Sefid Rud Dam
Another highly recommended and less energetic excursion, even if you do not pursue it as far as the Caspian Sea, consists in a visit to the Sefid Rud Dam. The excellent road, leading to Rasht and Bandar-e AnzAle (see relevant sections), having crossed the watershed without difficulty, enters into the colorful gorges of an affluent of Shahrud river. Eighty kilometers from Qazvin, you cross the river near a picturesque old bridge called Pol-e Lowshan. Ten kilometers further on, you suddenly discover a turquoise blue lake set amidst mountains which are snow-covered until the beginning of April. It is the reservoir for the great dam at the confluent of the Qizil Uzan and Shah Rud rivers. You can see the dam in the prospective of the valley looking toward the village of Manjil. Further downstream Rudbar announces the pleasant Guilan region (see Bandar-e AnzAle section) with its square houses with metal roofs scattered among the olive- and poplar on the slopes of the valley.