Caspiantrek

Whilst travelling in Iran you may need to use a VPN to access your Facebook, Twitter or Telegram etc. Two commonly used free VPNs are the Psiphon and Freegate. It is advisable to install them before travelling. A browser called Opera has VPN incorporated and it works well in Iran. Happy travelling !!

I visited Jiroft some 20 years ago and on that occasion stayed on a remote farm house with a spectacular view over the mighty Jabal Barez Mountain range. The orangery belonged to Mr Tavakoli, the grand feudal of the region who happened to be the father of Shifteh, an old friend from London. For a week I went hiking and swimming in the pool of the local Qanat. This week I talked to this friend and we have come up with a spectacular hiking route, this time through the Jabal Barez Mountain range and the summer villages. For this exploratory trip I may be able to take along a couple or 3 travellers to cover the cost of the trip. We will link up with Shifte's family in Jiroft and hike the area over a few days. We would also visit Konar Sandal one of the birth places of civilization from the Bronz Ages as well as other attractions of the area. Jiroft civilization came to light in 2001 after broken pottery were discovered after a heavy flood of Halil Rood. Jiroft civilization...

Basically there is none. If you come from say Norway which sounds like the exact opposite with well stocked refuges then this is the other extreme and you are in for a surprise. Even the most famous summits like Damavand and Alam Kooh do not have the refuges that they should. The conditions in Bargah Sevvom are poor to say the least with primitive washing facilities and much trash. Sarchal refuge is a little better. The locals providing mule services for such popular summits are not trained in tourism, they are often rude and aggressive with the guides and the energy is naturally picked up by tourists alike. The 4 wheel drivers who have the permit from the authorities to drive you up to the trail head are also not courteous and often argue among themselves for passengers. So if you are not too bothered about the better known popular summits, at least from the usual sides of the climb then you may wish to consider lesser known summits of which there are hundreds in the Alborz m...