Azerbaijan: the land of burning flames

Fuel surcharge
Professional guide
Hotel pickup and drop-off

Excluded
Food and drinks
Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
Entrance tickets
Entry/Admission - Cactus Tours Azerbaijan
Entry/Admission - Ateshgah - Fire Temple
Entry/Admission - Yanar Dag

Traveler pickup is offered
We pick up from any hotel in Baku

10:00 AM

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Cactus Tours Azerbaijan, 151 Neftchilar Ave. Colab at Port Baku Towers, Baku 1010 Azerbaijan

Our accredited tour guide and professional driver will pick you from your hotel or apartment and take you to the Ateshgah Fire Temple and Yanardag Burning Mountain

Duration: 1 minute

Stop At: Ateshgah - Fire Temple, Сураханский район, Baku Azerbaijan

Ateshgah often called the "Fire Temple of Baku" is a castle-like religious temple in Surakhani town, a suburb in Baku. The pentagonal complex, which has a courtyard surrounded by cells for monks and a tetrapillar-altar in the middle, was built during the 17th and 18th centuries. It was abandoned in the late 19th century, probably due to the dwindling of the Indian population in the area. The Baku Ateshgah was a pilgrimage and philosophical center of Zoroastrians from Northwestern Indian Subcontinent, who were involved in trade with the Caspian area via the famous "Grand Trunk Road". The Temple of Fire "Ateshgah" was nominated for List of World Heritage Sites, UNESCO in 1998

Duration: 50 minutes

Stop At: Yanar Dag, Binagadi-Balakhany Highway Absheron Peninsula - Village of Mammadli, Baku 0125 Azerbaijan

Yanardag is natural gas fire which blazes continuously on a hillside on the Absheron Peninsula on the Caspian Sea near Baku. Flames jet into the air 3 metres (9.8 ft) from a thin, porous sandstone layer. The reason offered for the Yanar Dag fires is the result of hydrocarbon gases emanating from below the earth's surface. Alexandre Dumas, during one of his visits to the area, described a similar fire he saw in the region inside one of the Zoroastrian fire temples built around it. Only a handful of fire mountains exist today in the world, and most are located in Azerbaijan. Due to the large concentration of natural gas under the Absheron Peninsula, natural flames burned there throughout antiquity and were reported on by historical writers such as Marco Polo.

People often go there to see these dancing flames which never get extinguished and enjoy a cup of tea at the nearby café. It's a fascinating phenomenon to watch, especially at dusk. It's easy to understand how such eternal fires, fueled from the earth itself, became objects of worship.The appearance of the Zoroastrians in Azerbaijan almost 2,000 years ago is closely connected with these geological phenomena, and, according to one theory, the name "Azerbaijan" itself was derived from the word for "fire" in Persian. The cult of fire worship was paramount throughout the history of pre-Islam in this region.


Duration: 50 minutes

Hotel pick-up is offered for this tour. Note: if you are booking within 24 hours of the tour/activity departure time, we cannot guarantee hotel pick-up. Once your purchase is complete, we will send you complete contact information (phone number, email address, etc.) for our local operator to organize pick-up arrangements.

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Please kindly contact before booking
Stroller accessible
Infant seats available
Most travelers can participate
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate