Baku to Gobustan and Absheron: Day Trips and What to See

From Baku you can make a day trip in two directions. South along the Caspian: the Bibi-Heybat Mosque, the Gobustan petroglyphs (a UNESCO site since 2007, with more than 6,000 rock carvings) and a field of active mud volcanoes. North-east across Absheron: the ever-burning fire of Yanar Dag, the Ateshgah fire temple, the Gala reserve and the medieval towers of Mardakan. Each trip takes one day and returns to Baku.

How to get there from Baku

By car: the Bibi-Heybat Mosque is about 5 km south of the centre. Gobustan (the petroglyph museum) is 60–70 km away depending on the source, about 53 min (rome2rio gives 64.5 km), and the mud volcanoes are about 12 km further from the museum, about 30 min. Yanar Dag is 25 km (45 min), Ateshgah in Surakhani 18–30 km and Gala about 40 km from Baku; Yanar Dag to Ateshgah is 20 km, 30 min.

By bus: since 1 October 2025 a metro ride in Baku costs 0.60 AZN and a bus from 0.60 AZN depending on distance; you pay by card.

• Gobustan: bus 195, but sources differ on the details. luxline.az (June 2026): it leaves from 20 January metro, takes 1.5–2 hours, runs rarely and drops you at a fork on the highway, not at the entrance. wander-lush (2024): bus 125 to the Karvansaray mall, then bus 195 from Bina mall to the House of Culture in Gobustan village, about 45 min, 1.30 AZN (before the 2025 fare rise). Wikivoyage: bus 120 or 88 to the “20-ci sahə” stop, then bus 195 towards Alat. From the village to the museum it is more than 6 km on foot without shade, partly uphill, so you need a car.
• Ateshgah and Yanar Dag: metro to Koroglu, then bus 184 to the last stop for Ateshgah (about 35 min) or bus 217 straight to the Yanar Dag reserve (every 13 min from 6:00 to 23:30, about 40 min).
• Gala and Mardakan: bus 101 from Ulduz metro towards Turkan, then about 300 m west on foot along Sulh Street; bus 182 links Gala and Mardakan. In Mardakan, bus 136 to Baku stops on Yesenin Street, about 3 min on foot from the Quadrangular Tower (Lonely Planet).

The road to the mud volcanoes is a dirt track: you need a 4x4, and an ordinary car can get stuck (luxline.az, June 2026). There are no signs; after rain a car may not get through and the last 2–3 km have to be walked (snarkynomad.com, 2016). Local drivers in Ladas take tourists to the volcanoes.

What to see

• Bibi-Heybat Mosque — built over the tomb of Ukeyma Khanum, a descendant of the Prophet. The first mosque dates from 1282; it was demolished in 1936, and the new building was begun in 1994 and opened in 1999. It is on the way to Gobustan. Time on site: about 15 min.
• Gobustan Rock Art and museum — a UNESCO site since 2007 with more than 6,000 petroglyphs and a Latin inscription of the Twelfth Legion (1st century AD); the museum at the entrance has been open since 2011. Time on site: 2–2.5 hours. Ticket: sources differ — 10 AZN for foreigners and 4 AZN for locals (momentbook.app) or about 15 AZN (luxline.az, June 2026). Hours: 10:00–18:00, museum 10:00–17:00 (momentbook.app, May 2026); other sources give 9:00–17:00 or 9:00–18:00.
• Gobustan Mud Volcanoes — a field of active mud volcanoes about 12 km from the museum along a dirt track. Time: about 1.5 hours including the drive. There is no fee on the field (luxline.az, June 2026).
• Yanar Dag — gas burns without a break, with flames about 15 m long along a ledge; a reserve since 2007 with a museum and an amphitheatre. Time on site: 30–45 min. Ticket: 15 AZN for foreigners, 2 AZN for locals, free for foreign children under 12. Hours: daily 10:00–19:00.
• Ateshgah Fire Temple — a 17th–18th-century temple courtyard over a gas outlet, with 24 cells and inscriptions in Devanagari, Gurmukhi and Persian. Time on site: 45 min – 1 hour. Ticket: 15 AZN for foreigners, 2 AZN for locals. Hours: daily 10:00–18:00.
• Gala Historical-Ethnographic Reserve — a 14th–15th-century fortress with a viewing platform, an open-air museum, kurgans and dolmens, a samovar museum and workshops (carpet weaving, pottery, lavash baking). Time on site: about 2 hours. Ticket: 15 AZN (both museums and the workshops); under 3 free, under 12 half price. Open all year except 1 January: 10:00–18:30 from 15 April to 15 October, 09:30–17:30 from 16 October to 14 April.
• Mardakan fortresses — the Quadrangular Tower, 22 m high, built in 1187–1188 by order of Shirvanshah Akhsitan I according to Wikipedia (its infobox says 14th century). Inside it is almost empty, and the unlit stairs to the roof are unsafe (Lonely Planet); the key is kept by a caretaker who lives next door. The Round Fortress is a 16 m keep built in 1232, according to its inscription.
• Ramana Castle — a four-tier tower, 15 m high, in Ramana village (Sabunchu District). Wikipedia dates it to the 14th century (some versions say the 12th), advantour to the 16th.

