History
The castle's origins are uncertain: some scholars trace the first fortifications to the Sasanian era, but the present fortress probably took shape in the Seljuk period, in the 11th–12th centuries, when Nizari Ismailis were also active in the mountains of northern Iran. It was built of brick and stone on two peaks of a ridge above the Rudkhan river, south-west of Fuman, joined by a ring of walls some 1.5 km long with dozens of towers. An inscription over the gate records a restoration in the early 16th century under the local rulers of Fuman, by then in the Safavid era. The castle is listed as a national heritage site of Iran and has been conserved in recent decades.
What to see
From the car park in the valley a steep, partly paved path climbs through dense humid forest, with more than a thousand steps. At the top you can walk the towered walls and explore both parts of the fortress – residential and military – with remains of chambers, barracks and water cisterns. The walls look out over green slopes often wrapped in mist rolling in from the Caspian Sea.
Wikipedia article Wikidata Q367781
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