Bandar-e Anzali
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Bandar-e Anzali

Bandar-e Anzali

Caspian Sea port city between the coast and Anzali Lagoon, Iran's misty wetland edge.

Bandar-e Anzali is a port city on the Caspian Sea coast of Iran's Gilan province, about 40 km northwest of Rasht. The town sits on a spit of land between the Caspian and the Anzali Lagoon, a large coastal wetland rich in birdlife and connected to the sea by a narrow channel. The setting — green, humid, misty — is a world away from Iran's desert interior, and that contrast alone makes the city worth a visit.

The harbour and old bridge are the most atmospheric part of town: fishing boats line the channel banks, and the former Shah's villa crumbles photogenically above the water. The Anzali Lagoon itself is designated a Ramsar wetland and is best explored by boat in the early morning, when herons and cormorants work the reed beds and the mist sits low over the water.

The Shanbeh Bazar (Saturday Bazaar) is a weekly open-air market in the town centre where you can buy fresh Caspian fish, produce, clothing, and household goods. It has been running for generations and remains the liveliest day of the week in Anzali.

Guide

Getting There

Bandar-e Anzali is about 40 km northwest of Rasht, which has the nearest major transport connections. From Rasht, shared taxis and minibuses make the run to Anzali throughout the day. The road follows the coastal plain through paddy fields and tea plantations — green and flat, very different from the mountain approaches to the region.

Rasht itself is connected to Tehran by bus (about 6–7 hours) and by the Rasht–Tehran motorway. There is no commercial airport serving the immediate area; Rasht airport has limited domestic service.

Guide

Shopping

The main draw is the Shanbeh Bazar, a weekly Saturday market in the centre of town where vendors sell fresh Caspian fish, produce, clothing, and household goods. It has been a fixture of Anzali life for generations.

Guide

Things to Do

The main draw of Bandar-e Anzali is the lagoon and the Caspian setting. The Anzali Lagoon, a large coastal wetland connected to the sea by a narrow channel, is beautiful and rich in birdlife — at dawn and dusk when fishermen are out on the water it is genuinely lovely. The old harbour area, the bridge over the channel to Ghazian, and the remnants of the Shah-era villa are all worth an afternoon. The city's humid, green character — so different from Iran's arid interior — is itself the attraction.