The tea houses (chaikhaneh) along the lower Darband trail are the most atmospheric places in Tehran to sit with a drink. They operate on platforms built over or beside the mountain stream, with wooden furniture, kilim rugs, and low tables; you order tea, watermelon, fruit juice, or simple food and stay as long as you like. The sound of running water and the gradual cooling of the air as you climb above the city make them fundamentally different from any urban café.
On Friday afternoons the trail and its tea houses fill with Tehran's entire cross-section: families with children, young couples, elderly men playing backgammon, and hikers passing through on the way to or from the upper trails. The tea is served in the traditional Persian manner — a small glass (estekan) with a sugar cube held between the teeth, and the amber liquid poured over it. Come in the late morning to find a good table before the weekend rush.