Iran & the South Caucasus

Iran

Our itinerary through Iran began at the major crossing with Turkmenistan at Badjgiran. We picked up a professional guide/fixer here to accompany us for our trip through Iran, which has recently seen arbitrary detention of Australian travellers. Our route went westerly via Gorgan, following the famous Shemshak Road down through the Alborz mountains into bustling Tehran. From Tehran we travelled south to Shiraz via Abyaneh village, the Dasht-e Kavir desert, Isfahan, Yazd and the Dasht-e Lut desert. From Shiraz w headed to Firuz Abad and the ancient site of Gour, before turning north to Tabriz via Shush, Shustar, Bisotun and the date palmeries and desert plains of Ahwaz and the mountainous Lorestan province. From Tabriz we travelled through earthquake-struck Khurajan to Ardabil, and then down through the Iranian rice fields to Astara and our crossing to Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia

Crossing painlessly from Iran, we made straight to the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, a beautiful city clinging to the Caspian Sea while surrounded by desert plains. After a few days of rest and recreation (well-earned cocktails) we headed to Qusar and the mountain villages of North Azerbaijan. With no direct route through the mountains, we then backtracked south before turning westwards for the scenic village of Lahic, Sheki, and another smooth crossing to Tbilisi in Georgia. We made a day trip from Tbilisi to UNESCO sites at Mtshketa and Gelati, before having a couple of days off while Disco received a service. From Tbilisi the route then heads south into Yerevan, Armenia before a crossing to Turkey at Akhaltsikhe.