Arriving at these handsome gardens is like being beamed onto a different planet. One second you’re in the arid semidesert, the next it’s all flowing mountain water and tall green trees. Built in 1873, the garden rises to a small villa that was once the residence of Abdul Hamid Mirza, one of the last princes of the Qajar dynasty. It now houses a handicraft shop, restaurant and teahouse. In the early evening it looks charming when floodlit.
The gardens are well outside Mahan, 1.2km south of the southern ring road and 5km from the mausoleum. There's a small taxi stand in the car park; it'll cost IR50,000/300,000/600,000 to Mahan/Kerman/Rayen.