Gobustan and Absheron trip (Group or Private)
Description
Explore the Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape and the Absheron Peninsula on this full-day tour that begins with pickup from your hotel in Baku. Head to Gobustan to see 40,000-year-old rock carvings from the Stone Age and mud volcanoes. Then, head to Absheron to learn why Azerbaijan is called the “Land of Fire,” and see where Zoroastrianism began.
Tour Options
Itinerary
You'll get picked up from your accommodation in Baku. The tour starts at around 9 a.m. in front of the Double Gates of Old City Baku (Gosha Gala Gapisi).
pas by Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum which has the largest collection of Azerbaijani carpets in the world.
pass by National Flag Square
Step back in time on this fascinating journey to Gobustan, where ancient history comes to life! During the tour, you’ll explore both the Gobustan indoor and open-air museums, home to one of the world’s richest collections of prehistoric rock art. Discover over 6,000 remarkably preserved petroglyphs—some dating back 40,000 years—etched into stone by early humans. Wander through ancient caves, see remnants of early settlements and burials, and marvel at how this UNESCO World Heritage Site showcases the evolution of human life from the Upper Paleolithic to the Middle Ages. Gobustan offers a truly unique glimpse into the past, revealing stories of early hunting, wildlife, and daily life, all set against a dramatic and timeless landscape.
Depends on the weather. Azerbaijan is known in the first place for mud volcanoes in the world. These volcanoes spread through Azerbaijan and local people call them “Yanardagh” (burning mountain), “gaynacha” (boiling water) and “bozdag” (grey mountain) alongside its geographical name - mud volcanoes. 350 out of the 800 mud volcanoes known in the World are located in Azerbaijan. Most of them are situated in the Gobustan region. Some of the volcanoes are considered natural monuments and natural national resources of Azerbaijan.We are going there with special taxi because of road conditions which fee is included to the tour. During this trip, you will get a great chance to see these amazing active volcanoes from a very close distance.We will provide the extra another car to Soviet SUV Lada to go to volcanoes.
Enjoy lunch at a traditional local restaurant. Please note that the cost of lunch is not included in the tour price.
Discover the impressive Gobustan State Historical-Artistic Reserve Museum—a modern, interactive experience that brings ancient history to life! Opened in 2011 after a major renovation, the museum features over 100,000 archaeological finds. As you enter, you’re greeted by petroglyphs resembling the traditional Azerbaijani Yalli dance. Inside, explore themed sections using touchscreen displays available in multiple languages. From stone tools of the Paleolithic to animated videos showing dramatic changes in nature and human life, this museum offers a fascinating look into the culture, beliefs, and daily lives of ancient civilizations. A perfect start to your visit before heading out to explore the open-air reserve!
After lunch, we’ll visit Ateshgah, also known as the Fire Temple of Baku. Located in the Surakhani district, this unique temple was once a place of worship for Zoroastrians, Hindus, and Sikhs over the centuries. The name ‘Atash’ means ‘fire’ in Persian, and the temple was built around natural gas flames that burned continuously. Dating back to the 17th–18th centuries, Ateshgah became an important pilgrimage site until the late 1800s. The temple has a five-sided structure with fortress-like walls, an arched entrance, and a central altar in the courtyard where fire-worshippers once gathered.
Azerbaijan’s iconic "Burning mountain"-Yanardag is located north of Baku city, around 23km from the Old Town. The main attraction of Yanardag is a spectacular hill with a constantly burning wall of flames. Thanks to tectonic shifts and volcanic material below the earth’s surface, natural gas leaks from the rocks. The Italian trader and traveler Marco Polo even mentioned the flames during his travels to Baku and its surroundings, but most probably the fire has been burning for over more years at Yanardag. The fire line surrounding the foot of the summit will give you an impression of the Land of Lights and leave an unforgettable memory of the tour.To protect Yanardagh and attract tourists here, this area was declared a historical, cultural and natural reserve in 2007.
Bibi - Heybat Mosque. The mosque was built in 1267-1300. It was a rare construction, both with its beauty and history of creation.The Bibi-Heybat Mosque includes the tomb of Ukeyma Khanum (a descendant of Muhammad), and today is the spiritual center for the Muslims of the region and one of the major monuments of Islamic architecture in Azerbaijan.It is locally known as "the mosque of Fatima".
