Gobustan Azerbaijan how to get there. Around Baku: Gobustan and mud volcanoes (Azerbaijan). Routes of the Gobustan Nature Reserve
Three dozen kilometers south of Baku is the Gobustan Nature Reserve. It is known, first of all, for the fact that several thousand petroglyphs, 4-5 thousand years old, are compactly located on its territory.
In addition to petroglyphs, Gobustan has an interesting plateau with a group of mud volcanoes and, of course, a museum made with the latest technology. Well, let's visit all these certainly interesting places.
Interestingly, Gobustan is one of the most popular offers of travel companies in Baku. Firstly, it is very easy to get to Gobustan: almost the entire route is along an excellent highway, on which you can easily accelerate to 130-150 km/h. Secondly, Gobustan is very close to the city and even taking into account traffic jams, the road to it will not take much time. However, the main tourist flow is directed to places closer to the capital of Azerbaijan, for example, to or Zagulba (we’ll talk about the latter below).
But Gobustan is also interesting in its own way. It is unlikely that anywhere so close to a large city you can find a huge collection of petroglyphs, and the desert landscapes of the reserve contrast sharply with the familiar landscapes of the Caucasus.
To the south of Baku stretches a wide (10-20 kilometers) desert strip between the Caspian coast and the spurs (low in these places) of the Caucasus Mountains. The vegetation here is something like this: sparse grass with infertile soil and thorns
Having turned off the Baku-Tbilisi highway at the right place (the right place is a huge billboard with the inscription qobustan and stylized petroglyphs), you need to drive 3-4 kilometers west to the museum. Ilham Aliyev himself made efforts to organize the museum, which greatly increases its (the museum’s) status. Although... in Azerbaijan almost everyone is named after Aliyev (senior or junior), the duty inscription is not surprising.
From the outside the museum looks stylish. If you look from a distance or from the mountains, it looks like 3-5 nomadic yurts standing very close to each other.
From the inside everything is even more interesting, there is a bunch of electronic projection, a wonderful play of light, 3-D panoramas and so on. The museum has two levels, with the second level being lower than the first. Probably all the typical examples of local petroglyphs are collected in the foyer.
Almost all halls of the museum have an interactive panel where tourists can find out additional information on the theme of the hall.
Detailed maps indicate in which part of Gobustan which monuments are found.
For those who don’t really like two-dimensional maps, there is the opportunity to virtually fly over the outskirts of Gobustan on a stereo 3D projector. The photograph, of course, could not correctly convey this “stereo 3D”, but the effect of what was seen surpasses the impression of watching a good 3D TV or stereo movie.
The museum also contains life-size figures of the ancestors of modern Azerbaijanis who lived in these places in the 3rd-2nd millennium BC.
However, the main thing in Gobustan is not the museum itself, but the area of petroglyphs, which is located on a mountain slope about 1.5 km from the museum itself.
Here, among the huge rock falls, there are paths for inspection, which are strictly not recommended to go beyond.
Almost immediately you can see the first petroglyphs, which depict people and a boat.
Some petroglyphs (there are very few of them, but there are some) are censored. Why, I have no idea. But the “do not touch with hands” sign here is painted directly on the stones, and is regularly updated
Scenes of hunting or running of a herd of bulls:
Something abstract:
Here the stones themselves are so interesting that they are also worthy of filming. Centuries of erosion and weathering transform the stones into something amazing.
Cattle again:
Watch out for snakes!
Look, here it is, antiquity, just stretch out your hand!
I discovered an amazing petroglyph that cannot be touched. It looks amazingly like the number "49"! :)
There is also a petroglyph “92”, but next to it there are also more ancient ones.
If you look towards the sea, you will see an amazing view of the stone piles:
Here from the observation deck there is a generally beautiful view of the Caspian Sea, but the sea is visible only in the early morning and late evening, at other times everything is hazy
One last look at the stone rubble and we move on... To Gobustan!
5-8 kilometers from the Gobustan Museum there is a plateau with a group of mud volcanoes. It is difficult to get there by car, the road is very rough, but if you get there, you will see an incredibly beautiful desert landscape around you, which would be suitable for Central Asia, and not the Caucasus.
