Iran tourist attractions: Masuleh

When it comes to visiting a village, you can't avoid mentioning Masuleh in Gilan province. This small village is like 50 km far from Rasht toward southwest. As we expect the north part of Iran, the village suppose to be surrounded by mountains and jungles. About 200 families live in there and nowadays tourism is the main income source for most of habitants.

You can take minibus from Fuman (A small city 10km far from Rasht) to Masuleh in a very cheap price that takes about 45 minutes. Shared taxis are also available in a reasonable price if you don't like to spend that much time and wait for minibus to get full. just remember to have some cookies in Fuman before leaving the city.

There is a nice hotel having the same name as the village easily findable at the entrance for about 15 to 20 USD for a room per night. If you like to spend nights in a local house, you can take one for like 35 to 50 USD per night in high seasons and Persian holidays. Local houses charge you in IRR so you should change before leaving Rasht.

The best itinerary would be spending at least 24 hours. For example if you arrive at noon you can see buildings, bazaar and fall in first day. Don't miss the beautiful foggy night in your room, go out and spend the evening in tea houses in the bazaar or have a traditional dish for dinner in restaurants. Local cheese, butter and eggs are strongly recommended for breakfast so buy some before leaving the bazaar and the following day go grab some bread. Bakeries start at 8AM when streets are empty so don't leave your camera because it's the best time for taking some pictures.

In Masouleh bazaar they offer specific stuff and always, same as every city in Iran, bargain for discount. As souvenir you can buy handicrafts which are available everywhere in streets and bazaar shops in Persian simple, colorful styles. If you're a sour taste fan, try some "Lavashak" which is dried fruit made of different fruits like cherry, pomegranate, apple etc. Considering humid and foggy weather in north of Iran, garlic and olive are widely popular.

One of the best parts of every travel destination is local foods. In general north of Iran has some special foods and some of them are available in Masouleh. In most of them rice, eggplant, curd(kind of yogurt) and beans are used. Here comes some food names and a brief description:
Dizi: available everywhere in Iran. bowl of tomato paste water containing meat, pea and potato.
Kashk-e-baademjun: Smashed eggplant, garlic, vegtables and curd.
Mirza-ghasemi: Smashed eggplant, eggs, garlic and onion.
Ghezel-aalaa: A plate of rice with a salmon beside it normally served with some butter to grease your rice.
Bon apetite