The Talysh mountains rise immediately behind Astara, green and forested in contrast to the flat rice-growing coastal plain. They are one of the least-visited mountain ranges in the South Caucasus, and the forests host a remnant population of leopards alongside red deer, brown bear, and bezoar ibex.
Day hikes from town are possible into the lower slopes. The villages in the hills are largely Talysh-speaking — an Indo-European language unrelated to Azerbaijani — and the older residents may have little Azerbaijani at all. The roads into the mountains are rough and better suited to a 4WD in wet weather.