Most major cities in the world are known for their traffics, pollution, and noise. But, Tehran is a special city that you can leave all that hassle behind to reach the calm and relaxing nature for a day off is just minutes or hours away. In this guide, we will introduce you to the top 13 mountain peaks in Tehran.
Mountaineering is an excellent way to pass time, especially during these hard times when other hobbies are limited. If you choose to do that in Tehran, you can go climbing either inside or outside the city. But, regardless of where you go, you need to be well-prepared physically and have mountaineering gear. It’s interesting to know that there are some 100 peaks in Tehran Province, and here we only introduce the most famous ones in the capital city.
1- Tochal
The most famous, and of course, the highest peak in Tehran is Tochal. It’s part of Mount Tochal and has an elevation of 3,959 meters. The main and mostly-used path to reach this peak starts from Sarband Square in the Darband neighborhood. The route continues and reaches Shirpala shelter, and after traverses leftward, it leads to the ridge. There are at least ten other routes too. But they are longer compared with the one beginning from Sarband. Some of those routes are as follow:
- Kolakchal-Tochal
- Route from Tochal gondola lift’s station 1 to its station 7 and Tochal peak
- Dar Abad-Tochal
- Cheen Kalagh-Tochal
2- Shah-neshin
The second highest peak of Tehran is Shah-neshin and has an elevation of 3,885 meters. It is located in the main ridge of Mount Tochal. You can climb Shah-neshin by setting off from Imamzadeh Davoud and then continue through Shahrestanak, Tochal, Darakeh and Palang-chal Peak. The most accessible way to Shah-neshin is via station 7 of Tochal gondola lift. When you get to the venue of the gondola lift, you turn left and take the dirt road next to the ski resort westward and you reach a small pass. By taking this pass eastward and then entering the ridge and walking for several hundreds of meters you will finally reach the top.
3- Sar-bazarak
Another peak that you can choose to climb up is Sar-bazarak which lies east of Shah-neshin and is as high as 3,840 meters. You can reach Sarba-zarak either through Shah-neshin or Ashtar-gardan Pass. To reach Ashtar-gardan itself, there are several ways. One of them goes through Darakeh and Palang-chal shelter.
4- Dar Abad
This peak is approximately as high as 3,150 to 3,200 meters, and is located in a neighborhood with the same name. The path to climb and go down Dar Abad Peak is 12 kilometers. To climb the peak, you should first reach the Dar Abad neighborhood and set off from a parking lot next to the river there. Then you cross a bridge and after taking several turns, you reach a cafe. From there, you go ahead for several hundreds of meters and then turn right and continue climbing up the slope for 300 to 400 meters. Then, you will pass a dirt road and reach small old barracks from where if you continue going up, you will get to the ridge. Continue your walk and then you will reach the small shelter based on Dar Abad Peak.
5- Siahband
After you get to Dar Abad Peak, if you continue walking forward for about 2km, you will reach Siahband. That’s another peak with an elevation of 3,320 meters. This path requires special attention in winter because of its knife-edge parts. Another climbing path to Siahband starts from Haji-abad village and Oshan.
6- Lezon (Piaz-chal)
Still more peaks to know about! This one is as high as 3,500 meters and is called Lezon or Piaz-chal. It is made up of West Lezon and East Lezon that are located on the main ridge of Tochal, between Tochal and Dar Abad peaks. The best route to climb and reach West Lezon and East Lezon is through Kolak-chal base camp, Spilit Pass and then a traverse from behind Kolak-chal peak towards Piaz-Chal Pass. When you reach Piaz-Chal Pass, the path becomes highly steep and leads to Lezon Peak. The danger of an avalanche makes it impossible to traverse behind Kolak-chal Peak during winter.
7- Spilit
This one is located in the northern part of Band-Yakhchal neighborhood. It’s called Spilit and you can climb it up simply by taking the mostly-used available route, Kolak-chal. This route begins from Jamshidieh Park, and takes you to a shelter. After that shelter, the path continues towards Spilit Pass (Kolak-chal Pass) that lies north of Spilit Peak.
8- Kolak-chal
Jamshidieh Park is the starting point of the climbing route to another peak, Kolak-chal. It is approximately 3,350 meters high and is the most accessible peak in Tehran. After setting off from Jamshidieh, you keep taking the windy path upward until you reach the base camp of Kolak-chal station 4. From that station, the path continues westward and reaches 3,000-meter Spilit Pass. Here, you get to the ridge which is rocky and is followed by a steep slope that leads to the summit.
9- Koma-chal
To climb this peak, which is as high as 3,050 meters, you can choose Velenjak, Bame Tehran. From there, there are two routes you can take to reach the summit. One begins from the vicinity of Velenjak Parking Lot beside a bus station, and continues along the ridge. The other path begins by taking the dirt road leading to Tehran’s gondola lift. You pass station 2 and on the way toward station 5, you leave the dirt road near the peak and begin climbing it up.
10- Chin-Kalagh
This peak has an elevation of 2,820 meters. It is located west of Darakeh-Palang Chal route, north of Saadatabad neighborhood. In this neighborhood, the route to reach Chin-Kalagh starts from the western side of Bame Tehran. There, a guard post lies, and turning left, you enter a valley and the walking path of Chin-Kalagh. The beginning part of the climbing route is a 500-meter dirt road that starts from the left of valley and continues northward. Continue forward and then you will reach a spring usually used by mountain climbers for breakfast or rest. From the spring onwards, there are two paths to reach the top, one is through the ridge, another is through the valley.
11- Palang-chal
It’s located in Darakeh neighborhood, and is approximately 3,550 meters high. The route reaching Palang-chal is nearly 12km. It takes you to Palang-chal shelter at the height of 2,550 meters. From the west of the shelter, the route continues and reaches the place where two rivers merge. If you want to reach Palang-chal Summit, you have to do it only in summer, because the route just explained above is dangerous in winter due to its avalanches.
12- Doshakh
Another Tehran peak located in the city’s Darakeh neighborhood is Doshakh. It has an elevation of 3,040 meters and can be reached through three paths namely Darakeh Square-Kara, Farahzad Road, and the route to Chin-Kalagh Peak. The first route is the one mostly used. You set off from Darakeh square and continue walking until you reach Kara where the road divides to two. Turn left and go ahead until you get to the pass between Chin-Kalagh and Doshakh peaks. On the pass, turn right and continue going up toward Doshakh Peak.
13- Band-eish
A beautiful peak with an elevation of 2,770 meters and located in northwest Tehran. Band-eish lies north of the neighborhoods of Kan, Shahran and Hesarak. There are four climbing routes to Band-eish. The southern path, which is the main one, begins in Hesarak and Dochenaran Valley. The western path starts from Solaqan and reaches a deep valley that leads to Band-eish. The northern path reaches the top by beginning from Imamzadeh Davoud and continuing through a valley leading to Rendan area. By taking the eastern and northeastern paths, you can have a walk starting from the west of Imamzadeh Davoud towards Band-eish peak.
It should be mentioned that the paths to reach Tehran’s peaks have different conditions depending on whether there is any precipitation or not.