Gobustan and Absheron: the 1846 Oil Well, the Mud Volcanoes and Dumas's Guest House

1 Azerbaijan Ave, Baku

Azerbaijan Avenue 1, a 10 to 15 minute walk from the Old City and Nizami Street, known locally as the KFC parking lot. From nearby, take the stairs next to the KFC on Nizami Street.

World's First Oil Well

The first oil well drilled in Azerbaijan and in the world, sunk in 1846 and giving oil on 14 July 1848. The road also passes Soviet-era pumpjacks still working today.

Mud Volcanoes

An active mud volcano zone for centuries, spread across the ground and closer to the surface of the moon than to anywhere else. People once held it to be the home of the jinns, the demons of Azerbaijani belief. A small trail leads out to them.

Gobustan Rock Art

The site of prehistoric people, with rock paintings across the territory. The trail passes the petroglyphs while the guide covers how they survived, how they were organised and what their days involved.

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The next stop is one of the reasons why Gobustan is as…

The village of the first Cro-Magnons, and before it the modern museum that sets out how those ancestors lived and the history of these lands.

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Baku

Lunch at the Baku Restaurant, in one of the city's parks: three courses and tea. Not included in the price.

Ateshgah - Fire Temple

Ateshgah, the fire temple. Flames came out of the ground across Absheron for centuries, and in the first century BC Hindu Brahmins and Persian Zoroastrians built here. The caravanserai on the site housed the merchants crossing the country, and the guide covers their days and the traditions of the fire worshippers.

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Yanar Dag

Yanar Dag, the burning mountain: flames coming out of the hillside, near the top, with the country around it in view. The tour runs about nine hours in all, from morning to late evening.

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