A day on the slopes of Alvand: Ganjnameh and beyond

Ganjnameh is close enough to Hamedan that you can be standing in front of Darius's inscription twenty minutes after breakfast. The road climbs south-west out of the city into the Abbasabad valley, and the air cools noticeably as the granite slopes of Mount Alvand close in.

Morning: read the rock

Arrive early, before the tour groups, and the two inscription panels are yours. Stand back first to see how they sit on the boulder, then step up to the translation tablets beside them. Darius's panel is on the left, Xerxes's on the right; the texts are almost identical, and comparing them line by line is a small pleasure in itself.

Midday: follow the water

A short path leads to the Ganjnameh waterfall. In spring it is loud and full of snowmelt; by late summer it thins to a silver thread, and in deep winter it freezes into a column of ice. The rocks around the pool are a natural spot for a picnic, and the stalls along the road sell tea, corn and ash soup.

Afternoon: up into the mountains

The telecabin climbs from the valley toward Tarik Darreh, where the views open across the Alvand range. In winter this is Hamedan's ski slope; the rest of the year it is a cool place to walk. Ride up in the late afternoon and come back down as the light turns gold over the city.

Good to know

Weekends and holidays are busy, especially in summer evenings, when half of Hamedan comes up the valley to escape the heat. Bring a warm layer even in July — the valley is several degrees cooler than the city.