Shahrestanak

The route between Karaj and Chalus is one of the prettiest roads of Iran. There are many attractions around this road. Shahrestanak, a picturesque countryside district, is one of them. The distance between Shahrestanak and Karaj is about 70 kilometers.

As Shahrestanak is located in short distance from Tehran, it becomes an attractive destination for one-day trips, especially for the people of Tehran. In order to travel to this village, you ought to traverse a by-way, before arriving to Gachesar, some kilometers after Asara village. The by-way is about 10 kilometers.

There is an attractive walking route to this village. This route starts from Tochal summit and ends in the village, it’s suitable for whom are interested in climbing.

One of the tourism attractions of Shahrestanak is Naseri Palace. It was a royal summerhouse and belongs to the reign of Naser-Al-Din Shah Qajar. Nowadays most parts of this palace is ruined. There is a stone inscription near the ruined palace which belongs to the mentioned era.

If you are interested in historical monuments, the fortress of Shahrestanak must be a good offer, unfortunately the fortress is ruined too, and the only remains are the walls. In order to visit the fortress, you ought to walk to the top of a mountain.

There are many natural attractions in Shahrestanak; a river is flowing near Naseri Palace, even there is a waterfall in upspring.

Persian Architecture has some specific spaces and concepts that are really unique, one of them is Koochehbaq; it’s a kind of narrow passage between the orchards surrounded by the clay walls and the orchard branches above to shade, in some cases there is a ditch in between. Shahrestanak has many Khoochehbaqs to take a pleasant walk, most of them belong to a century ago.

The most impressive natural attraction in Shahrestanak is an old Juniperus, which is called Hoorast in local dialect. It must be about 2500-year-old.

The best time to travel to Shahrestanak is spring, but summers are cool enough to have a trip. Autumn is a magical time in Shahrestanak, the orchards become red, orange and yellow and the falling leaves make a picturesque atmosphere.