Lisar is a village in the Talesh mountains of Gilan province, in the north-west of Iran, where the high ridges fall steeply to the Caspian Sea and the sea clouds pile against the slopes. This is the wettest part of the country, and the hillsides are covered with Hyrcanian forest, an ancient broadleaf woodland of beech, hornbeam, oak and alder that survived the ice ages and is now recognised by UNESCO. In the mist the trees are draped with moss and the air smells of wet leaves, and after the dry brown plateau of central Iran it feels like another continent. A waterfall and a stream run through the area, and it is popular with walkers from the coastal towns.
The Talesh people have their own language and customs, closely related to other north-west Iranian languages, and the villages are scattered along the slopes with wooden houses, tin roofs and rice paddies in the valleys. Tea is grown on terraces in the lowlands, and the traditional dishes include smoked fish, walnut-and-pomegranate sauce and a dish of rice with local herbs. In summer, families from the hot plains come up to escape the heat, and the roads fill with cars at weekends.
The riding here is some of the best in the country, and quite different from the desert. The road from Hashtpar climbs into the hills with hairpin bends, forest on both sides, and cloud that can drop in a few minutes. The surface can be wet, with leaves and mud, and landslides after heavy rain are not rare. Cows and goats are common on the road, and fog turns bends into guesswork. The highway over the mountains from the coast towards Ardabil is a famous route, which in winter can be icy.
Hashtpar, seventeen kilometres away, is the town with fuel, shops and a market, and from there the coast road runs north to Astara on the Azerbaijan border, a busy trading town. In the hills, services are limited, so top up the tank below, and carry rain gear because sunshine can vanish suddenly. Spring and early autumn are the best seasons, with clearer skies and fewer people. In summer humidity is high, and mosquitoes near the paddies are tiresome.