Masuleh is the most beautiful and famous stepped village in Iran, which is located in the forest area of Gilan province, 60 km west of Rasht. This beautiful village with its special structure and steps, and with the mountains, forests and pristine plains around it, hosts thousands of domestic and foreign tourists most days of the year. Two hotels inside the traditional architectural space of Masouleh and several hotels on the road leading to it welcome Iranian and foreign tourists. There are also a number of guest houses and rented houses for tourists.
Masuleh has a unique architecture. The front yard of each house is the roof of the lower house, which is also used as a sidewalk. Small alleys and many stairs in these alleys do not allow any motor vehicles to pass. Masuleh architecture is described in one sentence: the courtyard of the upper building is the roof of the lower building. Buildings are usually one or two storeys high.
The residents of Masuleh are from the Talesh tribe and about 200 families live in this village. On all days of the tourist season in this region, the number of tourists is many times more than the people of Masouleh. Masuleh houses have beautiful and old wooden doors and windows, and generally the space in front of the windows and terraces of the houses are decorated with pots ofcolorful flowers.
Inside Masuleh and in the surrounding nature, there are several springs of refreshing water. The summer areas in the highlands near Masuleh welcome nature lovers and mountaineers who love to explore and spend time in nature. A beautiful waterfall is located a few kilometers west of Masouleh village, in the heart of the forest, which is known as the Great Masuleh waterfall.
Masuleh is one of the few villages that has been registered in the list of national monuments of Iran as a cultural and natural heritage and is waiting to be registered as a world heritage.
