# Gobustan rock art and mud volcanoes near Baku > Gobustan is a UNESCO-listed rock art reserve 60–70 km south-west of Baku: more than 6,000 Stone Age carvings on sandstone boulders above the Caspian, plus a modern museum. Entry is about 10–15 AZN (unofficial), it’s open daily — 10:00–17:00 in November. Allow about 3 hours on site with the mud volcanoes, and most of a day with the drive. Web page: https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/gobustan - City: [Baku](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku), Azerbaijan - YesGo score: 19/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 3 h - With kids: Fine with kids - Entry: ≈ 10–15 AZN: museum and petroglyph trail (unofficial) - Where to buy: iTicket.AZ app and box offices, or at the museum desk - Hours: Daily 10:00–17:00 in November - Closed: Open every day - Mud volcanoes: Separate visitor complex, ≈ 15 AZN (unofficial) - Ride to the volcanoes: Local Lada taxis on dirt tracks, ≈ 20–30 AZN per car, cash - From Baku: ≈ 1 hour by taxi; 1.5–2 hours by buses 125 and 195 - Time needed: ≈ 3 hours on site: 1.5 for the rock art, 1.5 for the volcanoes - Coordinates: 40.10556, 49.38889 - Facts checked: 02.11.2026 ## Key facts - **6,000+** — rock carvings — hunters, boats, dancers and animals (source: English and Russian Wikipedia; iTicket.AZ) - **2007** — Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (source: English and Russian Wikipedia; iTicket.AZ) - **60–70 km** — south-west of Baku along the Caspian coast (source: iTicket.AZ (60 km); English Wikipedia (70 km)) - **1966** — the reserve was founded (source: Russian Wikipedia (Azerbaijan SSR government decree); iTicket.AZ) - **537 ha** — protected rock art landscape, inside a buffer zone of ≈ 3,096 ha (source: English and Russian Wikipedia) - **AD 84–96** — Latin inscription of the Roman Legio XII Fulminata under Domitian, on Boyukdash (source: English and Russian Wikipedia) - **1948** — archaeologist Ishag Jafarzadeh found the Roman inscription (source: English and Russian Wikipedia) - **Gaval Dash** — a ‘singing’ stone that rings like a tambourine when struck (source: English and Russian Wikipedia) - **3 mountains** — hold the main carvings — Boyukdash, Kichikdash and Jingirdagh (source: English and Russian Wikipedia) - **12 ha** — Mud Volcanoes Tourism Complex, opened June 2024 (source: Office of the President of Azerbaijan; iTicket.AZ) - **Thor Heyerdahl** — studied the carvings on visits from 1981 (source: English and Russian Wikipedia) ## Gobustan tickets and opening hours We couldn’t find an official price list online. **Unofficially**, guidebooks and tour operators put adult entry at **about 10–15 AZN**, covering the museum and the petroglyph trail; under-6s are free. Tickets are also sold through iTicket.AZ, which lists a 1–15 AZN range for the reserve — so there are concession rates. According to iTicket.AZ sessions, the reserve is open **every day, 10:00–17:00 in November**. Guides quote longer summer hours; check before you go. The mud volcanoes are a separate site: the visitor complex charges its own fee (about 15 AZN, unofficial), and the Lada ride across the steppe is paid in cash per car. **Paying:** Visa and Mastercard work widely in Baku and city buses take contactless cards, but bring manat cash for the suburban bus 195, local taxis and the Lada drivers. > **Rain closes the road to the volcanoes** The tracks to the mud volcanoes are unpaved. After rain they turn to clay and drivers simply won’t go, so check the forecast — and if it has rained, plan the rock art only. Bring cash: the Lada drivers don’t take cards. ## Is Gobustan worth visiting? **Yes, if ancient history is your thing or you have a second or third day in Baku.** The carvings are genuinely old and some — the long reed boats, the line of dancers, the big-horned bulls — are striking up close. The mud volcanoes are pure fun: grey cones burping cold mud on an empty plain. It is less rewarding if you expect cave-painting colour: these are engravings on weathered stone, best in low side light. With only one day in Baku, skip it and spend the time in the [Old City](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/baku-old-town) — the round trip eats half the day. ## How to get to Gobustan from the Old City 1. Easiest: a **taxi or Bolt** from the Old City — about an hour each way. Agree a price for the whole trip, including waiting and the run to the mud volcanoes; you won’t find a ride back at the museum. 2. By bus: from Azneft Square on the seafront (10–15 minutes’ walk from the Old City), take **bus 125** south to Karvansaray Shopping Centre — about 30 minutes. 