My Itinerary
Before I started researching the 7 volcanic summits I didn’t know about the existence of Mount Damavand, which is Asia’s highest volcano, located north of Tehran in the Alborz mountain range, close to the Caspian Sea and the central desert of Iran.
Climbing the two highest peaks of Iran – Damavand and Alamkuh will take me 7 days, with one day rest in between. Climbing Alam Kuh before my Damavand peak trek should give me an option of very good acclimatisation and safe ascent to Damavand. If you would like to climb Damavand only you should calculate between 3 to 5 days.
My plan for this trip is as follow:
9.09.22 – Friday – Leaving London @18.20 – Istanbul (00.10)
10.09.22 – Saturday – Istanbul @1.40am – Teheran (6.10)
The trip starts intensely, as straight after I land I will begin my AlamKooh Trek (no time to waste 😛 I try to save as many holiday days as possible to cover my mountain adventures) After landing I will meet my mountain guide at the airport and we will drive to Kelardasht City and then to Vanderben Village at the foothills of Alam Kooh @ 2400m, where we will spend a night in a mountaineering federation lodge.
11.09.22 – Sunday – We will get up early, drive in a 4WD car to a rocky valley – Tang-e Galoo @ 3,100m from where we will start our trek to the Alam Kuh Base Camp – Hesarchal flatland at an altitude of around 3,700m. We will need to set up our camp here, which I’m sure will be an amazing place to spend 2 nights, surrounded by many 4000 peaks.
12.09.22 – Monday – Acclimatisation Day – We will climb to Lashgarak the Small (4 176 m) and Lashgarak the Great (4256 m), which will help me to adapt to altitude. We will spend another night at the base camp. Tonight we will go to bed early as tomorrow before sunrise we will leave the camp to climb the second highest peak in Iran – Mount Alam Kuh @ 4,850m
13.09.22 – Tuesday – Mount Alam Kuh Summit @ 4,850 m, plan is to leave well before the sunrise. On the way to the summit we will be gifted with beautiful views of the surrounding mountains, glaciers and lakes. In the middle of the ascent to Alam Kooh, we will also climb the Marjikesh peak (4,580m). In the northern part of Alam Kuh Summit there is a Alamkooh Granite Climbing Wall – which is the tallest rock climbing wall in Iran. Hopefully after the successful summit, we will return to the Vanderben village and spend a night in a local guesthouse.
14.09.22 – Wednesday – Rest day during which we will visit the ancient forest and stop on the way to the Polour village (the Mount Damavand base camp) at the fish market, and the Caspian Sea and maybe have a cheeky dip in the sea 😛 Tonight our accommodation will be a mountaineering guest house in Polour village.
15.09.22 – BIG DAY – Start of the Damavand Trek!
We will begin the day by driving ‘off road’ to the Goosfandsara camp (the mosque) – located at 3,020 m – the start point of our trek. Today we will hike to our campsite at an altitude of 4,250m. We will go to bed early tonight as our Mt Damavand summit day will begin well before the sunrise.
16.09.22 – Mount Damavand Summit Day
Happy Birthday to Me?!
An alpine style start of the day, today is the day! The journey towards the highest point of Iran, the highest volcanic peak of Asia, and the highest peak in the Middle East! Prediction is to reach the roof of Iran after a 6-7h trek. The summit day is the most difficult one – 1400 m of altitude gain and a descent to the camp – is definitely a decent load for a day. I suspect that it will take us 10-12h. We will spend a night at our base camp!
17.09.22 – Today we will leave Mount Damavand behind and return to the Polour village. In the afternoon we’ll make our way to the hot springs and back to Tehran
18.09.22 –Tehran – I’ve got two full days in this beautiful city. I’ve got a whole list of places to see, things to do and foods to try! That’s the other half of exploration that I love outside of my mountaineering/outdoor addiction. During my travels I always seek to learn about the local culture and lifestyle. And I love to hang out in the places popular with locals, wander around the streets without a plan,explore traditional markets and try foods that I don’t know.
19.09.22 – Tehran
20.09.22 – Flight back at 5.15 am from Tehran to Istanbul @ 7.10 am
Istanbul @ 10.25 am – London @ 12.35 pm
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