Baku, Gobustan & Absheron Land of Fire Tour
- 5 days, Baku to Baku
- Max altitude 200 m
- Year-round, best April to October
- 2 to 16 travellers
- Baku & Absheron, Azerbaijan
- Short drives only
- 5-day itinerary
About this tour
Azerbaijan calls itself the Land of Fire, and on the Absheron Peninsula that is a description rather than a slogan. Natural gas has been leaking out of this ground for as long as anyone has written about it: it burns on a hillside at Yanar Dag, it once fed the altar of the fire temple at Surakhani, and it pushes cold grey mud out of the hills at Gobustan. Baku sits in the middle of all of it, about 28 metres below sea level on the Caspian shore, and it is the only base you need for five days.
The city itself is two cities. Icherisheher, the walled Old City, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with the 15th-century Palace of the Shirvanshahs, the Maiden Tower and a tangle of lanes, caravanserais and bathhouses that are still lived in. Around it is the Baku the oil money built: the three Flame Towers on the hill above the bay, and Zaha Hadid's Heydar Aliyev Center, a white building with no straight lines that is worth the visit even if you go no further than the outside.
Gobustan, an hour south, is the oldest thing on the trip. The rock art reserve holds more than 6,000 carvings made over something like 40,000 years — hunters, reed boats, dancers, wild cattle — and was inscribed by UNESCO in 2007. A few kilometres away are the mud volcanoes, small grey cones that bubble and occasionally spit. The track to them is unpaved and the usual way up is in a local Lada taxi, which is part of the experience whether you want it to be or not.
The last full day is the fire itself. The Ateshgah at Surakhani is a fortified courtyard of cells around a central altar, built in the 17th and 18th centuries by Hindu and Sikh traders from northern India on a site long associated with fire worship, and popularly called a Zoroastrian temple. Yanar Dag, half an hour away, is a hillside that has been burning for decades, and it is best seen as the light goes.
This is a short, gentle trip with one hotel for all four nights, a private vehicle and an English-speaking guide on the three touring days. It works as a stand-alone city break or as the first half of a longer journey into the mountains on our Grand Caucasus Escape.
Trip highlights
UNESCO Old City (Icherisheher), Maiden Tower & Shirvanshahs' Palace
The walled inner city of Baku, inscribed by UNESCO in 2000. The Palace of the Shirvanshahs dates from the 15th century; the Maiden Tower is at least 12th century in its present form, and nobody agrees on what it was built for.
Zaha Hadid's Heydar Aliyev Center & the Flame Towers
Hadid's flowing white cultural centre, completed in 2012, and the three glass Flame Towers on the hill above the bay, which are lit up as moving flames after dark. Highland Park, beside them, has the best view back over the city.
Ateshgah Fire Temple & Yanardag Burning Mountain
The Ateshgah at Surakhani was built in the 17th and 18th centuries by Hindu and Sikh traders, with inscriptions in Sanskrit and Punjabi, on a site long linked to Zoroastrian fire worship; its natural flame ran out in 1969 and now burns on piped gas. Yanar Dag is the real thing — gas seeping through sandstone and burning along a hillside without a break.
Gobustan Rock Petroglyphs & Bubbling Mud Volcanoes
More than 6,000 rock carvings spanning tens of thousands of years, in a UNESCO reserve an hour south of Baku. The mud volcanoes nearby are reached on an unpaved track in a local Lada taxi, and close after heavy rain.
Route
- 1 Start
- 2 Stop in order
- 7 Finish
- Route travelled
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At a glance
- 5 days, Baku to BakuThree full touring days, one hotel for all four nights.
- Max altitude 200 mBaku itself is about 28 m below sea level, and nothing on the route rises much above the low hills at Gobustan.
- Year-round, best April to OctoberSpring and autumn are the comfortable months; July and August are hot and Baku is windy all year.
- 2 to 16 travellersSmall groups, or private for two or more.
- Baku & Absheron, AzerbaijanOld City, Gobustan, Surakhani and Yanar Dag.
- Short drives onlyThe longest is about an hour each way, Baku to Gobustan.
Day by day
Day 1Arrive Baku
Met at Heydar Aliyev International Airport and driven about 25 km, forty minutes in normal traffic, to the hotel. If you land in daylight, the Caspian seafront boulevard is a short walk from most central hotels and the obvious place to start. Overnight in Baku.
Day 2Old City and modern Baku
A morning on foot in Icherisheher: the Palace of the Shirvanshahs, the Maiden Tower, the caravanserais and the lanes between them, about three hours on cobbles. In the afternoon, the Heydar Aliyev Center and up to Highland Park — by funicular when it is running — for the view over the bay and the Flame Towers. Overnight in Baku.
Day 3Gobustan rock carvings and the mud volcanoes
About an hour's drive south along the Caspian to Gobustan, 60 km from the centre. The museum first, then two to three hours on the rock paths among the carvings. From the edge of the reserve a local Lada takes you up the unpaved track to the mud volcanoes, about twenty minutes each way; after heavy rain the track is impassable and that part of the day is dropped. Back in Baku by mid-afternoon. Overnight in Baku.
Day 4Ateshgah and Yanar Dag on the Absheron Peninsula
Forty minutes east to the Ateshgah at Surakhani, with time for the courtyard, the cells and the small museum. A quieter middle of the day — back in the city, or out to the Absheron coast if the group prefers. Then half an hour to Yanar Dag, timed for late afternoon, when the flames show best against the fading light. Back in Baku in about forty minutes. Overnight in Baku.
Day 5Depart Baku
Transfer to the airport for your onward flight. With an evening flight there is time for the Carpet Museum on the seafront or a last walk in the Old City.