Tourists are transported here by minibuses, which is why there are very few of them here.
Here are the mud volcanoes. They gurgle funny, and the dirt spewing out of them dries little by little in the 40-degree summer heat, forming curious “roads.”
Dried volcanic mud
Here they are - the mud volcanoes of Gobustan
The mouth of one of them:
Volcanoes “gurgle” almost constantly, once every 1-2 minutes. In three to five minutes you can catch 2-3 eruptions on each volcano.
The path of mud from a volcano sometimes resembles an octopus
The area of the plateau with mud volcanoes is full of abandoned oil infrastructure facilities. Some of them look very nice, like this... device. What it is and why they threw it here is not clear.
Here, in Gobustan, I saw something unusual: puddles of real oil. And the oil did not come here from a broken oil pipeline, but seeped through the ground from below. The oil is warm and very pleasant to the touch, although quite oily.
In general, going to Gobustan for overall development is very useful, which I wish for everyone. Moreover, there you can look not only at petroglyphs, but also at a real Roman inscription: in the Gobustan region almost 2000 years ago, not just anyone, but the XII Lightning Legion itself stood. But I couldn't see her. The best time to visit the reserve is in the morning to explore everything before lunch.
But what to do after lunch? After lunch, it is best to go to the other side of the Absheron Peninsula, to the Amburan beach club, which is located in the village of Zagulba not far from the dacha of the President of Azerbaijan.
By this time, the Caspian Sea near the beach is warming up so well that the water reaches the ideal temperature. If you don’t like the sea, there are plenty of swimming pools here. It's an extremely glamorous place, if the €25 entry fee doesn't put you off.
In general, if you’re going to get out of the hot and dusty desert, then this is the best place to go.
Early in the morning we went to Gobustan to look at rock paintings and mud volcanoes.
You can get to the bus station, from where the bus goes to Gobustan (or rather, to the nearest settlement to Gobustan), by minibus No. 29 from January 20 Street for 40 kopecks. At the bus station we asked for a bus to Gobustan, which, despite the schedule, leaves as it fills up. Sellers came onto the buses and sold all sorts of crap - pies, drinks, crossword puzzles. We drove for less than an hour, and a taxi was immediately met at the bus. There are no other ways to get to the attractions. The taxi driver asked for 45 manats, we agreed on 25 (we are naive, of course). Don’t expect to hitchhike to the volcanoes, there’s no road there, no one goes there, only tourists (although we didn’t meet anyone along the way). And walking in the heat takes exactly 2 hours.
There used to be “dangerous” signs around the volcanoes, but taxi drivers pulled them out (we boasted about this), which would scare tourists. In fact, you cannot approach the craters, no matter how small and harmless they may seem - you can fall through, people really drowned. 
Average volcano size: 
The mud, where it has not dried, actively gurgles, in winter, they say, wow. 
Near the volcanoes there is also a mud lake, with a string stretched for folk fun: you tie a string to your belt so as not to drown, and you climb into the lake to swim. They say it doesn't always help. The lake also gurgles to confirm its own danger. 
In general, we really liked it, but we didn’t want to go yet. Then we went to Gobustan itself, which contains evidence of the life of people of the Stone Age and subsequent periods - sites and rock paintings - petroglyphs (about 6000!). Thor Heyerdahl, by the way, came to the conclusion that the drawings are strikingly reminiscent of Norwegian petroglyphs, which means that the Scandinavians and Azerbaijanis are brothers! This is doubtful. But the drawings really amazed me. The simplest, of course, but how, how were they drawn so evenly on the rock? We can't do it with a pencil. It’s also very interesting to look at the rocks in search of drawings. The taxi driver says he finds something new every time. By the way, at the reserve there is an excellent museum, completely new, where a lot is told about the drawings and about this place in general, including mud volcanoes. Photos, of course, do not convey these images well; many of the drawings are quite large. 
Gavaldash is a huge tambourine stone on which you can play with other small stones:
The taxi driver offered to take us to the beach for a swim, saying it was all inclusive, but it was really hot. Don't be fooled, the sea is very dirty, the beach is littered with bottles and other rubbish.
