ABSHERON

Duration: 1 Day (4-5 hours)

Pick-up & Drop-off:  hotel (within Baku)

Guide: Personal English speaking guide (other languages on request)

Transportation: Personal Driver & air-conditioned vehicle

Tickets: Entrance fees to Ateshgah, Gala Museum & Yanardag

Customizable: Yes

Not Included:  Any Meals, Fees for taking photos in historical sites, Personal Expenses, Insurance

Tour Highlights:

(Ateshgah Temple, Gala Museum Complex, Yanardag)

Ateshgah Temple

The temple of fire worshippers Ateshgah is located at the Apsheron peninsula at the outskirts of Surakhani village in

30 km from the centre of Baku and was revered in different times by Zoroastrians, Hindus and Sikhs. This territory is

known for such unique natural phenomenon as burning natural gas outlets (underground gas coming onto surface contacts oxygen and lights up). The temple in its present state was constructed in the 17th-18th centuries. It was built by the Baku-based Hindu community related to Sikhs. Pentagonal complex has an open courtyard with temple- altar in the center which was the place of pilgrimage for worshippers. By the decree of the President of Azerbaijan Ateshgah was declared a State historical-architectural reserve. This museum under the open sky was recently restored. Different workshops and souvenir galleries are located here now.

Gala Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum Complex

The Gala state archaeological and ethnographic museum complex is considered one of the most interesting tourist sites in Baku. One can see the burial mounds, tombs, houses, constructions, water storages, the ruins of an ancient castle, five mosques, three baths and others in the territory of this complex. All this was discovered on the Absheron Peninsula and related to the period from the third millennium BC to the twentieth century. The first archaeological and ethnographic complex in the open air was established in 2008 to preserve these monuments, as well as to replenish them as a result of the archaeological excavations in Absheron.

Yanardag

One of the most famous and popular tourist places of the “eternal flame” in Azerbaijan is the mountain of Yanar Dag. Actually, it is rather a hill than a mountain, with natural gas burning on its slope from ancient times. Meter- long tongues of fire are licking the stratified earth approximately for 10 m in width, searing those who approached too close. People occupy the benches to watch the blazing hill in the evening, when its sight is most effective. Yanar Dag  is  located  25  km  to the  north  from  Baku.  From  the  year 2007  Yanar Dag  is  declared  a  state-protected conservation area.