2 Days

Duration

Challenging

Activity Level

Apr, May, Jun, July, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov

Best Months

Mountain Biking

Activities

Off the Beaten Track, Adventure Travel

Travel Styles

A combo asphalt and single track mountain biking tour in northern Tehran in the heart of central Alborz mountains and stay with local in Shemshak village

TOUR CODE

114-STN-BIK

START

Tehran

FINISH

Tehran

REGION(S)

Tehran

INCLUDED

MEALS: 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
ACCOMMODATIONS: Local House: 1 Night
TRANSPORTATION: Private 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

Visiting Shemshak and Sepidestoon villages
Spectacular views of Dizin and Darbandsar ski resort
Climb up to Cichal peak, top of Dizin ski resort – 3800m
360 degree view of central Alborz mountains from the peak
Spectacular view of MT Damavand
Mountain biking on the ridge line from Dizin ski resort to Darbandsar ski resort
One night sleep in high altitude village of Shamshak (2700 m)
One days challenging Mountain biking

Shemshak is one of the highest village in heart of the mountain with 2700 m height. summits in the region with 4210m altitude from sea level. The closest village to this summit is Shemshak. This village is at 40 km north of Tehran and 60 km to Tehran central areas. The village is trekking start point to Sarakchal and its altitude is 2700 m. Shemshak is famous as it was the first ski resort in Iran opened in 1958 and still is the third largest ski area after Dizin and Darbansar.

There is a 15 Km length ridgeline over Shemshak from west to east starting from Koloon Bastak (4170m) in the west and ending at Sarakchal (4210m) in the east. Between the two there are some mountains over 4000m (Sarakchal 2 & Sarakchal 3) making this ridgeline so challenging. On Adventure Iran website we have another challenging mountaineering tour to cross these peaks.

In the south, there are Paynesum (3350m) and Abak (3520m) summits. If the weather is clear you will view Kholeno (4387m), Azadkuh (4350m) and Borj (4326m) mountains as well as Damavand (5610m), the roof of Iran.

Shemshak

Northern Tehran is located on central Alborz mountains with a lot of high peaks over 4000 m from the sea level. Shemshak is the name of a village & a ski resort 50 Km away from north Tehran in the northeast. The village is on the Alborz Mountains and is one of three largest pists in Iran. Shemshak was a small and unknown village lost in the mountains before the beginning of the 20th century. Soon after discovering coal deposits in the region, Shemshak became important and a road was built to connect it to Tehran. After a few years at the end of mining operations, the village became a leisure resort for rich people due to its heavy snow winters and beautiful mountains surrounding it. In 1958, Shemshak ski resort was built, offering the upper class of Tehran a place to learn and practice this trendy sport from Europe.

Today, Shemshak is a famous place for people to go for relaxation and enjoying its fresh weather. Even-though the resort hasn’t expanded since its opening, it is still one of the largest in Iran. The proximity of Shemshak with other ski resorts like Darbandsar and Dizin, makes it the Ski Capital of Iran!

The ski resort base elevation is about 2,550 meters and the top elevation is about 3,050 meters. There is a hotel, some restaurants and ski, snowboard and sleigh rentals in the area. Also there are electric lights including LED lamps along the piste allowing better visibility for night skiing. The ski time in northern Tehran has changed year by year but in general the best time for skiing in Shemshak is early Dec to late March.

There are a lot of mountains above 3000 & 4000m surrounding Shemshak village making it an amazing place for hiking and mountain biking during spring, summer and early autumn as well as skiing in the winter. For easy and moderate hike there are a few mountains over 3000m height attached to the village. The altitude of lower part of the village is around 2500m and with only 500m ascending you can reach the peaks above 3000m. For strenuous and challenging trekkers there are some famous mountains above the village such as Sarakchal with 4210m altitude from sea level. This trek could start from upper part of the village (Shemshak Bala) at 2700m towards the peak. The total ascend would be around 1500m.

Around the village there are different route for verity of level from moderate level up to challenging level for mountain bike freak.

