Baku to Naftalan: How to Get There and What to See

Naftalan is a spa resort where people are treated with heavy naftalan oil: baths, applications and physiotherapy. The resort has been operating since 1933. According to the city executive authority’s website, Nizami wrote about the healing ointment in the 12th century and Marco Polo in the 13th. In 2022 about 40,000 people were treated here, more than 7,000 of them from abroad. People come for a course of treatment of 1–3 weeks rather than for a single day.

How to get there from Baku

• By car: about 330 km; from Baku airport about 353 km, roughly 4 h 30 min. You leave the M2 highway for the R25.
• By train via Goran: Goran station is 18 km from Naftalan. There are 2 trains a day from Baku, both in the evening, taking about 5 hours to Goran; tickets from 9 AZN (the source gives no date). From Goran, continue by minibus or car.
• By train via Ganja: about 4 hours, $6–14 (as of 30 October 2026); from Ganja it is 50 km, about an hour.
• By bus: daily buses leave the Baku International Bus Terminal. Another way is to take any bus along the highway, get off at Goran and continue by minibus.
• By air: the nearest airport is Ganja, about 50 km away (≈ 45 min). It has flights from Moscow (Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo), Istanbul and Nakhchivan; there are no flights from Baku (as of 17 June 2026).

What to see

• Museum of Crutches (Qoltuqağacı muzeyi) — hundreds of crutches left behind by patients after treatment, with tags bearing a name and year. About 30 minutes.
• Museum of History and Regional Studies — the history of the town and the resort, geology, ethnography and tools for extracting naftalan. About 45 minutes.
• Heydar Aliyev Museum and Park — a museum in the central park since 2006, with more than 200 photos and exhibits. About 30 minutes.
• Heydar Aliyev Center — a gallery (free entry), a library and a conference hall. About 30 minutes.
• Health resorts — the city executive authority lists 13 treatment centres. Baths are usually given 9:00–17:00; the Chinar clinic is closed on Sundays.
• How treatment works: according to AZERTAC, a naftalan bath is taken at 37–38 °C for 8–10 minutes, followed by a shower and 15–20 minutes of rest. Depending on the sanatorium, there are also hand and foot baths, applications, physiotherapy, paraffin and iodine-bromine baths. Before a course you see a doctor and have tests: baths are not prescribed without a doctor’s approval, and the examination takes a day.
• What it is used for: according to the resort (eurasia.travel), joints and the spine, the skin (psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis), the nervous system, blood vessels, gynaecology and urology. According to AZERTAC, a course of 14–21 days is recommended; sanatorium packages start from 7 nights at higher-class sanatoria and from 5 nights at budget ones.
• Contraindications, according to the Mayrveda medical clinic: intolerance to naftalan, uncontrolled high blood pressure, acute infections, fever, malignant tumours, pregnancy and breastfeeding. The final decision rests with the sanatorium doctor.
• Safety: the data disagree (Wikipedia). Studies in Zagreb in the 1970s found no carcinogenicity, while The New York Times wrote in 2006 about naphthalene as a carcinogen.
• Nearby: Ganja, 50 km (40–60 min) — the Nizami Mausoleum, the Juma Mosque and the Bottle House. Allow half a day.

One-day route

For a sanatorium guest on a free day (or on a Sunday, when the Chinar clinic is closed).

• 09:00 — Treatments as prescribed by your doctor (baths are usually given 9:00–17:00).
• 10:30 — The Museum of Crutches and the Museum of History and Regional Studies.
• 12:00 — Heydar Aliyev Park and Museum.
• 13:00 — Leave for Ganja: 50 km, 40–60 min.
• 14:00 — Ganja: lunch, the Nizami Mausoleum (open until 18:00), the Juma Mosque, the Bottle House and Javad Khan Street.
• 17:30 — Back to Naftalan.

What to eat

Meals are included in sanatorium packages. Ganja dishes — pakhlava, dovga, kata and shah plov — are covered in our Ganja guide.

Where to stay

Hotels and sanatoriums in Naftalan on our site include Garabagh Resort & Spa, Chinar Hotel & Spa, Sun City Hotel & Spa, Gold Naftalan & Spa Hotel, Naftalan Central Wellness Resort and Kurort Naftalan; 12 in total.

When to go

• Sanatoriums are open all year. High season runs roughly from 1 May to 1 November; from 1 November prices are lower.
• Summers are hot and winters mild; the average annual temperature is 14.3 °C, and the town lies at 238 m.
• A tourism website recommends the warm months: in cold weather the baths may be less beneficial.

Frequently asked questions

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