Darabad

Overview

Darabad is one of the peaks in northeastern Tehran. Darabad peak and ridgeline are part of the Tochal ridgeline which extends from Ghoochak pass on the east to Lavarak peak on the west. There are hundreds of hiking trails in Tehran, and Darabad trail is one of the 5 most popular ones. What distinguishes this trail from the other 4 is the fact that there is only one restaurant there, so the trail is very clean and not that crowded. Here is a view from Water & Fire park in Tehran:

view from Water & Fire park in Tehran

On the foot of Mt. Darabad there used to be a village called Darabad which is currently a part of Tehran metropolitan area.  The northern slopes of Mt. Darabad extends down to the villages of Ooshan and Hajiabad. They were planning to build a huge recreational center including ski resorts in Hajiabad and northern slopes of Darabad, but apparently the plan is on hold.

Getting There

To get to the summit of Darabad, you can go from any direction you want. You can start your hike from the village of Hajiabad in the north or from Darabad region in Tehran or from Piazchal on the west. I started my hike from Darabad region in Tehran. Here is the map at the beginning of the trail.

I took the orange route to go up, and took the yellow route to get down

Here are some photos on the way up:

The beginning of the trail

Darabad canyon

On the way up

Every year there are hundreds of people involved in the accidents in the mountains near Tehran. Some of them need to be airlifted to the hospitals. You may see some Helicopter langing sites in the mountains for this purpose.

A Helicopter landing site

Here are more photos on the way to Darabad ridgeline:

Tehran

Darabad peak

Piazchal

Piazchal

Tehran

Kolakchal and Piazchal

When you get to the ridgeline you can see a beautiful view of a part of central Alborz. Here are the views from the ridgeline:

On the ridgeline

Latian lake

From Sarakchal to Mehrchal

Sarakchal peaks

Mehrchal

Piazchal

Tehran from Darabad ridgeline

From Sarakchal peaks to Kharsang peaks

Tochal, Piazchal and Kolakchal

Northern slopes

Darabad peak

Darabad shelter

Tochal summit

Darabad summit

Here are the views from the summit of Mt. Darabad:

Siahband

A part of central Alborz

Sehchal and Koloonbastak

Sarakchal peaks

From Varzab to Kharsang peaks

When I was on the summit of Darabad, it suddenly got cloudy and very cold, and started raining, so I had to spend some time in the shelter and return quickly.

Tochal disappeared

On the way down

Tehran

Darabad Canyon

A nice waterfall

Route

Red Tape

When to Climb

Camping

External Links