Gobustan National Park: Ancient petroglyphs and erupting mud volcanos

If there was one thing that I really wanted to see in Azerbaijan, it was Gobustan National Park, home to hundreds of ancient petroglyphs from the Upper Palaeolithic and through to the Middle Ages. Oh yeah, and the park contains mud volcanos as well. Yes, you read it right, MUD volcanos that literally spit up mud every now and then. A bit like Iceland’s geysers, but then still not – it’s very unique indeed.

I went to Gobustan on my last full day in Azerbaijan, on a half day trip from Baku. Getting there is supposed to be almost impossible according to the internet, but in reality it was quite easy. With the help of the awesome staff at my hostel, I figured out how to get there and back in just half a day.

I got up rather early to get as much out of the day as possible. I was strolling through the Fountain Square, buying myself some breakfast and talking to street cats, when I suddenly saw the bus heading to Bine come along. I had to change busses in Bine, so to get on the move quickly, I jumped on the bus and travelled the short way to Bine, which somehow took an hour (it’s only 18 km from Baku!). What I didn’t realize was that you can’t pay for a ticket on the bus, but need to buy a prepaid card. I was about to get off the bus, when a local man gestured to me and beeped his card twice, and then refused to take my money. Needless to say, the locals of Baku are very kind and helpful towards tourists!

In Bine, I was glad to discover that there was a marshrutka waiting to take people to Qobustan, a small village that serves as the gateway to the national park. I jumped on the marshrutka and paid the driver a few coins (no card needed here!) and then I was finally on my way to the national park!

I sat beside a lovely elderly lady, who asked me all about Denmark and my travels through Azerbaijan as well as she could in English. Qobustan is quite a long village and I was unsure of where to get off, but the lady helped me and made sure I got off at the right spot.

As soon as I got off the marshrutka, taxi drivers gathered around offering to take me to the museum and mud volcanos, trying to grab the few tourists that came to Qobustan that day. I had really hoped to find another tourist or two to split the cost of a taxi to the mud volcanos with, but I only saw one bus load of people and some families in taxis going there.

Originally, I had planned to walk the short 30 minutes to the museum and the petroglyphs, but when a taxi driver offered to take me there and to the mud volcanos and back for 30 manat, I knew that I couldn’t refuse that offer. Miri, a guy volunteering at the hostel, had told me that it would typically cost 40-50 manat just to go to the mud volcanos, so I thought I was getting a really good bargain there. Little did I know…

My driver Tarlan (and NOT Tarzan, as he pointed out, haha) and I got to the museum a few moments later, and despite what Tarlan told me, the museum was awesome. If it hadn’t have been for him waiting outside in the cold, I would’ve spent much longer in there studying all the artefacts found in the area. It’s a surprisingly well thought out and informative museum with plenty of interesting artefacts representing all time periods where humans have been present in Gobustan.

I spent less than an hour in there and it’s a huge museum, but Tarlan didn’t look too happy when I came back, although he never actually told me to hurry up. At that moment, I wished I’d said no to his offer, as I would’ve loved to take it all in my own pace and really enjoy the cultural heritage site.

But he didn’t stay annoyed for long. He drove me up the Jinghirdag Mountain-Yazylytepe hill, where most of the “famous” petroglyphs are located.

When we got to the beginning of the walking path, Tarlan decided to go with me and showed me all the great spots with petroglyphs that are otherwise quite hard to spot, if you don’t keep your eyes peeled. At that point, I was glad that he was with me, although he did rush through it slightly, I thought. It was quite funny having him explain some of the petroglyphs for me, as he would simply point at a carved picture of a cow and go “muuuh” or a pig and go “oink oink” haha.

Gobustan is quite a special place, as it contains hundreds of petroglyphs showing scenes of hunting, farming, dancing, fauna, flora etc. in prehistoric and historic times all the way back to the Upper Palaeolithic and through to the Middle Ages. It’s a rare cultural landscape that has no parallels anywhere in the world. My arcaheological heart was screaming with joy the entire time spent there! It’s no wonder it’s a protected UNESCO site.

