Review: Gobustan, Volcanoes, Fire Temple & Yanardag Day Trip

Okay, so you’re thinking about escaping the city of Baku for a day and soaking up some unique Azerbaijani sights? A trip hitting Gobustan, the mud volcanoes, Ateshgah Fire Temple, and Yanardag might just be exactly what you are looking for. It sounds like a handful, packing a lot in, yet it gives a pretty amazing taste of the area’s history and geography. Very, very glad to share my thoughts to maybe help you decide if it’s the trip for you.

Gobustan National Park: Ancient Echoes

Basically, our first stop was Gobustan National Park, which is a spot featuring ancient rock carvings—petroglyphs as they’re called. Apparently, people have been hanging around and etching images into these rocks for, like, 40,000 years, isn’t that fascinating? Just seeing these drawings of hunting scenes, animals, and rituals almost feels like peering way, way back in time. Actually, it brings history to life in a way museums simply can’t.

Basically, the museum at the park offers even more, very clear context, too. Yet honestly, it is walking around the open-air site, seeing the carvings with your own eyes, which truly leaves a lasting mark. Okay, it can get a bit hot out there, that’s just how it is. Definitely, wear a hat and maybe bring water! If you think of taking it slow and just soak in the atmosphere, the history sort of whispers all around you. This stop wasn’t just another thing to check off; so, it was almost like stepping into an ancient story, too.

Mud Volcanoes: A bubbling landscape

You know, following Gobustan, the mud volcanoes were, well, just something else altogether. Azerbaijan has, very possibly, a huge chunk of the world’s mud volcanoes, and getting up close to them felt a bit like visiting another planet. That, is that these aren’t huge, lava-spewing mountains. Instead, they are small, bubbling cones of mud, but there’s a strange, sort of eerie beauty to this landscape. We climbed into a rickety old Russian 4×4 to traverse a bumpy, rocky landscape that very slowly gives way to plains dotted with the small volcanos – each sputtering and gurgling in their own little way, like a bunch of mischievous children fighting and bickering.

Apparently, the mud is supposedly very rich in minerals, so people even take mud baths. Now that didn’t sound appealing, very frankly, to us, but the chance to walk around and see these geological oddities felt unreal. So, you do want to hold your nose, at times, there is a strong eggy sulfur smell. Just to walk carefully, too, since some areas can be quite slippery! These volcanoes were definitely a unique and memorable part of the trip, for sure. They were sort of alien, almost desolate environment; yet very amazing, too.

Ateshgah Fire Temple: Flames of Faith

Anyway, moving from mud to fire, we next visited the Ateshgah Fire Temple, it’s outside of Baku. It’s like, this place has a history tied to Zoroastrianism and Hinduism, religions that revere fire, yet this temple itself actually dates back to the 17th century. At the very center, a flame burns, which is, of course, fueled by natural gas, creating a constantly burning fire. The story I heard, anyway, is that it’s been burning like that for centuries! We had a local guide who really told of tales about the Zoroastrians, silk road travelers, religious significance, so it came alive. It gives a great insight in the historical and spiritual significance of the site.

You see little cells going round the main alter – apparently silk road travelers from India used to stay and pray at the temple hundreds of years ago. I think it’s sort of surreal that religions from opposite ends of the world ended up next to each other in Azerbaijan. Ateshgah isn’t just a collection of stones, you know; it is that stories from centuries of people who have prayed at, or been associated to this unique, special and spiritual site. Very, very beautiful site that shouldn’t be missed. That’s my opinion.

Yanardag: The Burning Mountain

So, our last stop, Yanardag, known locally, anyway, as the “Burning Mountain.” If you picture a hillside ablaze with natural gas seeping through the earth, that is Yanardag. The fire here has been burning for perhaps thousands of years; it creates an amazing sight, most of all as darkness falls. What causes that? It is, naturally occurring gas venting from the ground to meet the oxygen. As day moved into night, the fire burns stronger – creating great drama. Very popular location for photographers.

Okay, it’s not a huge area. Yet it is the sight of this eternal flame that makes it unforgettable. It’s almost one of those spots where you just have to stop, stare and almost be hypnotised. Very happy just to spend some time looking at the hypnotic fire as the sun slowly went down. That, you could very well imagine early civilizations seeing this as a source of wonder and connecting it to all manner of gods. This is Azerbaijan’s spectacular goodbye.

Is This Day Trip Worth It?

Okay, so back to the question—is the Gobustan-volcanoes-temple-Yanardag trip worth your time? Okay, very simply put – definitely yes, I believe. The whole day trip feels very full, with such a diversity of experiences; ranging from ancient history at Gobustan, geographical oddities with the mud volcanoes, spiritual exploration at the Fire Temple and then just simply the magical burning flames from the mountain, what a delight. So, it makes for a truly memorable trip.

It can feel, basically, a bit rushed. Yet the experiences really were awesome. Actually, my suggestion is finding a local tour operator to make travel hassle free, so you don’t get scammed by taxis trying to bring you to expensive locations. Perhaps pack some snacks, too. You won’t regret experiencing a slice of Azerbaijani heritage, beauty and strangeness all in just one packed adventure!