Fifty million years ago, forests like this covered much of the northern hemisphere, and in the Hyrcanian region they never entirely went away. A strip of woodland along the southern shore of the Caspian Sea, between the sea and the Alborz mountains, was sheltered from the ice ages by the water and the mountains, and it kept species that disappeared elsewhere. UNESCO recognised the Hyrcanian Forests in 2019, as a living relic of the temperate forests that once spread across Europe and Asia.
The forest is a thick one. Trees such as Persian ironwood, chestnut-leaved oak, hornbeam and Caucasian alder grow here, some of them hundreds of years old, and the undergrowth is full of ferns, mosses and wild pomegranate. The Caspian tiger, which lived in the reed beds and woods, was hunted to extinction in the twentieth century, but the Persian leopard survives in small numbers, together with brown bears, wolves, lynx and many birds. In autumn the leaves turn red and gold, and in spring the ground is carpeted in flowers.
The area around Kalaleh, in Golestan province, is where the forest meets the steppe. Kalaleh is the city of the Turkmen people, a Turkic community known for its horses, carpets and embroidery, and the weekly market is lively and colourful. The Turkmen steppe to the north is a flat, open country where horses graze, and the contrast between the dense forest and the open plain is striking. Golestan National Park, which includes much of the forest, is one of Iran's oldest reserves.
The roads that run through the park and over the mountains are narrow, steep and twisting, with sudden changes of weather. Mist and rain come off the Caspian, and the surface can be wet and slippery. It is a landscape for careful, patient riding, with plenty of stops for the view. Spring, when the forest is green and the flowers are out, and autumn are the best times. Summer is humid, and winter can be cold and snowy at height.
Kalaleh, twenty-one kilometres away, has thirty-four thousand people and is the place for fuel, food and basic services. Check local conditions and permits before entering protected areas.