3. Cross the road to Bina Shopping Centre and take **bus 195** to Qobustan village, getting off at the House of Culture — about 45 minutes. This bus may be cash only. 4. From the village, a local taxi gets you to the museum in about 10 minutes; the mud volcanoes are about another 30 minutes on dirt tracks. 5. Return on bus 195 the same way — ask the driver about the last departure, as buses thin out in the evening. ## What to see at the Gobustan petroglyphs - **The museum at the foot of Boyukdash** — start here: interactive rooms, models of the old camps and the background you need to read the carvings. - **Reed boats with rowers** — long vessels with a sun disc at the prow, the carvings Thor Heyerdahl compared with Scandinavian rock art. - **The line of dancers** — figures holding hands, often linked to the Azerbaijani folk dance yalli. - **Bulls, goats and archers** — the oldest, largest figures, easy to spot from the path. - **Gaval Dash** — a flat boulder that rings like a tambourine when tapped with a pebble. - **The Roman inscription** on Boyukdash — left by a centurion of Legio XII Fulminata under Domitian, the easternmost Latin inscription known. It is off the main loop; ask a warden. - **Caspian views** from the top of the trail, with the flat volcano cones on the horizon. ## The Gobustan mud volcanoes These are low grey cones that bubble and spit **cold** mud and gas — no lava, no heat. Azerbaijan has one of the largest concentrations of mud volcanoes in the world, and the hills around Gobustan are full of them. A purpose-built visitor complex opened in June 2024 on 12 hectares, with walkways, a viewing point, a mineral exhibition and a café. Many visitors still ride out in an old Soviet Lada to the wilder cones — part of the fun, and the first route to close after rain. Wear shoes you don’t mind ruining and carry wet wipes and water: the mud is sticky and dries fast. Don’t step into the craters — the edges are soft. ## Gobustan tour or on your own? You can do it independently, but the last leg is the hard part: a local taxi to the museum and a 4×4-ish ride to the volcanoes. A tour sorts both and adds a guide, which matters here — many carvings are easy to walk past without someone pointing them out. The classic day trip from Baku is **Gobustan and Absheron**: rock art and mud volcanoes in the morning, then the [Ateshgah Fire Temple](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/ateshgah-fire-temple) and the burning hillside of [Yanar Dag](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/yanar-dag) at dusk, when the flames show best. Group tours leave between about 7:30 and 9:30 am and are back in the evening; a private car for Gobustan alone takes 5–6 hours. Two or three people happy to haggle will save money doing it themselves. Solo travellers without Russian or Azerbaijani usually find a tour easier. ## Before you go: checklist - [ ] Manat cash for entry, taxis and the Lada ride - [ ] Checked the forecast — no recent rain - [ ] Closed, sturdy shoes for a rocky trail - [ ] Water, hat and sunscreen — almost no shade - [ ] A windproof layer for the coast - [ ] Wet wipes for the mud volcanoes - [ ] Driver agreed for the volcanoes and the way back ## Gobustan and Absheron in one day Rock art and mud volcanoes in the morning, the fire temple after lunch, the burning hillside at dusk. Add them to your route — YesGo fits in the timing and transfers. 1. [Gobustan rock art and mud volcanoes](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/gobustan) — YesGo score 19/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · ≈ 10–15 AZN, volcanoes extra 2. [Ateshgah Fire Temple](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/ateshgah-fire-temple) — YesGo score 28/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · 15 AZN for foreign visitors 3. [Yanar Dag](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/yanar-dag) — YesGo score 29/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · 15 AZN foreigners, under-12s free ## Baku’s historic sights compared Every historic sight in Baku rated by YesGo. - [Maiden Tower](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/baku-maiden-tower) — YesGo score 52/100 (Yes, go) · 45 min · 19 AZN for foreign visitors - [Old City (Icherisheher)](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/baku-old-town) — YesGo score 51/100 (Yes, go) · 3 h · Free entry, museums from 10 ₼ - [Palace of the Shirvanshahs](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/shirvanshahs-palace) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 