Iran

South Asia

Persia, one of the world's great civilizations, layered from the ruins of Persepolis to the blue-tiled squares of Isfahan and the mud-brick lanes of Yazd. Its draws run from the museums and palaces of Tehran, through the poetry and gardens of Shiraz and the desert oases of Kashan, to the high Alborz range north of the capital, crowned by Mount Damavand, the highest volcano in Asia. Tourism is well established with licensed Iranian operators and English-speaking guides, though the country remains under standing do-not-travel advisories.

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What you can do in Iran

Mountaineering / Summits

Mount DamavandJun Jul Aug SepMount Damavand is the roof of Iran, a 5,610m volcano that stands alone above the Alborz and can be seen from Tehran on a clear day. It is the highest peak in the Middle East west of the Caucasus and the highest volcano in Asia, and it holds a central place in Persian myth as the mountain where the tyrant Zahhak was chained. As a climb it is non-technical, a long walk on scree and snow rather than a rock or ice route, which puts it within reach of fit hikers, but the altitude is real and the summit ridge smells of the sulphur venting from the crater. The usual line is the southern route from Polour, with 4x4 access to the Goosfandsara meadow, a night at the Bargah Sevom camp around 4,200m to acclimatize, and a pre-dawn push to the top. Standing on the summit at first light, with the Caspian lowlands under cloud to the north and the desert plateau to the south, is one of the great high-altitude days in this part of the world, and it pairs naturally with the cultural route through Tehran and the classic Persian cities.

Museums & Galleries

TehranApr May Sep Oct NovTehran is where Iran keeps its treasures, and a couple of days in the city's museums is the best introduction to Persian history and art before the classic route south. The National Museum of Iran runs from Palaeolithic stone tools through the palaces of Persepolis to the early Islamic centuries in one building. A short distance away, the Qajar-era Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site, layers mirrored halls and painted tilework, while the Treasury of National Jewels, held in the vaults of the central bank, shows the Peacock Throne and the pink Darya-ye Noor, one of the largest diamonds on earth. For a different century, the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art keeps Pollock, Rothko and Warhol alongside major Iranian modernists, much of it acquired in the 1970s and rarely shown in full. Seeing these with an English-speaking Iranian guide who can place each object turns a list of galleries into the through-line of a civilization, and it is an easy, city-based first destination for a country far friendlier than its headlines suggest.

Best months at a glance

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Mountaineering
Museums