Chalous Road, also known as Road 59 or Kandovan Road, is one of the most famous and popular roads in Iran connects Karaj to Chalous in Mazandaran province. Due to the wonderful natural landscape, this road has become one of the busiest routes near Tehran. Read along with Alale to get to know one of the most memorable roads in Iran.
The magnificent scenery of the road that crosses the lush green mountains of Alborz has made the heavy traffic of this road to be even delightful. Unlike the Heraz Road (Tehran-Amol Road), the spectacular scenery of the Chalus Road reveals itself from the very beginning of the road. The high summits of the Alborz Mountains that are always covered with snow and a masterpiece of engineering for the construction of gentle slopes alongside ravine valleys in forests have created a place which is unique in its nature. However, stopping on the road, especially in winter, can be dangerous. it should also be notified that, On some important holidays, the road becomes one-way, which can disturb the trip.
Until the late Qajar era, there was no road between Karaj and Chalus, and the only way to access the villages in this area was a dirt track. However, there was nothing to connect the north of Alborz Mountains to the south. Road 59 was officially brought into operation in 1938. In 1953, with the construction of the Amir Kabir Dam (Karaj Dam), the beauties of this road were doubled and in a short run, the Chalous Road became one of the major tourist attractions in Iran.
Before the construction of the Kandovan Tunnel, the Chalus road had almost been remained unused, after the construction of this tunnel, the Chalous road was, in fact, revived.
Kandovan Tunnel was opened to public on May 17, 1938 by Reza Shah Pahlavi. Before the construction of this tunnel, the road between Karaj and Chalous was insurmountable in five months of the year. The construction of this 1,886 meter tunnel, with the width of 5 to 7 and height of 6 meters, was carried out using instruments and tools like shovel and hock that lasted only three years. With the construction of this tunnel, the route from Karaj to Chalus was reduced by 13 kilometers, because the passengers no longer needed to take the rout around the mountains.
The Karaj River, located along the Chalus road, the Karaj dam and the beautiful, small village of Varian (which is located like a small islet on the other side of Karaj Dam Lake) has doubled the beauty of this road.
This road has numerous rivers with fresh water such as Varangehrood and Shahrestanak Rivers, all of them are branches of the main river of Karaj. The river of Karaj has always had abundant water from ancient times, providing water to Shahriyar, Saveh, Karaj and parts of Tehran. It had flowed to Qom province. Unfortunately, today the river is not even able to supply the drinking water of the city of Karaj.
There are other places along the Chalus road such as sports resorts (including Dizin and Khor ski resorts), beautiful villages such as Khor, Asara, Gachsar and Varian, which are also count as tourist villages in Karaj. Other tourist attractions centered around Karaj-Chalus route, cover a range of 75 kilometers from Bilaghan to Kandahan.
The "Veleh" spring is located 70 kilometers northwest of Karaj, in the village of Veleh; the "Gul Kaleh" spring in the north of the town hall in the mountains "Basham Ahar" and “Haft Cheshmeh” in the beginning of Chalous road are known as some of the spas located along Chalus Road.
The first attraction you gonna see upon your arrival to Asara is the Salsal historical castle that dates back to pre-Islamic era. Beautiful and spectacular waterfall of Haft-Cheshmeh is located 17 km away from Karaj-Chalous Road, Khor Waterfall, Golha Waterfall, Laleh Garden, Shenston Hill, Dozdband Castle, Shahrestanak Palace, Sepahsalar Mausoleum, Beautiful Caves, old villages, Sierrachal, and old palaces and castles dating back to the Sassanid era are some of the great historical attractions. Asara district is so rich in natural and historical attractions that attracts a huge number of national and international tourists from all over the world annually Chalous Road as one of the most beautiful and most spectacular roads in the world is located in this district. This district has about 30,000 inhabitants living in 56 villages.
Every year, about 13 million tourists visit this road. Asara area with 3 peaks above 4,000 meters and Dizin International Ski Resort is considered to be one of the most popular sports resorts in the world.
A large group of engineers is currently building a Freeway (Tehran-North Freeway), by completion of which, the southern section of the Chalous Road leads to a different direction. If you are passing the Chalous Road, you can also visit "Balade" area in the middle of the road, which is a very cozy natural resort.
Alale conducts many tours for this area on monthly area. The company will be honored to arrange you a suitable tour.
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