Getting There
Directions to the Nahiyeh Village:
From downtown Tehran drive the Tehran-Karaj Freeway 40 Km west to the town of Karaj and take the Chalus Road exit. Drive the Chalus Road up the mountains roughly 95 Km past the Kandovan Tunnel (2700 m) to a place known as Poleh Zangooleh (2350 m) where you will see a side road to the right (east). This is known as the Yoosh-Baladeh Road. Follow this road 40 Km east first up the Tarkeh Bashm Pass (2800 m) and then Labashm Pass (3170 m) to the village of Uz (2250 m). Turn south onto a side road and drive 8 Km up the valley to reach the village of Nahiyeh (2450 m).
Route Description
Please refer to the
Detailed Map of Central Alborz for the below discussion. Having the 1:50 000 maps (See the “Maps” section of
Introduction to Central Alborz) can add much more detail. You will need Sheet “6362 III Uz” for Narges Peaks & Gavan Poshteh Pass.
General Notes:
1) Since the slopes on the north side of the Gavan Poshteh Pass are quite steep, I will describe this as a descend route from the summit of Narges to the Nahiyeh Village (you can obviously use it as an ascend route too).
2) The quickest way to go from the summit of the Narges Peak to the Gavan Poshteh Pass is to follow the ridgetop past the West Narges Peak. Since our base camp was on the banks of the Varengeh Rood River, the route mentioned here will take you from the summit of Narges down to the Vareneh Rood River and then up again to the Gavan Poshteh Pass.
All distances are per my GPS
Place…………..Elevation……………..Distance
Narges…………4206 m……………….Zero
Junction
Of the
Stream to
Meeshchal…..…3300 m………………..6.0 Km
Start of
Ascend to
Gavan Poshteh…..3180 m………………..1.3 Km
Gavan Poshteh
Pass………………3650 m………………..0.7 Km
First river
Crossing………..3050 m………………2.0 Km
Second river
Crossing…………2950 m………………0.5 Km
Bridge……………2650 m…..…………4.5 Km
Nahiyeh………….2450 m……………..5.5 Km
Total…………………………………….20.5 Km
From the summit of Narges go to the 4050 m saddle with the Paloon Gardan Peak and then descend into the valley of the Varengeh Rood River (or you could follow any path down the easy southern slopes of Narges to reach the river). Follow the river downhill (west). You might find faint trails here and there but in places the trail fades away and you will encounter steep slippery slopes above the river, so “following the river” might not be as care free as it sounds.
At 3300 m you will reach the junction of a stream on your left (south) that comes from the Meeshchal Peak. Continue to follow the Varebgeh Rood River downhill. You may want to stay on the north side of the river where a more established trail might be found.
Keep an eye on the steep slopes to the north of you to try to locate the Gavan Poshteh Pass. At a nonspecific spot at an elevation of 3180 m you will see a drainage on the north (when we were there in June the stream was dry).
Leave the Varengeh Rood River and start climbing up the steep dry stream bed on the north side. As you go higher, the slopes become grassy and gentler.
At 3650 m, you will reach the Gavan Poshteh Pass. The branch of the Noor River come to view far below you to the north.
We found a faint trail to help us descend into the branch of the Noor River but the trail soon faded away. There was at least one steep snow bank (in June) that we had to traverse. We basically followed a nonspecific path down the slopes. The slopes were for the most part grassy and not too bad (We did encounter some slippery spots).
Below the north side of Gavan Poshteh Pass
At 3050 m you will reach a wide river valley. The stream had made many branches and was easy to cross.
Easy River Crossing
After crossing the stream, you will find a trail on the left (west) side of the stream heading north a short distance to reach a second stream 2950 m. The second stream was much wider and harder to cross. We ended up walking across it with forceful water going above our knees.
After crossing the second stream you will find an established trail on the north side of the branch of the Noor River. Follow this trail northeast going downstream. You will come to get good views of the West Narges Peak (the main Narges peak will come to view only once).
We were hoping to follow this trail all the way to the village of Nahiyeh but we happened to come across a short cut and used it. At an elevation of 2650 m you will find a prominent foot bridge that crosses from the northwest, to the southeast side of the river. The trail quickly begins to gain elevation going far above the river and away from it. I did not measure how far up the trail went but it probably went up 150 vertical meters or more. After a high point, the Nahiyeh Village comes to view and you will follow the trail down to the village.
Essential Gear
In summer only camping equipment.
External Links
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