A stay in Izadshahr is not only about the hotel. The area around the resort is full of sights that make your trip richer and more memorable.
The Didi cultural and arts centre has a bookshop, a shopping centre, a café and a restaurant. With more than 1,800 works by contemporary Iranian artists, it is one of the country's leading museums. Its views on all four sides (forest, sea, mountains and rice fields) are stunning. The museum-gallery shows about 150 sculptures and 600 paintings, and about 800 more works are kept in storage.
Address: Izadshahr, km 9 of the Mahmudabad–Nur road, Mahmudabad
One of Royan's large bazaars, with kitchenware, cosmetics and toiletries, clothing and decorative goods.
Address: Royan, next to the municipality building
Simorgh Tourism Centre has distinctive architecture inspired by Zaha Hadid's Heydar Aliyev Centre in Baku. Covering about 3,000 m² and up to 36 m high, it is one of Iran's top leisure complexes, with a hypermarket, a modern cinema, a traditional restaurant, a food court with leading brands, a bookshop, a play centre, billiards, a gaming room and modern shops.
Address: 2 km from Mahmudabad, on the western bypass of the Mahmudabad–Nur road
At 3,645 hectares, Nur Forest Park is one of the largest parks in the Middle East. It is close to the coastal road, the sea and the towns of Mahmudabad, Nur and Amol, and has full recreation facilities. A 270-hectare reserve of Caspian poplar (native to Iran) and trees such as maple, hornbeam, alder and Persian ironwood give it special value.
Address: Km 5 of the Mahmudabad–Nur road
Kashpel Forest Park in Chamestan covers 7 hectares, with full rivers, lovely springs, tall trees and a beautiful lake. It has varied vegetation (alder, Caucasian wingnut, oak, maple, hornbeam, Persian ironwood) and facilities such as boating, a restaurant, a traditional teahouse, a shop, toilets and a children's play area. The best time to visit is spring and summer.
Address: Nur–Chamestan road, Kashpel forest tourist area
Natel was once a prosperous, important town and is today a beautiful village in Nur County. It produced scholars such as Abu Abdullah Nateli, Avicenna's mathematics teacher, and Dr Parviz Natel Khanlari. The town flourished from the 9th to the 15th century, and archaeological digs there have found objects from before Islam.
Address: Nur–Chamestan road, towards Khourieh village
The lake behind Alimalat Dam, 8 km along the Nur–Chamestan road, is one of Nur's sights. Set in the forest, it has an almost tropical feel. It has a restaurant, a shop, toilets, camping spots, gazebos, suites and a café, and you can fish and go boating.
Address: Nur–Chamestan road, past Kargarkola village
Lavij is a rural district of Chamestan in Nur, on the slopes of the Alborz, ringed by high mountains and covered with green trees in spring and summer. Its mild climate, mineral hot springs and dense forests up to 2,500 m (with beech trees, a legacy of the Hyrcanian forests) are its highlights.
Address: Nur–Chamestan road, from Kashpel towards Lavij village
The Ab-Pari area, named after its waterfall, is one of Nur's sights. Most of it is unspoilt, and it borders Kojur and Yush. It is about 10 °C cooler than Royan; forest trees grow lower down and pines higher up.
Address: Royan, past the forest park towards the highlands
The Vanoosh waterfalls lie south of the village in the forested heights of Alavikola, 10 km west of Nur, beside a side road off the Nur–Nowshahr coastal road. There are many small and large falls; the best known are three: the first about 15 m, the second (the largest) about 40 m, and the third about 15 m high.
Address: Royan, from Kasgarmahalleh towards Alavikola
It lies 25 km along the Nur–Baladeh mountain road (known as the Ab-Pari road) and is about 15 m high. Lichens growing on its rocks give it a special look. Local people believe its water heals; in the Tabari dialect "ow" means water, and "haram" comes from the word for sanctuary and means sacred.
Address: Royan, Ab-Pari road, past Ab-Pari waterfall
Pulad Castle stands on a mountain top in the Baladeh highlands of Nur, in the heart of the Alborz range. Called "Nur Castle" in historical sources, it drops to deep valleys on three sides. Archaeologists date it to about 700 years ago, the time of the Bavandids of Tabaristan.
Address: Nur, the Baladeh summer highlands
At about 2,700 m, Filband is the highest village in eastern Mazandaran and is known as "the roof of eastern Mazandaran". Its most striking sight is the "sea of clouds": standing above the clouds and breathing the fresh air is an unforgettable experience.
Address: 57 km south of Amol, east of the Haraz river, Haraz road
The lake behind Avidar earth dam is one of Nowshahr's beauty spots, 30 km east of Nowshahr near Sisangan Forest Park, in green mountain country. It is a good place for family outings, picnics and camping (with gazebos and rest cabins). Swimming and inflatable boats are not allowed.
Address: Nowshahr, 30 km east of the town
