Mount Damavand is a dormant stratovolcano and the highest mountain in Iran and the Middle East, rising to 5,610 metres. It is located in the central Alborz range in Mazandaran province. Damavand holds deep significance in Persian mythology and is a national symbol.

Mount Damavand occupies a central place in Iranian mythology and cultural identity. In the Shahnameh, the epic of the Persian kings by Ferdowsi, the tyrant Zahhak – who had serpents growing from his shoulders that fed on human brains – is imprisoned inside Damavand by the hero Fereydun. The mountain thus became a symbol of justice against oppression, a metaphor that Persian poets have returned to repeatedly throughout history. The Zoroastrian tradition also associated the mountain with sacred fire. Its volcanic profile, so distinctive and perfect, made it an obvious focus for mythological imagination across millennia.

Damavand is Iran’s highest peak at 5,610 metres and an active though dormant stratovolcano with fumarolic activity near the summit crater. It is the most climbed high-altitude peak in Asia by volume, drawing tens of thousands of Iranian and international climbers annually on standard routes. The southern approach through the Rineh village is the most common route. The mountain and its immediate surroundings are a protected area. Climate change is measurably reducing the extent of glaciers and snowfields on the upper mountain.