AZE: Qobustan Mud Volcanoes
Qobustan State Historical and Cultural Reserve, Qobustan, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan is known to be the country with the most mud volcanoes, having more than half of the world's 700 spready broadly across the country. The locals call them bozdag (lit. grey mountain). Still on the half-day group tour to Qobustan by TES Tour, we shall now move on to see those small mud-ejecting craters not too far from Qobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape.
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AZE: Qobustan Mud Volcanoes <YOU ARE HERE!>
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The journey to the mud volcanoes took less than 20 minutes.
There's no entrance fee to be paid to enter the site of the mud volcanoes.
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| I was truly awed by the colours of the landscape. |
The existence of the mud volcanoes can be traced back to 25 million years ago.
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| Deposits of oil and gas are found near mud volcanoes. |
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| The temperature of the mud is slightly lower than the ambient temperature. |
Here are two short video clips showing the bubbling of the mud. It kind of reminds me of Oniishi Bozu Jigoku, one of the Seven Hells of Beppu in Kyushu, Japan.
The mud contains no mineral whatsoever, but some locals believe in its healing properties. Our guide told us a story about a bus driver who was suffering from a bad skin allergy. He decided to apply the mud on his skin daily and eventually the allergy was gone.
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| Would you like to bring some home? |
That site with mud volcanoes covers a total area of 44 square kilometres.
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| The total area of mud volcano reserves throughout the country is approximately 123.2 square kilometres. |
The world's largest mud volcano, known as Toraghay, is located in Qobustan. We didn't see it though as it's located off the road.
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| Don't you love the colour of the cloudless sky? |
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| Some of the mud volcanoes rarely, but do erupt from time to time. |
After half an hour, we were driven back to central Baku.
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| Did you know that NASA has concluded that the mud volcanoes have a similar structure to the uplands of Mars? |
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| Anybody can tell me who's that? |
If you've got more time, you may want to consider joining the full-day version of the tour instead, which includes a stop for lunch after marvelling at the mud volcanoes, followed by a visit to Ateshgah Fire Temple and Yanar Dag, an eternally burning mountain. It's priced at US$38.00 (~S$51.10) per person.
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