“”

“”

“”

“”

“”

“”

“

Trekking in Golestan National Park (Turkmen Ecolodge)

If you are tired of the crowed and polluted cities of Iran and want to take a look into one of the few ecologic and conservatory program in Iran, You should definitely get in touch with Kamran. He is the manager of the Turkmen Ecolodge and he organizing trekkings but not only that. He is fighting to preserve the Park which is suffering from hunters, cars and human stupidity, The whole program makes a lot of sense and should be supported. Local people are involved, children are taught how to interact with the nature,etc,,. If you go there, you'll help and you'll also bring a lot of wonderful memories home!
You can choose according to the season treks in which you can track certain animals. Apparently in winter you can track Persian  leopard in the snow...But we were in September there and we tracked red deers. We haven't seen any (heard a lot) but it was still totally worth it!
Of course it's not as cheap as an hostel in any big cities but you get your own tent, food, at least 3 people taking care of you, few few other tourists and most of all, you support a great thing!

”

“Golestan national Park (92000 hectares) in the North East of the country is an out of the track location that worth the visit. One ecolodge located in a small traditional turkmen village of Tootly Tamak allow you to get the real experience.This is an unique place and even if remote worth the visit at least for 2 or 3 days as there are so many things to do there whatever the season: discovering the National park, the life in a traditional turkmen village, the very ancient cemetery, the famous Gorgan wall (6 century, more than 150 km long), an ancient Zoroastrian temple.. Also you can ride turkmen horses, discuss with villagers. The ecolodge itself is very interesting with a small museum containing ancient clothes and tools You will be able to learn how to do turkmen bread with a traditional wood stove. So many things.. A different Iran.”

“The Turkoman Eco Lodge is a bold adventure in eco tourism by Cameron and Forough, both of whom are dedicated to the preservation of the Turkoman culture and the ecology of the Golstan National Park. The Lodge provides an unique opportunity to be part of the village community and to understand the impact of social change on traditional values, institutions and industries. My personal interest, however, was horse riding and that was truly unique in that I rode a three-year old Yamud mare that was the most responsive and sure-footed horse I have had the pleasure of riding in a long time. Absolutely bomb-proof, she carried me effortlessly over long distances without questioning the rider. That experience and the hospitality of our hosts made this a holiday I look forward to repeating.”

“... Kamran is an Iranian guy who moved to the US with his family in his teens. On a family visit in Iran he met his future wife, Forough, an architect specialized in sustainable building projects. For a couple of years they moved back to the US, but they decided to return to Iran. Forough's father is one of Iran's leading biologists, who has a life-long passion for this Golestan Park. It was his wish for Kamran and Forough to "do something with the park".
..and thus came the idea for the Turkmen Ecolodge , or "BoomKolbeh Turkmen" ...”