The Alborz mountains form a wall between the Caspian coast and the Iranian plateau, and on the northern face the rain makes everything green. The Hyrcanian forests, which run in a belt along the Caspian side, are among the oldest broadleaf forests in the world, a survivor of the great forests that once covered the northern hemisphere before the ice ages, and UNESCO listed them in 2019. They hold Caspian beech, oak, hornbeam and the Persian ironwood, with an undergrowth of ferns, and in the mist the effect is that of an enchanted wood. Brown bears, wolves, lynx and the rare Persian leopard live in these forests, though a visitor is unlikely to see them.
Vaz is a village in the forested foothills south-west of the town of Amol, in Mazandaran, and Alimestan, the other name on this ride, lies in the same wooded range. The nearest city on the map is Amol, about thirty kilometres away. Amol is the gateway to the Haraz road, one of the most spectacular mountain roads in Iran, which climbs from the Caspian plain to the highlands and winds past Mount Damavand, a snow-capped volcanic cone of 5,610 metres and the highest peak in Iran and the highest volcano in Asia. The road is crowded at weekends with holidaymakers from Tehran.
The riding in the Alborz is a full experience. The Haraz road is a long series of hairpins and bends, climbing through forest and then bare mountain, with tunnels, cliffs and fast-flowing rivers. Weather changes quickly, with fog and rain on the north side and bright sun on the south. Landslides and roadworks are common, and heavy traffic of trucks and buses makes passing difficult. The surface can be rough.
Conditions for foreign riders vary, so check the rules before you go. Amol has fuel and everything else, and the villages have small shops and tea houses. In the forest villages, you may be offered tea and local honey. Late spring and early autumn are the best times. Winter brings snow and ice to the high roads.