of the preserved areas of Iran with watery and mountainous ecosystem only 70 km from north east of the capital.

The National Park of Lar is as big as 30000 hectares and doesn’t have any residential area in or around it. During the summer when the national park opens for local tribes you see semi nomadic shepherds from the desert areas further south take their herds to graze in the summer months. You may also see some Persian tribes making KOOCH (move to high altitude and cooler places in the hot season) in the park territory.

Because of different ecosystems and ecology, different species live in this park such as birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and aquatics (brown bear, viper, partridge, gamma and red-spotted trout). This area is also used for beekeeping considering the various plants it has.

The park opens from May to Mid- August and then is closed for the entire year. The best time to visit is beginning of May to the end of June when the area’s grassland is covered with wild flowers. All domestic visitors need a permit to visit the park. Foreign visitors also need entrance permit and some extra paperwork. In order for us to obtain a written permit for foreigners from the Environment Department in Tehran we will need some time as it is bureaucratic and time consuming.

This is amazing opportunities for all visitors to have a exciting adventure mountain biking one of the closest sites in the Capital’s countryside. We will send you to heart of Alborz Mountains in the park which is surrounded with many mountains and for one day we have a challenging biking from Northern Tehran towards heart of Lar National Park which is in the west of Damavand Mountain. We will have approximately 50-60 km biking and we will cross a couple of mountains, canyon and rivers to rich the foot hill of Damavand. The valley is vast area and on early of the season on May will covered different type of flowers. We have to cross the Lar rivers for a couple of times and that would be a good to be prepared with extra cloths and sandal and so on. We will have camping in the National Park and we will supply all of the camping stuff and gears and sleeping arrangement as well. We will start the journey from the Capital towards Fasham Road and we will back to Tehran in the late afternoon.
For getting the permit to National Park for foreigner its take time and extra paper work and advance booking is mandatory.

Day 1: Arrival to the village & walking around

Depart from Tehran to Fasham road in the afternoon by a private vehicle through the mountain road. You will be picked up from your hotel at 17:00 pm. It takes only one hour to reach to the village. The altitude of the village is around 2000 m from the sea level. When you arrive, first you will get relaxed in our place and then prepare for a short walk in the village. You will enjoy the birds singing and the river. After sightseeing and photography in the village, we will come back to the house preparing the dinner. Sleeping is in a shared room on Iranian traditional style mattress at local home stay. (D)

Day 2: Lar National Park

6.00 A.M wake up for breakfast and getting ready to start at 8.00 A.M. Today we have around 60 km biking through mountain dirt road from Garmabdar (2500) to Khatoon Bargah pass (3050m) and countinue the trail toward the park. There was a historical trail for shepherd which they moved from northern Tehran in central Alborz towards Damavand foot hill. we will start our biking through a tight valley with the name of Tangeh Younza.We will croos the pass through scaptacular landscape, Absefid waterfal and after passing Yoonizar canyon we will reach to Lar valley (Dashte Lar). We have to cross a couple of times through the river and carry the bike as well. It would be 7-8 hours biking. After finishing biking a 4×4 car will pick you and the bike and we will back to Tehran in the evening. (B, L)