Abbas Abad is a garden and a lake located in Behshahr city. In 1020 AH, Shah Abbas Safavi ordered the construction of this complex in an area which was called "Kharguran" in that period of time. In a land that, according to Shah Abbas, was "Ashraf al-Bilad". The order to build the complex eventually ended up with the construction of a garden which is considered today the most important and worthwhile non-desert garden in Iran.
Abbas Abad historical complex is located 9km to Behshahr city, on the forest slopes of Alborz mountains. This complex includes a reservoir dam made of sarooj, with a capacity of six hundred thousand cubic meters, which is known as the Abbas Abad dam; a reservoir and a dam lake in which the main building is located in the middle, along with a garden, a bathroom, a water mill and two brick towers for the protection and monitoring the complex.
The most famous and significant building of the Abbas Abad complex is a four-story brick structure located in the middle of the lake. Of course, this building was originally different. The only part remained from the original structure is the ground floor. According to experts, there was a room made of wooden materials above this mansion, for Safavid kings to rest, which no longer exists.
When the water of the lake rises, the whole structure goes under the water and only the plants grown from its roof stand out as an island on the middle of the lake. But if the water level is low, you can see the mansion with a pair of arches on each side.
Abbas Abad complex also has a historical bath. A bath with an area of 160 square meters on the west side of the garden. The interesting thing about this bath is the usage of hot water by the Safavid kings. It has placed this monument among special and high technology buildings of the Safavid era.
In 2011, UNESCO included the name of " Behshahr Abbas Abad Garden" in its World Heritage List, among a collection of nine Persian gardens, as the only one in the northern half of the country.