The taxi driver, by the way, is a goat, although, rather, we are losers. We thought it was good, we’ll give 30 manats instead of 25. At the same time, we only had 40 in two pieces of paper, he joyfully gave the five in change and said that there was no more change. After that, there was no trace of him, and we remained at the bus stop, where he picked us up, flapping our ears. It will be science. By the way, we screwed up like this for the first and last time during this vacation. Photo of a taxi driver, don't take it for our sake! 
We took the 195 minibus for 80 kopecks to January 20, and from there took the 120 bus to the railway. And again, on the advice of Lonely Planet (don’t trust their advice!) we went to the QOC cafe on May 28, 50. No one spoke our languages, they just shook their heads. There was not enough food, the kebab turned out to be on the bones and not that tasty. We caught up with fruit for 1.5 manats, which we ate in a nearby park. We walked a little more towards the old city to say goodbye to Baku. 
We took our things from the storage room and calmly headed to the train: we had an overnight trip to Sheki. This is where an unpleasant surprise awaited us... What a day! We bought tickets in advance on the website of the Azerbaijani Railways. The rules stated that forms must be filled out in Azerbaijani for local trains, and in Russian for international trains. But, excuse me, where can I find the Azerbaijani layout, not to mention the Azerbaijani spelling of the surname. Well, they wrote it in Russian, and, as stated in the rules, they came with an electronic form to the ticket office an hour before departure. The ticket was printed. Everything is fine. But when boarding the train directly, it turned out that our names were printed in abracadabra: something with fonts or coding. We checked the dates and times, but didn’t even look at the last name. The head of the train immediately appeared, who, looking at the tickets, immediately announced that he would not let us in, as if we would go tomorrow. To all the assurances that we had nothing to do with it, and that these are our passport numbers, which coincide with those on the tickets, he shook his head and spoke in a language that was not our native language. Meanwhile, a crowd of conductors, police, railway workers and sympathizers gathered. They said something, called, looked at my passport, but they still let me in. 
The trains are old and stuffy, but the conductors are good. They opened the toilet and cleaned up the garbage themselves. The company in the compartment was also good: a Russian Azerbaijani woman and her son. She talked for a long time and with nostalgia about the Soviet Union, but she didn’t particularly complain about modern life. She said that there are Russian schools, that universities have both Russian and Azerbaijani programs, fifty-fifty. After chatting, we headed to our bunks. It was a night on the train, and in the morning we arrived at .
Gobustan Nature Reserve (Baku, Azerbaijan) - exact location, interesting places, inhabitants, routes.
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Gobustan - rock paintings and mud volcanoes included in the UNESCO cultural heritage list - is one of the most memorable attractions of Azerbaijan. The reserve, located just 50-60 km from the country's capital Baku, would be an excellent half-day excursion, fortunately, getting here is not difficult.
Tourists traditionally start with volcanoes - a truly exotic sight. Gray-beige cracked earth, from where low hills stick out here and there and puddles glisten in the sun, periodically emitting a loud “chomp” and “gurgle.” The mud here mixes with water and oil, while remaining cold. There are both quite large volcanoes and very miniature ones, the size of a puddle.
After wandering around the Martian landscape for half an hour and seeing a rare and unappetizing, but quite cheerful “chomp”, tourists, as a rule, go to the rock paintings. Here for them, as well as for scientists, there is a whole expanse.
Rock paintings in this area were created from the primitive era to the Middle Ages; today there are about 6 thousand drawings: animals and people, hunting scenes and inscriptions.
One of the most remarkable inscriptions, by the way, refers to the Roman legionaries who wandered here in the 1st century AD. But first things first.
The “highlights” of the Gobustan collection are the heroic figure of a reaper with a sickle, round dances of dancing men, boats with rowers.
Rock paintings of Gobustan
The best examples of artistic creativity of ancient people can be seen in the mountains of Boyukdash (“Big Stone”), Kichikdash (“Small Stone”), Jingirdag, Shongardag and Shykhgaya - these are rock carvings, human sites, and gravestone monuments of the Stone Age. Here, if you look closely, you can find the remains of a large prehistoric cromlech.
