Chalus Road
🇮🇷 Iran
The Chalus Road is a 190-kilometer mountain highway connecting Tehran, Iran's capital, to the Caspian Sea coastal town of Chalus. The road climbs through the Alborz Mountains, reaching elevations above 3,000 meters before descending dramatically through lush Hyrcanian forests—an ancient forest ecosystem recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site—to the subtropical Caspian coast.
Built during the reign of Reza Shah in the 1930s, the Chalus Road is one of Iran's most famous and heavily traveled routes, especially on weekends and holidays when Tehranis escape to the Caspian seaside. The road features a remarkable series of tunnels, bridges, and viaducts carved through steep mountain terrain. The contrast between the arid, brown southern slopes near Tehran and the verdant, misty northern forests is striking, and the descent through ancient beech and oak forests with their dense green canopy feels like entering another world entirely.