The Gobustan Mud Volcanoes

During our first month here in Baku, we went to the Gobustan mud volcanoes which are about an hour drive away from our home. There are several mud volcano areas here, but the one in Gobustan is probably the most popular site.

We didn't really know what to expect. There are no street signs that tell you where to go until very shortly before you arrive at the mud volcanoes, so we just followed the tiny dirt roads that we saw on google maps and hoped that we would eventually get there.
This is all you can see on google maps:

                                           


It had rained a little bit the night before, so the dirt roads leading to the volcano hill were pretty muddy. I asked Anthon several times to turn around before we get stuck in the mud in the middle of nowhere, but he seemed to like testing our new car's four wheel drive and kept going. We eventually arrived at the site and I'm glad we didn't turn around. It was definitely worth the trip!

For people interested in going there, I would recommend only going there if it hasn't rained in the last three days. I would also bring shoes that can get muddy, or at least bring plastic covers that you can wrap around your shoes. It is very muddy around the volcanoes.

The mud volcanoes look very interesting, a little bit gross, but we found them very fascinating.
About half of the mud volcanoes around the world are found in Azerbaijan. There are about 350-400 of them. Some are submarine and create islands in the Caspian Sea, but most are located in fields in very remote areas, making the relatively easily accessible Gobustan mud volcanoes a popular tourist site.

                                          

Mud volcanoes can erupt, spit fire and mud many meters high in the air, but this doesn't happen very often.
One of the most active mud volcanoes in Azerbaijan, the Lökbatan mud volcano, has erupted about 20x since people have been recording its activity. The last eruptions took place in 2012, 2010, 2001 and 1977. 

Here is a YouTube video of the 2012 eruption. It's quite intense!

                                         

The mud is cool to the touch and is supposed to be very good for your skin due to the minerals in it.
Some people even take baths in them. 

Azerbaijan is also called the "Land of Fire" for its many natural gas sources.
When you take a closer look, you can see a little flame coming out of the hill.

                       
                               

                                                 

I hope you enjoyed learning more about mud volcanoes. I didn't even know they existed before seeing pictures of them on TripAdvisor. If you're ever in the area, you should definitely drive there and see them in person.