Lar National Park

Lar National Park

Lar National Park is one of the protected areas which located on the border of Mazandaran and Tehran province, and near the Southwestern hillside of Damavand. This area become a national park in 1354. However after the revolution, from 1361, its protection level has reduced to a protected area. Then in 1370, some parts of this area retuned into a national park, so hunting and shooting were banned. The thing that amazes us is the vastness of this area. This area around 30000 hectares! Lar plain has a great diversity of animals due to its suitable climate, numerous rivers and dense vegetation, and almost all living things and plants of the Central Alborz region are present in this park. Lar plain is the largest valley in Iran, which is located 70 km east of Tehran on Haraz road , the variable climate of this plain and its numerous springs have made it known as the land of a thousand springs. Lar National Park, which has an area of about 28 hectares, is a good place for hiking and its lake is a good location for swimming and fishing if allowed by the Environmental Protection Agency. Clouds around Damavand, if they allow, Lar is the best place to see and photograph the beautiful face of the Iranian roof.
In terms of wildlife, it has different species due to its special mountainous and aquatic position. The birds of this region are a total of one hundred species and include Partridge, Eagle, Sargapeh, Dorna, Flamingo, Delijeh, Dari partridge and... Golden eagle is a unique species that is not seen everywhere in Iran. It is true that the main habitat of the golden eagle in Iran is Golestan National Park and Arasbaran Protected Area. It is found in the mountainous heights of Alborz mountains, especially Lar National Park. . It lives only in this area from the north of Iran and is native to this region. Ecological factors, topography , soil and other vital factors, vegetation and diversity of Lar National Park have evolved for a long time and changes in its composition, especially under the influence of uncontrolled livestock grazing. In general, the vegetation from grassland type, including grasses reliable and bush and coatings alpine composed and medicinal plants and industrial food Lar valley is also diverse and has a reputation and a long history that can Valcke, Angelica, Stachys, licorice, Chicory, thyme, onion, Borage, shallot, barijeh, Named Astragalus, rabbit, mint, cockatiel, anemone and mushroom.
In 1359, with the completion of the construction of Lar Dam at the foot of Damavand Mountain near Lar National Park, it became one of the highest man-made lakes. Overgrazing over the past years, the creation of communication routes without investigation and evaluation and other activities without considering the existing capacity have caused environmental pollution, destruction of pastures and soil erosion and sometimes irreparable damage. Lar earthen dam type with clay core is 105 m high, 107 m high from the river bed, 1150 m long, the total reservoir capacity is 960 million cubic meters, the useful reservoir capacity is 860 million cubic meters, the lake area is 2531 meters high, 29 square kilometers, type of overflows The left bank emergency overflow with a capacity of 980 cubic meters per second is the classic right bank overflow with a capacity of 120 cubic meters per second. In 1359, water intake of the dam began, but with the increase of water height in the reservoir, a large hole was created in the body of the dam. Investigations showed that the limestone masses in the dam mirage caused water to escape from the reservoir and this was stabilized by increasing the discharge of Haraz springs at the bottom of the dam. Investigations also showed that there are deep and voluminous caves along the faults in the area and under the dam, for which cement injection is done to seal them. For this reason, the mentioned dam is not used as a reservoir dam and within the facilities, part of the water flow is used for agricultural lands of Mazandaran and the other part is used for drinking Tehran.
I should warn you to stay night in Lar because it is a national park, you must obtain a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency. When camping, you should also consider not being close to the riverbed. Lar's climate is highly variable and may rise with a sudden rain.

Compile & Translator: Amir Ali Esmaeilpour
Editor: Faegheh Ebrahimpour