You'll return to the starting point.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Depending to weather condition, mud volcanoes can be excluded from the tour
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 17 travelers
Reviews(97)
Leyla was our guide and she was really the reason why we enjoyed the day! She was punctual, organized and informative. But also simply just lovely! With her we reached the places before the crowds and that made a huge difference. I will definitely contact her when I’m back in town.
The trip was amazing and the tour guide Leyla made our trip memorable. Thank you leyla it was so much fun today . Everything was so good.
The tour was one of the worst I've ever done. From the beginning, a total disorganization was noticed by our Guide (Solmaz/Sofía). She asked us to be on time at the pickup point at 8:30 but arrived for us at almost 8:50. The tour was supposed to start at 9:00 but due to the total disorganization in the collection of people we ended up starting the tour at almost 10:30. The Guide had us waiting without major apology or explanation in a van without air conditioning. The information shared by the Guide also left much to be desired and your command of English too. When one of the clients corrected an erroneous fact that the Guide told, she reacted with arrogance and told him that she only tells the right things and that the one that is wrong is for sure him. We had told her that we had an event at 18:00 in Baku and that please we needed to come back on time, she said it would not be a problem. At 18:30 we were still in the minivan. Our Guide did not give us a satisfactory solution and could not even help us to miss a taxi to get to the event. Apart from all this, the driver was driving while looking at his cell phone and throwing trash out the window and to make things even worse... seat belts weren't working. In short, a total dropout and a very bad time. I don't recommend it to anyone.
Absolute disappointment!! The guide Sofia only knew random facts and she was not knowledgeable at all. When someone contradicted her, she was arrogant and behaved rudely. Many people in my group were disgusted with her, and some didn't even want to finish the tour. The van driver was very unpleasant and didn't know how to drive properly. We even saw him littering: he threw dirty socks he had just taken off onto the street. I never write reviews, but this time it was an experience I wouldn't wish on anyone. Besides, the tour began 2 hours later and finished 2 hours later. We didn't even get an apology but only excuses... Really the worst tour in my life!!
It saddens me to write my first negative review after around 50 trips across the globe with Viator but here it is. We waited in Baku for an hour. My seatbelt didn’t work, the driver was on his phone whilst driving. There was no WiFi on the minibus as described. We wasted further time waiting for one guest at a supermarket as no clear time limit was given to guests at stops. The driver at the mud volcanoes was totally reckless and would not slow down when asked ( avoid dark red Lada 90 CH 714) though some other guests had better drivers going at normal speeds. When I wrote afterwards to the company, it was excused by guide Sofia as no one else complains about the‘Adrenaline filled adventure tour.’ Nowhere in the description did the tour describe itself as ‘adrenaline filled’ and there’s a difference between adrenaline filled and plain DANGEROUS! The tour actually describes the vehicles as 4WD. They are not. We left the tour when it returned to Baku at lunchtime. This was 2pm. How they were meant to have lunch then do the afternoon part of the tour and return by 5pm I do not know.
Our tour guide was awesome! He was very knowledgeable, funny and super outgoing. He was so friendly and very personable. We enjoyed seeing and experiencing the mud volcanoes, the burning mountain and the petroglyphs. We were granted 20 min at each stop, which was more than enough time to explore and take photos. However, as a warning, the washroom situations at each stop of the tour were terrible. No toilet paper, no soap, and broken or unusable sinks. Many locations, especially the lunch spot, had washrooms that were very unkept and dirty. Would recommend packing your own toilet paper and sanitizer. Additionally, the lunch was at about 3:30 pm so packing snacks is a must.
The trip was managed by Toghrul, an experienced tour guide. Not only was he super knowledgable about the history of the place and the country, he also kept time to ensure that the tour went as scheduled for all 16 people involved in the tour. He was courteous, professional and had a great sense of humor. Overall, it was a very enjoyable trip!
The guide was very nice and friendly, but he did not talk too much, mainly few sentances in each place. He promised to take us to mud volcanoes, but we didn't go there at all. Instead we spent almost two hours at the fire Temple because one couple was so interested about it.
Very good experience. The guide was great and helpful. We missed the world's first oil well. The tour was well organized and the guide was punctual in the morning.
If you like history, this tour is definitely for you. Yusif was very nice to us and while tour explained all our questions. Additionally, mud volcanoes were very interesting and enjoyable. I highly recommend to try this tour and discover historical monuments of Baku! ♥️