What’s included
- CONFIRM — Four nights in a central Baku hotel (three or four star), twin share, with breakfast
- Airport arrival and departure transfers
- A private air-conditioned vehicle and driver on days 2 to 4
- An English-speaking guide on days 2 to 4
- CONFIRM — Entrance fees to the Palace of the Shirvanshahs, the Maiden Tower, the Heydar Aliyev Center, Gobustan, the Ateshgah and Yanar Dag
- CONFIRM — The local car (usually a Lada taxi) from Gobustan to the mud volcanoes and back
- Bottled water in the vehicle
Not included
- International flights to and from Baku
- Azerbaijan e-visa (ASAN Visa), applied for online before you travel
- Travel insurance
- Lunches and dinners
- Drinks, and entrance to anything not listed
- Tips for the guide and driver
- Single room supplement
Good to know
Visas: the ASAN e-visa
Most nationalities need a visa for Azerbaijan, and most can get it online through the official ASAN Visa system (evisa.gov.az). The standard service takes about three working days and costs in the region of US$ 25 to 30; an urgent service costs more. Print the e-visa and carry it with your passport. Check eligibility for your passport before you book, and use the official site rather than the look-alike agencies that charge several times the fee.
If your passport shows a past visit to Karabakh made through Armenia without Azerbaijani permission, tell us before you book — this has led to people being refused entry. An Armenian stamp on its own is not normally a problem.
Getting in, and the land borders
This trip begins and ends at Baku's international airport. Azerbaijan's land borders have been closed to ordinary travellers since 2020, so at the time of writing you cannot simply drive in from Georgia or out to it. Check the current position before you plan a combined trip.
Season and weather
Baku can be visited all year. April to June and September to October are the comfortable months, in the low to mid twenties. July and August are hot, often well into the thirties, and the touring is planned around the midday heat. Winters are mild by the standards of the region but grey, and the wind — Baku has been called the city of winds for centuries — makes them feel colder than the thermometer says. Bring a windproof layer whatever the month.
What easy really means
No hiking, no altitude and no long drives. The walking is a few hours at a time on old cobbles in Icherisheher and on uneven rock paths with some steps at Gobustan. Comfortable shoes with a grip are enough. The mud volcanoes are reached by car and then a short walk across cracked, sometimes sticky ground — wear shoes you do not mind getting grey.
Accommodation
One central hotel for all four nights, three or four star, twin share with private bathroom and breakfast. Single rooms are available at a supplement.
Money, phones and customs
The currency is the manat (AZN). Cards are taken almost everywhere in central Baku and ATMs are easy to find; carry some cash for small purchases and the Lada taxi tip at Gobustan. Local SIM cards need your passport to register. Azerbaijan is a secular, relaxed country, but dress modestly to enter mosques — shoulders and knees covered, and a scarf for women — and do not photograph military or government buildings.
Questions about this trip
How hard is this tour?
It is easy. There is no altitude to worry about — Baku is below sea level — and the longest drive is about an hour each way to Gobustan. The walking is a few hours at a time on cobbles and rock paths. If you can manage a full day of sightseeing in a city on foot, you can manage this.
When is the best time to visit Baku?
April to June and September to October, when days are in the low to mid twenties. The trip runs all year: July and August are hot but workable with early starts, and winter is mild but windy and often grey. The burning hillside at Yanar Dag is, if anything, more striking on a cold evening.
Do I need a visa for Azerbaijan?
Most travellers do, and most can apply online through the official ASAN Visa site, evisa.gov.az. It normally takes about three working days and costs around US$ 25 to 30. Check that your nationality is eligible before booking, and avoid unofficial sites that charge much more for the same document.
Is the Ateshgah a Zoroastrian temple?
It is usually called one, and the site has long been associated with fire worship. The building you see, though, was put up in the 17th and 18th centuries by Hindu and Sikh merchants from northern India who traded along the Caspian, and most of its inscriptions are in Sanskrit and Punjabi. The natural flame died out in 1969; the one burning today is fed by piped gas. Yanar Dag, the burning hillside, is still natural.
Can we definitely see the mud volcanoes?
Usually, but not always. The track up to them is unpaved and becomes impassable after heavy rain, and the local drivers will not attempt it. We go when it is open; if it is not, the rest of the Gobustan day runs as planned.
Is Azerbaijan safe for travellers?
Baku and the Absheron Peninsula are generally safe and easy to travel in, and street crime against visitors is uncommon. The area near the Armenian border is a different matter, and nothing on this trip goes near it. The practical rules are not to photograph military or government buildings and to carry your passport.
I am travelling alone. Can I join?
Yes. You can share a twin room with another traveller of the same sex where one is available, or take a single room at a supplement. The tour can also run privately for a single traveller at a different price.
Can I extend this into the mountains?
Yes. Our seven-day Grand Caucasus Escape covers Baku and then goes north to Gabala, Shahdag and Khinaliq, and the two can be combined or customised. Everything we run in the country is on the Azerbaijan page.
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Photographs: Diego Delso (CC BY-SA 4.0); Diego Delso (CC BY-SA 4.0); Matheus Hobold Sovernigo (CC BY-SA 4.0); AlixSaz (CC BY-SA 4.0); Toni Wöhrl (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons.
Enquire about this trip
Tell us who is travelling and roughly when. A trip planner — not a call centre — replies within three hours between 9am and 11pm Pakistan time with a day-by-day itinerary and the full price, per person, with nothing hidden underneath it.
- Every itinerary written from scratch around your dates.
- Licensed operator, running these routes since 2020.
- A full costing up front — no deposit to see one.
- +92 310 5344471
- info@elhamasia.com
- 9am – 11pm PKT, seven days a week
- Office No. 227, Rohtas Road, G-9/1, Islamabad, Pakistan
