Curated Itinerary
Hyrcanian Forests: the Caspian Relict Woods
Two doors into the Hyrcanian relict forest: Azerbaijan’s Hirkan park near Lankaran and Iran’s Golestan, where Caspian rainforest meets steppe in one reserve.
This itinerary enters the Hyrcanian Forests, the relict woodland arc along the Caspian’s southern shores — inscribed by Iran in 2019 and extended into Azerbaijan in 2023. Two doors open the property: Hirkan National Park in the Talysh mountains near Lankaran, and Golestan National Park, Iran’s oldest, where Caspian rainforest grades into steppe within one reserve.
The connecting idea is survival: these woods are refugia that carried Europe-type broadleaf forest through the Ice Ages, and their ironwoods and zelkovas are living versions of what the rest of the continent keeps only as fossils. The border between the two parks is administrative; the forest is one.
Treat the two sides as separate trips — Lankaran from Baku for Hirkan, Gorgan for Golestan, with local guides and current advisories checked. October, when the ironwood turns, is the month to aim for.
Before you go
A word from your host
This is a route for walkers who like their trees with a pedigree: the ironwood you touch has cousins only in the fossil record. Go in October if you possibly can — the Hyrcanian autumn is the quiet rival of New England's.
Getting around
Lankaran, a few hours from Baku, serves Hirkan's trailheads; Golestan is reached via Gorgan with local guides. Check current travel guidance for each country, and pack for humidity in every season.
Step by step
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