Yanardag - fiery miracle of nature in Azerbaijan

An unusual mountain is located not far from Baku, which tourists visiting the capital of Azerbaijan must come to. And some travelers from Iran and India go to Azerbaijan solely for visiting this place. This mountain is called Yanardag, which means "burning mountain". The mountain really burns, with real fire.

The thing is that on the territory of the Absheron Peninsula, on which the city of Baku and its environs is located, there is a large hydrocarbon deposit. Natural gas, located in the bowels of Mount Yanardag, found a way out, where it ignited. This mountain, rather, is a hill, a height of just over 100 meters. And the ignition of natural gas occurred not ten, not one hundred and not even five hundred years ago. According to legend, the fire has been burning here for thousands of years.

And if we turn to the real facts related to the age of the burning mountain of Yanardag, then we can mention the journey of Marco Polo. The famous Italian on his way to Persia visited Baku and witnessed this natural phenomenon, about which he wrote in his memoirs. In the XIII century, when Marco Polo was in these parts, dozens of such lights blazed here. Already in those distant days, Azerbaijan was producing oil, which people used to illuminate rooms and streets, as well as a cure for skin diseases.

It is interesting that natural fire does not go out during rain and bad weather, and also does not extend anywhere beyond the slope where the gas escapes. The smell of burning is distinctly felt in the air. And not far from the burning hill is a small mud volcano.

The burning mountain of Yanardag is a place of pilgrimage for fans of Zoroastrianism. For adherents of this religion, fire is a sacred element, therefore the Absheron peninsula with its burning hills has been popular with the Zoroastrians since ancient times. On the peninsula, the Zoroastrian temple Ateshgah of the 17th century was even preserved, the construction of which was also associated with the exit point of burning gases.

Getting to this natural eternal flame is quite simple. After spending about half an hour, you can get there from the Baku bus station by regular bus. According to the recollections of people who visited this amazing place, Mount Yanardag looks especially spectacular at dusk and at night.