Tehran Trekking Tours in Iran

Tehran is the capital city of Iran and it is the first entry point for the majority of travelers who visit Iran. The IKA airport in Tehran is the most important Iran airport where the majority of international planes land. Moreover, access to other cities from Tehran with buses, domestic flights, and trains is more convenient compared to the other parts of the country. Tehran is also on the list of 5 Major Iran cities located on Iran’s most visited path of Classic Iran, and most travelers spend a few days in this metropolitan capital. For all mentioned reasons, many travelers pass Tehran but they do not have any idea about potential trekking regions near the capital. The majority of Iran’s visitors travel far away from the capital to experience trekking tours in Iran while Tehran is one of the most important mountain regions of the country for trekking activity giving you many choices in different seasons for various Levels of Difficulty. The reason is that most of Iran’s guide books didn’t attention to this important fact and they offer other mountain regions in different mountain regions of the country.

In this post, we will explain the most important trekking regions and National Parks around Tehran to give you a better image of the possibility of short and long hiking in Tehran province. 

 

Alborz Mountains range, as you may know, is Iran’s major mountain range located in northern Iran with 900 km in length. It begins in the northwest of Iran and stretches to the northeast of the country. This range has made a massive wall between the Caspian Sea and Iran Plateau. This range is divided into three sessions of West, Central, and East range. 

The central part of the range is called Resht-e Kouh-e Alborz-e Markazi (Central Alborz Mountains) which is in the north of Tehran Province. This mountain region embraces protected areas, national parks, ski resorts, rivers, lakes, special flora and fauna, and different seasonal birds and wildlife. All of the above attractions are located in Tehran province which is not far from Tehran city. The farthest location is about 80 km which gives you a maximum of 1.5 driving through the mountain road.

Tehran city is surrounded by mountains and in the northern part, Tochal mountain ridge makes a wall. It is also among the 10 highest capitals of the world. The lowest part of the capital is about 1200m altitude which is south of Terhan and the north part of the city is 2800-2900 m altitude. 

Moreover, Tehran city is the pre-acclimatization destination for your hiking holiday and most people come from under 1000m altitude. Along with a few famous mountains in the north of the Capital, Tehran province has many high mountains on the northern side. Alborz Ski Region located in the north of Tehran province is the center of the best mountains in the country for trekking and mountaineering. Kholeno mountain with 4375 m altitude is the highest Tehran province peak and is one of the most beautiful mountains in Iran. Many travelers have even no idea about this explicit fact about Tehran.

Besides mountain trekking, you can also enjoy desert trekking. Kavir National Park is another attraction of Tehran province which is perfect for desert trekking, as well as wildlife and birdwatching. The distance from Tehran city is 120 kilometers to the entrance of the park which takes less than 2 hours. This desert is a part of the Dasht-e Kavir which connects you to an ocean of desert in the Iran Plateau.  Below is the list of the most important mountains of Tehran province located in different parts of northern Tehran.

 

Tehran High Mountains

1-Kholeno Mountain 4383 m – (Roodbar Qasran Region)

 

2-Touchal Mountain 3979 m – ( Tehran City )

 

3-Kolon Bastak Mountain 4180 m –  (Alborz Ski Region)

 

4-Palang Chal Mountain 3550 m – ( Tehran city )

 

5-Sarakchal Mountain 4200 m -(Shemshak – Alborz Ski Region)

 

6-Darabad Mountain 3200 m – (Tehran City)

 

7-Abak Mountain 3420 m – (Shemshak – Alborz Ski Region)

 

8-Sichal Mountain 3960 m – (Dizin – Alborz Ski Region)

 

9-Darbandsar Mountain “Sarloo & Mahmoud Chal Peaks” 3550 m – (Alborz Ski Region)

10-Varjin Peak 2980 m (Environmental Protected region)- (Lavasanat District)

 

11-Mehrchal Mountain 3960 m – Amameh village

 

12-Parsoon Mountain 3150 m – Lavasanat District

 

13-Saka Mountain 3350 m – Lavasanat District

 

14-Kharsang Mountain 3950 – Roodbar Ghasran district

 

15-Janeston Mountain 3960 m  – Roodbar Ghasran district

 

 

In addition to the mountains mentioned above, there are a few important National Parks and environmental protected regions located in Tehran province. All of the parks except Lar National Park are open to the public and you don’t need any permission or paperwork to enter. Below is the list of those regions which are also perfect for trekking in Tehran.

 

Tehran’s National Parks and Protected Regions

1-Lar National Park

 

2-Varjin Protected Area

 

3-Alborz Markazi Protected Area

 

4-Sorkhe Hesar Park

 

Best time for Hike

The same as most mountain regions of Iran, spring and the beginning of autumn is generally the best time for hiking in the mountains under 3000m~ 3500m. For high peaks above that altitude, summer is the best season.