Rasht Attractions

Rasht Museum
Rasht Museum is small, but well presented in a 1930s house. Its mannequin displays illustrate Gilaki lifestyle, amid a selection of 3000-year-old terracotta riton drinking horns in the shape of bulls, rams and deer. Supping from such vessels supposedly endowed the drinker with the powers and skills of the animal depicted.

Village of Masouleh

This thousand-year-old village resembles an anthropological and architectural museum, which is located 60 km southwest of Rasht and 25km west of Fooman in the western most part of Gilan Province. Even though Masouleh is close to the Caspian Sea, but it is 1,050 meters above sea level. The difference between the highest and lowest points in the village itself is 100 meters.

The history of Masouleh dates back to 10th century CE and in past times the village was also known as "Maasalar" and "Khortab". The architectural style of the homes in Masouleh is stair shaped and is remarkable. They are continuous and uninterrupted and have been built in the heart of the mountain. A very interesting point about the homes in Masouleh is that courtyards and roofs are basically meaningless and do not serve their traditional roles and instead serve as pedestrian areas for passersby just like a street would.

Masouleh is the only village in Iran, which forbids all motor vehicles from entering it. The yellow-clay is the predominant external facade of most of the structures in Masouleh, which serves for better visibility in fog. The 3000-meter long mountains surrounding Masouleh are under the cloud of fog very often. Masouleh has a population of almost 800.

Gilan Rural Heritage Museum

In the heart of the natural forest of Saravan, in the area of around 260 hectares the “Gilan Rural Heritage Museum” is established with the same environment of sincerity, affection, and society of typical Gilan’s villages in recent history. The nostalgic past in Gilan Rural Heritage Museum links the past and present generations and introduces a corner of the culture and history of Gilan.

There are all kinds of dismantled and reassembled rural houses from nine different cultural-architectural domains in Gilan province, which carry the memories of precedent 150 years and witness the activities of the villagers of those days.

Anzali Port (Bandar-e-Anzali)

Bandar-e-Anzali is Iran's main Caspian port. You will see fish markets and large ships from the other countries around the Caspian. For IR 200,000 per hour for an entire boat you can go on a motorboat ride through the harbor and into the large lagoon. The boat drivers often suggest that since you are in "Lagoonland" women should be allowed to remove their headscarves. It is a good opportunity since after wearing the scarf for long a breeze through the hair on a motorboat is most welcome!