GERDKOOH

Overview

Introduction to Central Alborz Mountains

One of the ridgelines on the west slopes of Dohezar valley is a semi circular one consisting of Mount Kashdan, Mount Gerdkouh, Mount Zard-e-Sar, Mount Bil-e-kouh and Mount Sor-e-Gol. The Classic route for all these peaks starts from Shanehterash village at the end of Dohezar Road. After some time you need to choose differnt routes for different peaks. Mount Kashdan and Mount Sor-e-Gol are on the same route untill Kashdan Shepherd House(elevation2730m-lat36.63843 lon50.66771), There you need to go south for Sor-e-Gol while For Kashdan summit you should ascend toward west.
Before getting to Kashdan sheperd house you will pass Siga sheperd house, if the goal is climbing Mt Gerdkooh which is the first peak from north in the ridgeline you have to go toward northwest instead of going east(for Kashdan&Soregol).

Mt Gerdkooh

This beautiful peak gives great views on all the sides. On the aouth there is a nice view of Mt Charkot north face, On the west you can see all the Nashemin massif and on the north Cities of Ramsar and Tonekabon are easily seen. Villages like Pishkooh and Sibkelayeh are so close on the north. On the west there is a panoramic view of Dohezar Valley going far to the coastal plains on the north east.
The very sad thing about the route to Gerdkooh is the more and more trees each year you see cut! The local sheperds do this silently and there is no serious protection of the forest from the government. Maybe this is a lot to ask from a system which itself sells parts of the forest each year!!

Getting there

Well lets say you are in Tehran. You can easily get to Tonekabon by bus or cab from west terminal beside Azadi Square. Or drive to Chalus from Karaj on the extremly beautiful road of Kandavan(Karaj-Chalus road). Form Tonekabon its quite hard not to find Dohezar road!! At the end of Dohezar main road you should start hiking. You should have a guide or atleast a GPS with the route saved in it from here. The start point elevation is about 1500 meters at the village of Shanehterash.

Red Tape

Like most of the areas in Iran mountains there is no red tape here. Also no fees or permits are needed.

Camping

Just in very heavy snow it might not be possible to climb Mt Gerdkooh in one day. Camping is allowed anywhere in the area. You can find more informaion about camping in Sor-e-Gol

Images

View GERDKOOH Image Gallery - 7 Images