Mud volcanoes of Qobustan

Located less than an hour south of Azerbaijan's capital of Baku is the town of Qobustan. The town itself is rather unremarkable. Although it does have a pleasant setting, wedged between the Caspian Sea and some desertified hills. The town of 14,000 people has some basic amenities, like a cafe or two and a couple of shops, but really that's about it. However, it's not the town that tourists come here for. It's not even the sea views, or even the hills. And it's definitely not the cafes. But it's two ancient attractions, located in the nearby hills that bring people here.

To get to Qobustan, you can take a public bus from the centre of Baku (80 kopek). Once you arrive in town, you will surely be surrounded by dozens of local taxi drivers asking to take you to the mud volcanoes. As your ill-equipped Lada traverses the terrain you hold on for dear life as it starts to climb one of the hills. Although the hill seems, at first, quite ordinary, you soon come to realize the attraction. Dozens of 1 to 3 meter tall mounds gurgle as you approach. These are mud volcanoes. The term mud volcano or mud dome is used to refer to formations created by geo-excreted liquids and gases. As the gases get trapped in the Earth, they seek the easiest way out. And here is where they like to vent. Now temperatures are much cooler than igneous processes, so it's certainly not like lava or anything, but interesting none-the-less. It is estimated that 300 of the planet's estimated 700 mud volcanoes sit in Eastern Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea. Even in their less active periods, they still bubble-bubble. I couldn't help but giggle as the Earth belched at me. So with flatulence properly photographed, i scrapped the caked on mud from my shoes and headed to the other of the attractions nearby.

Established in 1966, the Qobustan State reserve is very rich in archaeological monuments. The reserve has more than 600,000 rock paintings, which depict primitive men, animals, battle-pieces, ritual dances, bullfights, boats with armed oarsmen, warriors with lances in their hands, camel caravans, pictures of sun and stars, on the average dating back to 5,000-20,000 years. Today Gobustan is the most popular state reserve and is an invaluable treasure-house of Azerbaijan. The tour is highly suggested, even at a price of 6 Manat. However, unless you absolutely love rock carvings, you could probably miss this one. All in all, Qobustan makes for an interesting day trip out of Baku. It's not so expensive, and it's easy for even the most inexperienced traveller. Just remember to bargain hard for the taxi. It should cost 20 Manat. And DO NOT take a taxi from Baku, as they have no idea how to find the volcanoes. There are no signs, you'll definitely need a local driver.