Torghabeh is a small mountain town about 30 km west of Mashhad, and for centuries it has been the city's favourite hot-weather escape. The setting does the work: cool, green foothills of the Binalud range, with poplar groves and orchards running along the river, a noticeable few degrees cooler than the dusty city below.
The main road through town is lined with kebab restaurants where Mashhadis come for the local trout, dizi stew, and saffron rice. The standard itinerary is unhurried — a long evening of eating, then a walk beside the river as the air cools. There is a modest bazaar selling dried fruit, nuts, and the wooden handicrafts the area is known for, but eating and strolling are the real reasons to come.
Torghabeh sits just below the larger resort town of Shandiz, a few kilometres further up the valley, and the two are easily combined into one outing. A shared taxi from Mashhad takes well under an hour, and most visitors come in the late afternoon to time their meal for the cool of the evening. Fridays and summer weekends are very busy; midweek is calmer.