Combined tickets (Yanar Dag website): Yanar Dag + Ateshgah 25 AZN (weproject.media gives 20 AZN); Yanar Dag + Ateshgah + the Mud Volcanoes Tourism Complex 35 AZN, valid 72 hours from the first entry. That complex (Absheron District, opened in June 2024, per Trend) may be a different place from the field near Gobustan.

One-day route

Option 1, south: Bibi-Heybat — Gobustan — mud volcanoes. Times are approximate.

• 09:00 — leave central Baku; 09:15 — Bibi-Heybat Mosque (about 5 km), a stop of about 15 min.
• 10:15 — Gobustan: the petroglyph museum and the trail by Boyukdash mountain, 2–2.5 hours.
• 12:45 — change to a local car (4x4 or Lada), about 12 km and 30 min on the dirt track; 13:15–14:00 — the mud volcano field; 14:30 — back to the highway; back in Baku around 15:30–16:00.

Option 2, Absheron: Yanar Dag — Ateshgah — Gala — Mardakan.

• 09:15 — leave Baku; 10:00 — Yanar Dag (25 km, 45 min), which opens at 10:00; 30–45 min on site.
• 10:45 — drive to Ateshgah (20 km, 30 min); 11:15 — Ateshgah, 45 min – 1 hour.
• 12:30 — drive to Gala; 13:00 — the Gala reserve: fortress, open-air museum and workshops, about 2 hours. There is little shade, which makes it hard going in summer (Lonely Planet). 15:15 — Mardakan, the Quadrangular and Round towers; 16:30 — back to Baku.

What to eat

• Absheron saffron is famous for its taste and aroma; in the early 18th century there were hundreds of saffron plantations on Absheron. It flavours plov, piti and sujuk, and saffron syrup goes into pakhlava.
• Jorat bozbash, a hearty soup with meatballs stuffed with cherry plums, from the Absheron village of Jorat; Evelikli chilov, plov with dried sorrel and beans, served with garlic yoghurt; Shekerchorek, a rich shortbread biscuit.

Where to stay

We do not yet have hotels in Gobustan or on Absheron; these are day trips from Baku. Hotels in Baku: Baku Marriott Hotel Boulevard, Courtyard by Marriott Baku, Dinamo Hotel Baku, Excelsior Hotel & Spa Baku, Fairmont Baku Flame Towers, Four Seasons Hotel Baku, Hilton Baku, Hilton Garden Inn Baku, Holiday Inn Baku, Hyatt Regency Baku, InterContinental Baku, JW Marriott Absheron Baku, Mövenpick Hotel Winter Park Baku, Museum Inn, Radisson Hotel Baku, Ramada by Wyndham Baku, The Ritz-Carlton Baku, Sea Breeze Resort, Shah Palace Hotel, Sheraton Baku Intourist, Sultan Inn Boutique Hotel, Wyndham Baku.

When to go

• Yanar Dag and Ateshgah are open daily all year round.
• Gala is open all year except 1 January: summer hours (15 April – 15 October) 10:00–18:30, winter hours (16 October – 14 April) 09:30–17:30. In summer there is little shade at Gala, and in midsummer it is hard going (Lonely Planet).
• After rain the dirt track to the mud volcanoes can be washed out and a car may not get through (snarkynomad.com, 2016).

Frequently asked questions

Updated 30 October 2026. Prices and timetables of other companies can change — please check before you travel.