Issa Khan House was built from 1344 to 1346 and was his family home for 50 years. One of his granddaughters wanted to prevent the destruction of the house. So, she brought us to the village (Kośal) of Rudbānā in the beautiful city of Lahijan.
When we went to see the house, we saw the grandmother’s bag on the room’s wall, and the memories were on the walls and the furniture of the house. The year of construction of the house in 1346 was hand-crafted on the exterior wall of the room.
Finally, we bought the house and our project team moved it and relaunched it in 3 steps; disassembling, transporting, and reassembling.
We called the house “Shekili”. Shekili is a type of Vernacular Gilan houses. They lay down tree trunks to build its base. The trees overlap as shown in the figure. So that when an earthquake strikes, waves pass through them. Thus, these houses are called anti-earthquake.
Our Shekili house has 2 floors. The first floor (Room 2/ Jir-Otaq) is a large 20-meters room with a terrace. The second floor (Room 1/ Jor-Xaneh) has two 12-meters rooms and a large balcony (Talar), which has a view of the four sides of the house.
A unit with 6 traditional bedrolls, two 12 m2 rooms and a large balcony (Talaar) on the second floor of the Shekili architecture building. This balcony has a great view of the four sides of the house. The unit has a private restroom and shower located outside of the building, two mosquito net and two fans for summer, also an oil heater and a Korsi (traditional Iranian heater) for wintertime.
It’s a twin room and 20 m2 size with 2 extra traditional bedrolls and large balcony located on the first floor of wooden Shekili building. Facilities are a mosquito net and a fan for summer, a wood heater for winter breeze, and a private restroom and a shower, located outside of the building.
Lotka Ecolodge is located in peaceful place, among the nature of the Hyrcanian Caspian Sea. Here, you will get acquainted with the culture of Gilak people. Here you can go on a rowboat trip from the private pier next the river at the back of the Ecolodge, buy local handicrafts provided by rural women as souvenirs, and order Gilani local cuisine (often with organic ingredients).
In Lotka Ecolodge, you will get acquainted with the culture and nature of Gilan. So, you can take part in the daily activities and ceremonies of the village at certain times, go to the mountains, forests, and lagoons around here and get acquainted with the nature of the Hyrcanian Caspian Sea.
Lotka Ecolodge is a rural residence. Currently, Shekili House (Issa-khan’s home) and Orjeni House are two two residences with local architecture in Lotka.
Our guests can go on a rowboat trip from our private pier next to the river, buy local handicrafts of our store, and order Gilani local cuisine.
By Air: The distance between Rasht Airport and Lotka Ecolodge is 19 km (30 min). This international airport located in 10 kilometers north of Rasht. There are a few daily flights from Tehran to Rasht. Most of these depart either early in the morning or late afternoon. Also, there is a direct flight to Dubai. When you arrive, you can take the airport taxi to Lotka or Arrange with us before boarding the plane to pick you up.
By Bus and Taxi:The closest bus terminal to Lotka is Anzali Bus Station, with a distance of 24 km (35 min) from Lotka. There is bus service from the west terminal (Terminal-E-Gharb) in Tehran to Anzali every day, hourly or every 30 min, and distance is 5 hours. Also, there is taxi service (shared or private) from Tehran to Rasht in the west terminal by yellow taxies (Samand), the taxi station located inside the terminal. When you arrive, you can take the bus station taxi to Lotka or Arrange with us before arriving to pick you up.
Our Lodge is located on the north of the city, in a very quiet and peaceful place, among the nature of the Hyrcanian Caspian Sea. Nearest beach from the Ecolodge is only 4 km (10 minutes by car and 30 minutes’ walk). The distance between Rasht Airport and Lotka Ecolodge is 19 km (30 min). This international airport located 10 kilometers north of Rasht.