By the way, the name of the reserve means “edge of ravines” (from “gobu” - “depression”, “ravine”, and “stan” - “edge”, “land”)
.As a rule, the plot of the drawings is simple: everyday life and economic life, magical and totemic representations of ancient people, scenes of hunting and fishing, images of men and women, wild animals. The “highlights” of the Gobustan collection are the heroic figure of a reaper with a sickle, round dances of dancing men, boats with rowers.
Pay special attention to the stone slab with a Latin inscription at the foot of Mount Boyukdash. The inscription left here dates back to approximately 84-96, and its author is a Roman legionnaire of Emperor Domitian from the Legion Fulminata (“Lightning”). According to historians, in 75 Domitian sent a legion to help the allied kingdoms of Iberia and Albania in the Caucasus. However, the same detachment of the 12th Legion that left the inscription was later exterminated by the local residents of Absheron. And it is written, in fact, the following: “The time of Emperor Domitian Caesar Augustus of Germany, Lucius Julius Maximus, Centurion of the XII Lightning Legion.”
Coordinates
Address: Gobustan, Absheron district.
How to get there: by bus No. 120 from Azneft Square (the nearest metro station is “Icherisheher”) about 50 km to the city of Gobustan. Next by taxi with a starting price of 50 AZN.
Prices on the page are for April 2019.
To the south of the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, is located one of the most interesting attractions of this country - the Gobustan Nature Reserve. The full name of the protected area is “Gobustan National Historical and Artistic Reserve.” Translated from Azerbaijani, the name of the reserve means “edge of ravines.”
The main visiting card of the Gobustan Nature Reserve is rock art - petroglyphs, well preserved to this day. On the territory of the park there is a museum building, which displays various archaeological finds and visually displays the history of this region.
The cave paintings of the museum-reserve were included in the list of world cultural heritage. The Gobustan Nature Reserve has been under UNESCO protection since 2007.
Artifacts in the park are conventionally divided into two types: petroglyphs and sites of ancient inhabitants.
Historical moments of the Gobustan Nature Reserve
Archaeologists first visited the protected area at the beginning of the 20th century. A research expedition of 1939-1940 discovered approximately 3,500 petroglyphs, traces of the presence of primitive people in this territory, presumably from the Stone Age period, and other interesting artifacts that reveal the history of this place.
Archaeologists have established the presence of the XII Roman legion of Domitian in this valley. It is believed that in the mountains of the Gobustan Reserve Park, around the 14th century, there was a sanctuary.
The next archaeological expedition visited the reserve in 1965. A number of studies were carried out and burials, dwellings and about 300 more rock paintings were found.
Russian researchers knew about the rock art of Gobustan back in the middle of the 19th century, as evidenced by reports stored in the archives of the Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg.
At the end of 1966, the Gobustan area was officially recognized as a protected area.
Reserve area
The park is located in a valley between the foothills of the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea. The territory of the reserve occupies about 3096 hectares. The park stretches from north to south. The Pirsagat River flows from the western side of this area. Within the area there are mountains, the most famous of which are Boyukdash and Kichikdash.
The climate in the area of the Gobustan Nature Reserve is subtropical with warm winters and hot summers. In spring and autumn there is a short period of rain.
The relief of the valley is a collection of rocks, small ravines and dry valleys. Within the boundaries of Gobustan Park there is the largest concentration of mud volcanoes in the world.
The flora of the Gobustan Nature Reserve is represented by flora typical of deserts and semi-deserts: grasses, perennial shrubs, some types of trees. The park's fauna includes foxes, jackals, hares, lizards and snakes, larks, partridges, etc.
Mud volcanoes of Gobustan
Near the village of Gobustan, in the area of the reserve, there is one of the largest concentrations of mud volcanoes in the world. The origin of this natural phenomenon is associated with an oil and gas field. The territory occupied by mud volcanoes is a State Nature Reserve and is under protection.
