Nature of Azerbaijan - national parks and reserves for active recreation

The Gobustan National Park is the main national reserve of Azerbaijan. Besides its wonderful nature, this park is primarily famous for ancient carvings, mud volcanoes, and gas-stones. The landmark is protected by UNESCO. The national park is located just fifty kilometers from the capital city, so it is a wonderful place to visit during a one-day excursion. Don’t forget to see the mud volcanoes – the greyish ground has cracks with small cones that munch and bubble frequently. As the mud is mixed with underwater springs and oil, it doesn’t become hot. The area looks very unusual and looks more like Mars rather than Earth.

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Carvings, another landmark of this park, date back to prehistoric times and the Middle Ages. There are more than six thousand drawings in total that depict people, animals, and hunting scenes. The drawings are scattered in the park, so how to find them? For this purpose, look at the mountains. The most famous carvings can be found in Jinghindagh, Boyukdash, Kichikdash, and Shighgaya mountains. Among carvings, it is possible to see various everyday life pictures, such as scenes of fishing, drawings of totems, and sacred animals. Tiles with Latin words traditionally attract many visitors. These inscriptions were left by Roman soldiers.

In Azerbaijan, there is a fabulous natural landmark, the name of which translates as the “Fire Mountain”. This is Yanar Dag that is located on the Absheron Peninsula. This is a true “Land of Fire” that neither rain nor human can extinguish! The idea of covering the fire with a layer of sand also didn’t help. The fire hasn’t stopped for centuries! The view is thrilling and exciting at the same time. It looks like magic, but there is a scientific explanation for this fact. The uppermost layer of soil is rich in gas that starts burning when mixed with air. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

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Of course, ancient people created many legends about this phenomenon. It is believed that the fire is sacred. That is why so many pilgrims from different parts of the world visit this place to see the fire and meditate. That being said, travelers from all continents, who see nothing mystical in the fire, still want to visit Yanar Dag because this is a unique opportunity to take mesmerizing photographs. The area looks particularly wonderful during the sunset when last sunrays reflect in tongues of flame, creating mesmerizing pictures and fabulous views. Don’t forget to explore one more interesting landmark – the Wolve's Gates cave that has prehistoric carvings.

Azerbaijan has one more interesting natural landmark that backpackers usually enjoy exploring – Lake Göygöl. The fabulous lake is a part of the park with the same name that has a diverse flora and fauna. Unfortunately, it is not possible to swim in the lake unless you can swim in really cold water. The temperature of water in Lake Göygöl is rarely higher than 17°C. However, it is incredibly pleasant to simply admire the gorgeous view! The lake has such clean water that it is easy to see the bottom. Local air is also unique and famous for its healing properties.

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In the Göygöl National Park, there are more than four hundred different tree and herb types. The most typical local fauna includes the fox, wolf, deer, roe, bear, boar, goat, jackal, badger, and lynx. In total, there are several trails of a different complexity level in the park. It is better not to explore them alone though. It will be also more interesting to hire a guide who will show the most beautiful areas of the park. By the way, there are also some manmade landmarks here, such as a Lutheran church that dates back to the 19th century and three old bridges.

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