What You Will Do
Absheron Peninsula half day tour lasts about 4 hours and designed for tourists and visitors who are interested in the history and culture of the country. These places will be visited during the tour:
- Fire Temple (Ateshgah)
- Burning Mountain (Yanardag)
- Heydar Aliyev cultural center
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Itinerary
1
Ateshgah - Fire Temple
30 minutes
The Baku Ateshgah (from Persian: آتشگاه, Atashgāh, Azerbaijani: Atəşgah), often called the "Fire Temple of Baku" is a castle-like religious temple in Surakhani town, a suburb in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Based on Persian inscriptions, the temple was used as a Hindu, Sikh, and Zoroastrian place of worship. "Atash" (آتش) is the Persian word for fire. 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 natural eternal flame went out in 1969, after nearly a century of exploitation of petroleum and gas in the area, but is now lit by gas piped from the nearby city.
2
Yanardag State Historical, Cultural and Natural Reserve
20 minutes
Going on our tour next destination will be Yanardag (Burning Mountain), where our guest will discover the natural fire burning steadily.
Yanar Dag (Azerbaijani: Yanar Dağ, meaning "burning mountain") is a natural gas fire which blazes continuously on a hillside on the Absheron Peninsula on the Caspian Sea near Baku. Unlike mud volcanoes, the Yanar Dag flame burns fairly steadily, as it involves a steady seep of gas from the subsurface. It is claimed that the Yanar Dag flame was only noted when accidentally lit by a shepherd in the 1950s.
3
Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center
20 minutes
As the last destination of our tour will be the Heydar Aliyev center. The Heydar Aliyev Center is a 57,500 m2 (619,000 sq ft) building complex in Baku, Azerbaijan designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid and noted for its distinctive architecture and flowing, curved style that eschews sharp angles.The center is named after Heydar Aliyev, the first secretary of Soviet Azerbaijan from 1969 to 1982, and president of Azerbaijan Republic from October 1993 to October 2003.
Show 2 more stops