Rock paintings of the Gobustan Nature Reserve
The main hallmark of the Gobustan protected area are rock paintings from the Mesolithic period to the Middle Ages. In total, there are about 6 thousand petroglyph elements on the territory.
Rock art is found in the area of the Boyukdash and Kichikdash mountain ranges, as well as on the Kyanizadag rocks. Basically, the drawings consist of scenes from the life of people of that time: hunting, rituals, animals, symbols. Petroglyphs contain images of women and men, animals, birds and fish.
According to archaeological research, it was concluded that sun worship was common among the inhabitants of this area during the Bronze Age.
In the area of the current reserve there was once a site for the Roman legion. This is evidenced by an inscription found by archaeologists on one of the stone slabs. The Latin text dates back to the 1st century AD. The translation of the inscription says that the Roman XII Legion was once stationed in this place during the reign of Domitian.
Stone tambourine
Gavaldash, or translated from Turkic as stone-tambourine, is an architectural monument of the past; it is a flat slab installed parallel to the surface of the earth. By striking this structure, you can extract characteristic sounds somewhat reminiscent of tambourine motifs.
On the territory of the Gobustan Nature Reserve there are two gavaldashs at once - near Mount Chingirdag and Boyukdash. Researchers believe that this tool was adapted by hunters and herders.
Gavaldash of Gobustan is made of shell limestone. The tambourine stone sounds differently in different places. The reason for this is the heterogeneity and unevenness of the structure.
According to scientists, this instrument was used in various dangerous situations, as well as during ceremonies and rituals. The sound of gavaldash spreads throughout the area for 3 kilometers.
Gobustan Reserve Museum
In addition to the territory of the protected area itself, a museum was erected in this area, which contains the entire history of the park. The museum building consists of two levels - first and zero. There are 6 halls on each floor.
The first level includes halls: the history of the Gobustan reserve, the environment, archaeological artifacts, the life of people in the park and the past of the area. Level zero is the art and artists of the ancient world, petroglyphs and their interpretation, wildlife, the history of the cultural landscape of rock art.
The museum building has a cinema hall where films about ancient Gobustan, its inhabitants and historical events are shown.
The museum is equipped with rooms with 3D panoramas and interactive whiteboards. The building has an observation deck with views of the Caspian Sea.
Gobustan National Reserve panorama Google maps
Excursions in the Gobustan Nature Reserve
There are two types of excursions for tourists in the reserve: along the main route and along the lower terrace of Mount Boyukdash. The guide introduces the park’s attractions in Azerbaijani and foreign languages. The cost of excursions is from 5 AZN to 25 AZN.
The first route involves an excursion along the upper terrace of Boyukdash and inspection of rock paintings of nearby caves, gavaldash and cup recesses. The second route is a Roman inscription, rock paintings on the lower terrace of Boyukdash, a tambourine stone and a Bronze Age settlement.
Gobustan Nature Reserve panorama Google Maps
How to get to the Gobustan Nature Reserve
The Gobustan Nature Reserve is located near the village of the same name. It can be reached from the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, by bus No. 195. From the village to the very entrance to the museum-reserve, you can only get by taxi.
You can also get to the village of Gobustan by train Baku - Shirvan - Hajigabul. Departure takes place from the passenger station in Baku; you need to get off in the village of Gobustan. From the station you can only get to the reserve by local taxi.
You don’t have to use public transport, but use the services of a local taxi: Uber, Bakutaxi24, Express Taxi Baku, etc.
Gobustan National Reserve video
The rocks of Gobustan, located south of Baku, are witnesses to the prehistoric period of the existence of primitive people. One of the business cards of Azerbaijan is the main pride of the country. The cave paintings made by ancient man are perfectly preserved and are transported back several centuries.
Unique drawings on the rocks
Images dating back thousands of years are a unique phenomenon for all of humanity. They are represented in huge numbers in the reserve. The heritage of the ancient civilization is of great interest to scientists and ordinary visitors, who note the amazing beauty of the open-air museum.
Almost fifteen thousand years ago, the first rock paintings appeared, through which people expressed their attitude towards the world around them.
