Simorgh Shelter

Simorgh Camp
Simorgh Shelter (lat: 35.9564°, lon: 52.0825° lon, alt: 4,200 m) is on the western trekking route of Mount Damavand, Iran. The structure of Simorgh Camp has two stories and can house roughly 40 climbers. There is a tenting campsite near Simorgh refuge where at least 40 to 50 tents may be set up, making it acceptable for climbers even on busy days.

Solar-powered illumination and lighting both inside and outside the Simorq mountain shelter are provided. The outside toilet of shelter doesn’t have any water right now. The only water source in Simorgh shelter campsite is the flowing water from snowmelt, which is located 150 meters northeast of Simorgh camp.

Damavand can also be climbed by heading west. It is the side of the mountain that gets the second-most visitors after the classic south route. If you wish to trek Damavand from the western front, you must first go to Polour Camp from the Haraz Road. In the summer, off-road cars from Polour can take you through Lar Road and to the Damavand west route trekking staring point, also known as the Parking area or Damavand West route Basecamp. The west front base camp in Vararood is where the climb normally starts. Visit also Damavand Camp.

The elevation of this base-camp is around 3400 meters above sea level. You must hike from the parking lot to Simorgh shelter. Running water is available at the Simorgh camping site, which is a good feature. Spend the night at the Simorq refuge or the tenting area. It takes about 3-4 hours to hike from the parking lot to the Simorgh shelter. And it may take 5-7 hours to get to the west summit of the Damavand volcano crater from there depending on your physical condition, breathing capacity, and level of preparedness.

Other Names and spellings of Simorgh Shelter
Simorgh Camp, Simorgh Camping site, Simorq Mountain Shelter, Simorq Mountain Refuge, Simorgh Refuge,, Simorq Campsite …
in Farsi: Janpanah Simorgh, جانپناه سیمرغ or Panagah Simorq پناهگاه سیمرغ

How to go to Simorgh Camp
Transfer from Tehran to Damavand camp – Polour mountaineering resort. Drive from the Polur Federation campsite to the west parking lot with a patrol car (6 km asphalt road and the rest is dirt road)

To Parking Lot
From Polour camp, by renting a 4WD off-road car go to Damavand west route basecamp (Parking Lot, lat: 35.9587° – lon: 52.0516° alt 3,400 m) which is the starting point of the western front, it is called Parking lot which is located at the foot of the mountain. This area is also good place for tenting the overnight to acclimatize.

To Simorgh Shelter
On the first day of your trek you may continue about 3-4 hours further ahead and go up as far as the Simorq Refuge around noon or in the afternoon. If necessary, leave the bags to the mule and start walking towards Simorgh shelter. If the shelter is not crowded you may stay the night in there, otherwise you have to tent outside and use your own tent. The distance from the western parking lot is 3.5 km – 3 hours, overnight stay in a tent next to Simorgh shelter.

Simorgh Shelter GPS Coordinates
35°57’23.0″N
52°04’57.0″E

Simorgh Shelter Coordinate
lat 35.956453°
lon 52.082556°
elev 4,213 m

Quick FactsAbout Damavand Peak Western Front
Climbing Damavand peak from the western front
Altitude of the starting point: (west parking lot): 3400 meters
Altitude of Simorgh shelter: 4200 meters
Total distance to the peak: 7 km
Trek Parking to shelter: 3-4 hours
Climb shelter to summit: about 5-7 hours
Geographical location: Mazandaran province, Polur village

Simorgh Shelter 23GUDFEB03A