Quite a few of the petroglyphs reminded me of the Danish ones from the Bronze Age, especially the ships and human figures. It’s an interesting thought that the Nordic people may have had contact with people from the Caucasus over 3500 years ago.

We drove back towards Qobustan, and just as I thought we were turning towards the mud volcanos, Tarlan stopped and told me that I had to chance taxis! I didn’t understand what he was saying, but he pointed at his wheels, probably saying that they wouldn’t be able to handle the mud. I wasn’t quite sure what I had gotten myself into, haha.

My new driver Berarus was thankfully just as nice, but unfortunately, it seems that they tricked me with the money. When I was about to change taxis, Tarlan asked for the 30 manat that I had promised him (for both the museum AND the mud volcanos), and then I think he said that they were going to sort it out between them later on. But as soon as I got in the new taxi, Berarus said that I had to pay him another 10 manat…. It isn’t much, but it was the way it was done that annoyed me.

Still, I decided to just go with the flow, as he was taking me somewhere amazing that I couldn’t let paper notes get in the way off.

The drive to the mud volcanos was quite the adventure! It was a 20 kilometer long dirt road, which was almost muddier than any archaeological excavation on a rainy day! The car got stuck several times,  but Berarus thankfully managed to get it free!

Halfway to the volcanos, we came past a small lake, which looked like any other lake, except it was full of tar!

A few more corners turned and we arrived (unscathed) at the mud volcanos!

Mud volcanos are unique geological wonders created by the eruption of mud, water and gasses. They are literally small volcanic vents that spit up mud every now and then – we even got hit by some a few times!

Gobustan is home to more than 400 mud volcanos, which is more than half of the total in the entire world.

Berarus showed me around to all of the great spots and even to some areas where the other tourists weren’t going. I got to see quite a few of the mud volcanos erupt, and one even erupted while Berarus was standing right beside it. Needless to say, he wasn’t the cleanest of clean afterwards. I shouldn’t have, but I just couldn’t help laughing, it was so funny!

The temperatures of the mud volcanos are quite low compared to other igneous volcanoes, and can range from 2 degrees up to 100 degrees, even at the same location. Berarus showed me a small mudfilled lake, where the mud is considerably warmer than most of the mud volcanos. It’s very popular for swimming in during the summer months! At that point, I was kind of sad that it wasn’t summer (although winter in Azerbaijan is quite spectacular), but it just gives me (another) excuse to come back to the country!

It was time to head back to Qobustan, through the muddy roads once again, but this time we took a longer route with much less mud, so it wasn’t as bad. Before going to the bus stop, Berarus wanted to show me one last thing, the beach in Qobustan. It wasn’t the beach of anyone’s dreams, but I always appreciate seeing the ocean, so it was a nice little pitstop on the way back to civilization.

Berarus dropped me off by the side of a motor way, where people literally stand and wait for a bus that they then waive over! He waited until I was safely on the bus and then we waved goodbye, and I was off, on my way to Bine and then to Baku, where the adventures continued after a few games of ping pong with some new friends at the hostel.

You can read all about our evening adventure to another rare wonder in Azerbaijan in my next post!

How to reach Gobustan National Park from Baku

• Take bus 125 to Bine. This goes all along Baku Boulevard. I caught it at Kukla teatri.
• Take marshrutka no. 195 from Bine to Qobustan. Ask the driver or a local to tell you where to get off.
• Walking to the museum and petroglyphs should take about 30 minutes, but you can also catch a taxi for about 5 manat.
• Visit the museum first – it’s a great introduction to the area!
• Look carefully, if you’re not with a guide at the mountain with the petroglyphs, as they are easy to miss. There are no arrows pointing at them, so keep your eyes peeled!
• To get to the mud volcanos, it’s best to take a taxi, as it’s 20 kilometers away from Qobustan through a mud road. Even if you have a rental car, I wouldn’t chance it. The roads are very dirty and there are holes everywhere, so the car could get stuck, plus the volcanos are not easy to locate if you don’t know the area! A taxi should cost 30-40 manat.
• Getting back to Baku, take marshrutka no. 195 to Bine and then bus 125 back to the center of the city.