Landscape Quality Appraisal from Look Outs for Ecotourism Land Use (Case study: Patom District of Kheyrud Forest)

One types of tourism that is the most compatible with sustainable development, is ecotourism. The main willingness of ecotourism is based on the quality of nature and its attractiveness. The study area is Patom district of Kheyrud research- educational forest of the Faculty of Natural Resources of University of Tehran. In this research, after preparing the environmental units tables of characteristics of Patom district, the units were classified from the highest diversity of components to the least as superb, common and poor areas, respectively. Then, scenic points and its azimuth were determined by field studies in first class or superb landscapes. Totally, 18 lookouts, landscape and their scenic views were selected in the Patom district. These scenic landscapes provide alternatives for road construction, designing of forest recreation areas, trails and other ecotourismic facilities and amenities.