Kang is a picturesque mountain village about 50 km west of Mashhad, clinging to the side of a steep valley in stepped rows of stone-and-mud houses. The arrangement is the village's defining feature: the flat roof of each house serves as the courtyard and front yard of the house above it, a tiered solution to the lack of level ground that has earned Kang the local nickname "the Masuleh of the east."
The road in is unmade in places, but the village itself rewards a slow walk. Narrow alleyways thread between the houses, working orchards spill down the slopes, and a handful of small teahouses serve local bread and yoghurt to the trickle of visitors. It is a living village rather than a museum piece, with farmers and herders going about their day, and the pace asks you to slow down with it.
Spring is the best time to come, when the surrounding orchards are in blossom and the valley is at its greenest. There is no public transport worth relying on; the practical approach is to hire a taxi for the day from Mashhad, which makes the round trip — including time to wander and stop for tea — a six- or seven-hour outing. Wear shoes you do not mind getting dusty, as the lanes are steep and uneven.