Yanar Dağ

Today we visited Yanar Dağ, also known as the “Burning Mountain”. It’s a pretty wild natural phenomenon just north of Baku, where fire has been burning directly out of the hillside for centuries. The flames are caused by natural gas seeping up from underground. When the gas ignites, it keeps burning because new gas continuously rises to the surface. According to legend, a shepherd or local resident accidentally set the area on fire many years ago, and since then the flames have never gone out. It’s located about a 30-minute drive from Baku and is one of Azerbaijan’s most well-known tourist attractions. As with several other attractions in the country, locals pay far less than tourists — about 7 DKK for locals and around 55 DKK for tourists 😅 The site itself is interesting to experience, but the traffic around Baku is almost an attraction in itself. There are noticeably more reckless drivers here than in other parts of the country, so you really have to stay extra alert on the road. After Yanar Dağ, we continued north to the resort area by the Caspian Sea, including Sea Breeze Resort, which is filled with hotels, beach clubs, and holiday apartments. In summer, the area is packed with vacationing Russians and Azerbaijanis when temperatures reach 27 to 35°C. But in May, with temperatures around 23°C, it was almost empty. Today it actually felt like we had the whole place to ourselves 😎