Petroglyph Sanctuary
Gobustan is a nature reserve created in 1966. From the Azerbaijani language the name is translated as “Edge of Ravines”. The purpose of creating a local landmark is to protect the rock carvings and their thorough study by specialists.
The mountainous area has gained immense fame throughout the world thanks to evidence of inhabitants of the Stone Age and later periods discovered on an area occupying at least 500 hectares. Their number impresses anyone: the archaeological site contains, according to the most conservative estimates, six thousand drawings called petroglyphs. In 1997 they were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Scientists are convinced that the unique archive tells the story of the evolution of man, who thus begins to declare himself to the world. Over time, the abilities of ancient people improved, which is reflected in rock paintings.
Important find
Tourists from all over the world are eager to visit Gobustan (reserve), which is very easy to get to by bus from the capital, to see with their own eyes the images of primitive artists. Petroglyphs carved on the stones tell about the worldviews, culture, and activities of the ancient people who settled the country many centuries ago.
It’s interesting, but no one had previously suspected what artifacts were hidden in this territory. The rock art was discovered during work in the quarry. In a place littered with stones, workers found images that seemed unusual to them. As the area was cleared, more and more drawings were revealed to the eyes of the builders.
Archaeologists immediately began work, discovering a valuable heritage and making the assumption that Gobustan (reserve) is the cradle of civilization. Scientists' research continues to this day.
The world's largest collection
This is the most extensive collection in the world, testifying to the life of primitive people. Rock art appeared in different eras, from the 10th century BC to the Middle Ages. The petroglyphs, which differ in their coverage of the historical period, are diverse in style, subject matter and execution technique. Some images were superimposed on previous ones, which arouses some interest among specialists.
The heyday is considered to be the Bronze Age, in which the religious and aesthetic views of the ancient tribes most fully manifested themselves.
Realistic drawings
What do these drawings represent? Visitors will see scenes of battles and hunts for wild animals carved in stone, images of ritual dances, symbolic signs, insects, snakes and fish.
The life-size drawings are the most ancient and date back to the Neolithic era, in which matriarchy existed. The woman, often decorated with a symbolic tattoo, was depicted as a continuer of the tribal line.
The men appear with bows and arrows. Hunters were depicted with developed muscles and slender bodies. Images of people dancing in a circle have been preserved. Scientists suggest that such rituals preceded hunting. Ritual dances, accompanied by sounds from primitive musical instruments, were very important.
The size of the petroglyphs gradually decreases over time and becomes more realistic thanks to the use of metal tools.
The first Vikings
Drawings of rowers appear in a boat, at the stern of which the sun shines. The famous traveler visited Gobustan several times. The reserve attracted him primarily because of the rock silhouettes of sailors. Comparing them with similar images in Norway, he suggested that the ancestors of the Vikings first appeared in the Caspian Sea and later arrived in Scandinavia.
These are not the only artifacts that are of great interest to researchers. The reserve contains ancient sites, perfectly preserved tombstones, and mud volcanoes. Traces of habitation by Paleolithic people were found in caves on a rocky plateau.
The smooth holes in the stones in which poisonous snakes now live are incomprehensible. It is believed that they were the result of washing out and weathering of rocks, and the multilayer structure of smooth blocks raises many questions.
No less interesting is the huge stone slab at the foot of the mountain with an engraved Latin inscription, which was left by the Roman army of Emperor Domitian. His legion passed through modern Gobustan in the 1st century AD.
The reserve, photos of which give an idea of the amazing sight, is famous for the famous tambourine stone, so named because when it was tapped at different points, primitive people produced rhythmic sounds. All ritual dances and ceremonies were accompanied by peculiar melodies, which were produced by a flat stone slab called “gavaldash”.
Gobustan (reserve): how to get there
Getting to the reserve, located in the village of the same name in the Karadag region, is very easy by public transport. From Baku, at the Bibi-Heybat mosque on the outskirts of the city, bus number 195 leaves. The road to the archaeological site takes no more than an hour.
Gobustan is a nature reserve whose opening hours are very convenient for any tourist: from 10.00 to 17.00 without breaks or weekends (except January 1). Guests are received here every day.