Ever hiked a volcano in life? Put on your adventure hat because you are about to hop on the most thrilling jeep tour to Gobustan, Azerbaijan.
At an hour’s drive from Baku, along the Caspian Coast, is a national historical landmark and old settlement, Gobustan. It is not your usual tree-mountain landscape; instead, it unveils a significant era. Its State Reserve is rich in prehistoric carvings and archaeological monuments.
Gobustan is speckled with rock that oozes mud and craters. Hold your breath, because the gurgling mud volcanoes that appeared on the landscape of Azerbaijan are about 25 million years old.
Although the city looks abandoned, it is not — there are 14,000 residents living here and calling it their hometown.
Do you know: Gobustan, also known as Qobustan, harks back to the 8th millennium BC.
The untouched terrain coupled with a rich saga of history and the zeal of adventure promises an otherworldly experience. Here is a detailed rundown on what happens on Jeep Tour to Gobustan:
Jeep Tour to Gobustan Overview
The journey begins when a professional chauffeur picks you up from your rendezvous location at Baku and whiz through over 60 kilometres to Gobustan National Park. This tour covers most historic, cultural and offbeat attractions. Tourists tick off the oldest petroglyphs, discover the never-seen-before landscape, visit the open-air museum, and take in mud volcanoes as the tour proceeds. An English-speaking guide assists the visitors in deciphering the petroglyphs, delving into the past and uncovering the strange facts about the place.
- Distance from Baku to Gobustan: 67 KM (42 miles)
- Opening Hours of Gobustan National Park: 9 AM- 5 PM
Do you know: Petroglyphs are symbolic and figurative rock art, which have now become one of the important pieces of evidence of early human history.
Itinerary of Jeep Tour to Gobustan and Mud Volcano
Stop 1: Gobustan National Park
Image Credit: amuraworld.comAlso called the Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape, this colossal park is a UNESCO-listed attraction. Home to an extraordinary collection of 6,000 rock engravings, the site reflects the lifestyle of 40,000 years ago.
Most of the tourists arrive at Gobustan for petroglyphs. The history-doodles and drawings of people, animals, battle, hunting, fishing, ritual dances, suns and stars, bullfights, reed boats with oarsmen, from the Upper Paleolithic to the Middle Ages, remain as a testimony to the disappeared way of living.
These well-preserved sketches contain the natural and cultural inheritance of humanity, which is rare to be found today within modern developments. Then, take your eyes on a marathon as you indulge in the serene rooftop views.
Boulders, rock shards, caves, and noticeable greenery are other things that dot the landscape.
Must-Do: You can find a stone under the Beyukdash Mountain that has a Latin engraving by the Roman emperor Domitian (81 AD – 96 AD)
Stop 2: Museum
In the vicinity is the Gobustan National Park Museum which hosts interactive displays and exhibitions of thousands of years ago. The petroglyphs in the museum consist of horses, goats, and lions; they give hints towards hunting and fishing in the ancient era.
Stop 3: Mud Volcanoes
Whisk out on the 4*4 and at half an hour’s drive from the museum is the incredible array of mud volcanoes. So, strategically the two (Gobustan Mud Volcanoes) are paired for this Jeep Tour. Over half of the world’s mud volcanoes — around 350 — are nestled in Azerbaijan. An interesting attraction for both scientists and tourists, volcanoes make the excursion even more fascinating.
Do you know: A mud volcano or mud dome is a landform / formation that is created by the ejection of sediments. It is a cone-like structure heaved up by mud, slurries, water and gases. Brought into existence by several geological processes, mud volcanoes are 10 kilometres wide and 1-700 metres high.
It looks like the only thing that never changes in Gobustan is this vast stretch of volcanoes, but it’s constantly evolving. Contrary to its semi-arid region, the water of these volcanoes is icy cold. People believe it has therapeutic properties leading several visitors to cover themselves in its mud.
The thick, gooey and cold mud constantly bubbles away, painting the ground grey and black. You can see the wet mud drying and crackling right in front of your eyes, thanks to the dry weather.
Must-Do: Visitors also stop at the Naval Dash, a natural musical stone. It is enthralling to see when this 2-m long stone is hit by smaller rocks, it produces a ringing sound.
Interesting Facts about Mud Volcanoes in Azerbaijan
Image Credit: amuraworld.com- Mud Volcanoes don’t function like the classic volcanoes that burst into molten rock or magma. It explodes with a rumble and most of the time is harmless.
- Azerbaijan’s mud volcanoes are quite similar to the uplands of Mars.
- The largest mud volcano of Azerbaijan is enlisted in the Guinness World Records.
- Its eruptions are used as raw materials in different industries like chemical and pharmacology.
- The clay and mud of the volcanoes bear medicinal benefits and are used in the treatment of nervous systems and skin-related diseases.
- These are icy cold.
Jeep Tour Gobustan Essentials
The terrain is rough and the climate is windy. So, pack your travel kit to Gobustan with:
- Good Hiking Shoes
- Sunglasses
- Hat
- Refillable water bottle
- Snacks
- Wipes
- A travel raincoat
Conclusion
We can bet you would have not seen such a unique landscape ever. The jeep tour to Gobustan and Mud Volcanoes is an unforgettable trip that will take you to another world away from the chaos of the urban city.
Image Credit: media.tacdn.com