CHARKOT

Overview

Introduction to Central Alborz Mountains







Looking south to the northern slopes of Alborz Mountains from Abbas-Abad plains you can see a very beautiful forest peak that seems to be seperated from the rest of the range, This princes is called Charkot.
Mt. Charkot is not a high peak but its forests, Seasonal rivers, unique water springs, great view of Alborz slopes and the shepherd houses on the route make it a great goal for climbing or even camping for a few days.
In the second world war one of the russian artillery units was located of the summit of this peak. There is still some remains of that left. But because of the trees all arround the summit you can't have the same view a russian soldier would have in those days! The trees arround the field gun area are younger than the rest and this shows that they have been cut out long ago and then replaced naturally.
About an hour before the summit you have a great view of Dakooh area, a part of Takht-t-Soleyman massif, Sehezar mountains(like Shah Rashid), Dohezar mountains(like Siyalan) and at last Mt. Samamous far on the west.

Getting There

Just like the rest of the peaks in this part of Alborz you should come to Tonekabon from Tehran. But this time after passing Abbas Abad town you should turn left to south from Khoshkeh Daran junction. The road will easily take you to Gowser where you should start hiking. The elevation is 300 meters here.

The Routes

Climbing Charkot doesnt start just from Gowser and villages like Parchehvar and Hardorud on Langa road and some other places like espidow(white water) are also classic starting points. Parchehvar and Hardorud are at the sea level. The route from them is shorter but more steep. Gowser route which is a bit longer than those two is longer but easier to pass.
There are several places on the route with great views of Caspian Sea Coast That worth staying for a while, watching and maybe taking a photo.

Camping

The peak can be climbed in one day. For us it took about 11 hours from the vehicle back to it. But if someone wants to have a great camping experience in northern slopes of Alborz, deep in the jungles, places like Gowra shepherd house are great. In Gowra where you just have one more hour to go for the summit you have the best view.

The forest

The area has some of the very few virgin parts of forests in it. and a very nice water spring which I can call spring field! A big area about 2000 sq meters or maybe more which the water flows on or comes out of it's stones!

Images

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