Kojoor is a green name on a green map. It lies in the forested hills of Mazandaran province, above the Caspian coast between Nowshahr and Chalus, in a region that Iranians simply call the north, as if every other part of the country were an afterthought. The coast road below is a string of resort towns, tea and citrus gardens, and the traffic that comes with them. Up here the pace slows considerably.
The valley of the Kojoor river cuts back into the Alborz, and the road follows it into oak and beech forest that grows thick enough to turn the light a deep underwater green. These are the Hyrcanian forests, relics of a woodland that once ran unbroken around the southern Caspian and that has stayed damp and shady since before the last ice age. Mist forms in the mornings, moss grows on every north-facing trunk, and after rain the smell of wet earth and leaf mould is powerful. Wildlife is shy but real, with wild boar, jackals, and roe deer in the woods, and if you are very lucky and very quiet the odd trace of larger animals higher up.
For riding, this is slower, narrower, tighter country than the plateaus of central Iran. Bends come close together, sometimes with gravel or mud washed across them, and in the villages you share the tarmac with tractors, walkers and the occasional cow. That is a recipe for a gentle pace and a lot of attention to the surface. The best time is late spring or early autumn, and a dry day after wet ones, when the forest glows. Summer is humid and busy with holidaymakers escaping Tehran, while winter can bring fog and ice on higher stretches.
A famous road connects this coast to Tehran over the mountains, the Chalus road, which climbs through spectacular, crowded and dramatic terrain to a tunnel on the ridge. It is tempting, but on weekends it clogs with Tehran families in cars, so go midweek if you can.
Nowshahr, about nineteen kilometres away, and Chalus, a little further, are the places for fuel, food and a bed. Small village shops sell bread, cheese and fruit, and a glass of tea is rarely refused.