Alamut Valley

The Alamut valley runs through the Alborz north of Qazvin, a deep cleft of terraced villages, orchards and rock walls, and above the village of Gazor Khan a narrow rock spine carries the ruins of Alamut castle, held by the Nizari Ismailis from 1090 until the Mongols took it in 1256. Hasan-i Sabbah made it his base, and the library there was said to be substantial before it was destroyed. What remains is fragmentary: cut cisterns, foundations, terraces and stretches of wall along the ridge, reached by a steep stepped path with a considerable drop on either side, and the reason to make the climb is the position, with the valley below and the Alborz peaks around. Freya Stark's account of travelling here in 1930 made the valley known outside Iran.

What you actually see

• The castle rock spine - ruins strung along a narrow ridge.
• Rock-cut cisterns - the water storage that made a siege survivable.
• The valley from the walls - terraced villages and Alborz peaks below.
• The stepped climb - the exposed path up to the site.

When to go

May to October; snow closes the passes in winter. A day from Qazvin, better overnight in a village guesthouse. The climb takes about forty minutes and is steep with exposure.

Honest expectations

Very little of the castle survives and visitors expecting a fortress find foundations. The climb is steep with drops and a modern staircase that some find unnerving. Mountain roads are slow. Village accommodation is basic.

Nearby

Qazvin is south; the road continues north-east over the Alborz toward the Caspian.