North of Qazvin, the Alborz mountains rise in a wall of bare, folded rock, and behind them lies the Alamut region, a tangle of valleys, gorges and crags that has a legend all of its own. In the late eleventh century, Hassan-i Sabbah, leader of the Nizari Ismailis, seized the castle of Alamut, and from it and a network of mountain strongholds his followers resisted the Seljuk sultans for generations. Western chroniclers later called them the Assassins and wove lurid tales around them. The Mongols under Hulagu finally took and slighted the castles in 1256. Navizaršāh is one of the fortified sites scattered through these mountains, and while its own history is little documented in sources most travellers can reach, its setting tells you everything about why people built strongholds here: high ground, hard access and long views over the valleys.
The landscape is stark and beautiful: red, ochre and grey rock, small green villages along the rivers, terraces of walnut and cherry trees, and snow on the peaks until late spring. The Alamut valley is popular with hikers and climbers, and the villages offer simple guesthouses, where you can sleep on carpets and eat home-cooked food.
Riding in Iran requires careful preparation. Rules for motorcycles, especially larger bikes and foreign-registered vehicles, are strict and can change, and you will need the right documents to bring a vehicle into the country. Check the current situation and official travel advice before planning a trip. The road from Qazvin over the mountains into the Alamut valley is spectacular, with hairpins, steep climbs and views, but the surface can be rough, with potholes, gravel and rockfalls, and local driving is unpredictable. The weather is extreme: hot summers in the lowlands, cold winters with snow in the mountains.
Services are limited in the mountains. Ābyek, about forty kilometres away, is the nearest town listed with full services, and Qazvin, a historic city with a fine bazaar and palaces from its time as Safavid capital, has everything. Fuel is cheap, but stations in remote areas are few, so carry extra. Try dizi, a lamb and chickpea stew cooked in a clay pot, and drink plenty of tea, offered everywhere as a sign of hospitality.