This adventure single track mountain biking has been designed to be challenging and is perfect for who have experienced riders in the mountain. The region of biking is Dizin, Shemshak and Darbandsar ski resorts which are the three main ski resorts of Iran. All of the three ski resorts are around each others in the high mountains of central Alborz. As these resorts are in north of the capital, in the Tehran countryside, its perfect for those who want to have a short mountain biking trip outside of polluted. Most of riders book this trip in summer time when Tehran temperature is above 40 degrees as we have a breeze and pleasant temperature in the mountain. Also, this trip will be available from mid spring (early May) up to mid autumn (end of November). In Spring you will face spectacular scenery of mountain which still snow in the top of mountains and make amazing picture of nature. There are a wide range of flowers and plan make the terrain green and colourful. In beginning autumn temperature a bit cold and sometimes we have the wind on the ridge and you have to be prepared for fall rain. The first day is warm up mountain biking in Shemshak ski resort and its half on the dirt road and half downhill on a single track. The second day is ascending to the top of Dizin ski resort in 3700 m height and we will take a mountain ridge from the peak of Dizin towards the peak of the Darband sure ski resort. We will cross Darbandsar on our way and then finish our mountain biking in another village at the end of the valley. In some part of the day we have to carry the bike for a while sometimes and also we have to find our own track in some part as there is no official track on the ridge line. All riders must have good shape with experience mountain biking single track roads. This trip is included of mountain bike and Adventure Iran provides bike and helmet. All of the bikes are Hardtail and we have different bike size from XS to L. Please inform us your bike size before your arrival. The length of the route is 11 km and our total ascent is 600 m and total descent is 1200 m.

Day 1: Tehran to Shemshak

You will be picked up from your hotel at 12.00 p.m. To drive to Shemshak village which is around 60 km taking around 1 hour and a half through a mountainous road. The altitude of central Tehran is around 1200m from the sea level and the village is at 2700m, so we will drive up around 1500m. We will transfer the bikes and helmets from our storage of the office to the Shemshak. Please inform us your bike size in advance. When you arrive to the village, you will walk up to the highest point of the village over 110 steps as there is no road to the house. The house has a good view to shemshak ski resort and Sarakchal mountain. In the afternoon you have a half day mountain biking in shmshak ski resort. The route will start from the house and you will take a dirt roads lead us to a pass. The altitude of starting point is 2700m and we have to pedal up to the pass takes around 2-3 hours depend on your fitness and group speed. The pass height is 3000m. We have a good view of Iran’s roof there “Mt Damavand”. We will stop at the pass for a short rest and photography. Total ascent to the pass is around 400m taking one hour. Afterward, we will continue biking on the ridge of Shemshak ski resort and then we will enter to the piste. From there we have to find our own track in the piste and we have good downhill all the way to village. In the village in the late afternoon we will have some time to enjoy the area and take some photos before dawn. Dinner will be served there and tea/coffee is available at any time. Overnight stay in the local house. (D)

Day 2: Dizin to Darbandasr Ski resort - mountain biking on the ridge

After early breakfast in the house, we will take our day pack with bikes to start mountain biking at 7 a.m. From the village we will take a paved road to reach the bottom of the canyon and from there (2500m) we will take a single track road on river direction in the canyon up to the pass which is the entrance of Dizin ski resort in 3300m height. Then from the pass we take on of the track of ski resort to climb up to the peak with 3700 m height. Totally we climb 1200m from the village to the top. Afterward, we have one hour rest for lunch and photography of 360 degree view of the central Alborz mountain. From there if the weather will be clear you will see a lot of mountains over 4000m as well as mountain Damavand. Afterward, we will take a Ridgeline from the peak of Dizin (Cichal) all the way to Darbandsar peak which is mostly descending. We have to carry our bikes on this route and pass a couple of rocks on the way. Also, there is no tack on the ridge line and we have to find our own tack. Then from Darbandsar ski resort, we will take one the most attractive track to go down hill to the end of the valley. We will reach another village in the valley and from there we will back to the village in the late afternoon. After a short rest and take a shower will back to Tehran in the laeveningand we will be in Tehran around 21:00. (B, L)