Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Metro
The 19-station metro starts from Ghadir Hwy in the southeast, runs beneath Feda'iyen-e
Eslami, Bahar, Enqelab-e-Eslami and Ahmedabad Sts to Park Mellat, then overground
down the middle of Vakilabad Blvd, rendering that thundering highway almost uncross-
able.
Taxi
Shuttle taxis on straight runs usually cost US$1 (US$2 for longer hops). However, any de-
viation requires payment
dar baste
: US$0.50 for a shortish hop, around US$1.50 to cross
a larger chunk of the city.
Around Mashhad
KANGگنک
0512 / POP 2300 / ELEV 1710M
Photogenic Kang is 'Khorasan's Masuleh', a wonderfully homogenous
stepped village
of
stacked mud-brick homes, most with porch-balconies and earthen roofs. Stairways duck
beneath overhangs while steep slate-bottomed streamways run down the middle of alley-
ways. For the best
overall view
, fork left at the teahouse where the bus terminates, walk
400m, then cross the river and climb for about three minutes.
A very rewarding way to arrive in Kang is to walk (1½ hours) from the Shandiz-Zoshk
road. The hike starts up Zoshk 14th Lane, to the left before Zoshk village, signed in yel-
low Farsi letters on green. This rough 4WD track crosses a bald, low-mountain pass that's
lonely but easy to follow. Buses from Mashhad's Falakeh Ferdosi are fairly rare to Zoshk
but relatively frequent to Shandiz or Abardeh (3km beyond); hitchhiking the last 13km to
Zoshk is easy enough, passing a series of idyllic little
streamside teahouse-restaurants
en route. Doing the trek with Vali Ansari Astaneh (
Click here
)
, you'll also get to visit loc-
al family homes in Abardeh.
From Kang, five daily buses to Mashhad's Kuhestan Park leave at 7am, 11.30am, 2pm,
4pm and 6.45pm. Alternatively, hitchhike via pretty castle-village Noqondar to
Torqabeh
(22km) from which bus 114 (US$1, 35 minutes) runs to Mashhad's Falakeh Ferdosi every
20 minutes till 7pm. Torqabeh is famous for canework handicrafts, out-of-town riverside
teahouse-restaurants and ice-cream sundaes served with nuts and lemon juice on a bed of
noodles!