15 min · 24 AZN for foreign visitors - [Flame Towers and Highland Park](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/flame-towers) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free; funicular 1 AZN - [Baku Boulevard](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/baku-boulevard) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Free - [Heydar Aliyev Center](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/heydar-aliyev-center) — YesGo score 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · 15 AZN; classic cars +10 AZN - [Azerbaijan Carpet Museum](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/baku-carpet-museum) — YesGo score 37/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · 10 AZN for foreigners, students 3 AZN - [Ateshgah Fire Temple](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/ateshgah-fire-temple) — YesGo score 28/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · 15 AZN for foreign visitors - [Gobustan rock art and mud volcanoes](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/gobustan) — YesGo score 19/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · ≈ 10–15 AZN, volcanoes extra ## Good to know Gobustan (Qobustan) is also the name of a district and a town further inland — the rock art reserve is near Qobustan village on the coast. Spring and autumn are the best seasons: summer on the plateau is very hot with little shade, and winter brings strong Caspian winds. ## Tips - Arrive at opening time — the trail is cooler and quieter before noon. - The museum takes 20–30 minutes; save your time for the rocks themselves. - Haggle with taxi drivers before you get in, and agree a price per car, not per person. - Pair it with Ateshgah and Yanar Dag — reach the burning hill around dusk. - Stay on the marked path between the boulders: snakes are about in summer. - Spring, when the Judas trees bloom at the entrance, is the most photogenic time. ## Questions ### How much is the entrance fee for Gobustan National Park? Unofficially, about 10–15 AZN for adults, including the museum and the petroglyph trail; under-6s are free. The mud volcano complex and the Lada ride are extra. ### What are Gobustan opening hours? It’s open daily. In November the hours are 10:00–17:00 according to iTicket.AZ; summer hours are longer — check before you go. ### How do I get to Gobustan from Baku? By taxi or Bolt in about an hour, or by bus 125 from Azneft Square to Karvansaray Shopping Centre, then bus 195 to Qobustan village and a short local taxi to the museum. ### How far is Gobustan from Baku? About 60–70 km south-west of the city centre — roughly an hour by car along the coast road. ### Is Gobustan worth it? Yes, for history lovers or on a second day in Baku. With only one day, stay in the city: the round trip takes half of it. ### How long do you need at Gobustan? About 1.5 hours for the museum and trail, and another 1.5 hours for the mud volcanoes including the ride. Half a day from Baku, a full day with Absheron. ### How do you get to the Gobustan mud volcanoes? They are about 10 km from the museum on dirt tracks — by local Lada taxi or on a tour. A visitor complex with its own entry opened nearby in 2024. Rain closes the tracks. ### Can I visit Gobustan without a tour? Yes. Buses and taxis get you there, but you’ll need a local driver for the last leg and the volcanoes. A tour is simpler if you travel alone. ### Can you pay by card at Gobustan? Bring cash in manats. Cards are widely accepted in Baku, but the suburban bus, local taxis and Lada drivers expect cash. ## How we checked We couldn’t find an official reserve website with prices — gobustan.gov.az does not resolve. Daily opening and hours come from iTicket.AZ ticket sessions for November 2026, so they are marked “verifying”. Prices are unofficial: guides and tour operators quote 9, 10 and 15 AZN for the reserve, so we show 10–15. Buses 125 and 195 are confirmed by two guides, though their dates are old. Distances from Baku are given as 60, 67 and 70 km — we show 60–70. We leave out the museum’s opening year and the dating of the dance scene, as only one source gives them. Sources name the volcano at the visitor complex differently (Gilinj and Arzani), so we don’t name it. ## Sources - iTicket.AZ: Gobustan National Historical-Artistic Reserve — ticket sales, sessions and price range, 02.11.2026 - iTicket.AZ: Gobustan Mud Volcanoes Tourism Complex — description - Office of the President of Azerbaijan: opening of the Mud Volcanoes Tourism Complex, 13.06.2024 - English Wikipedia: Gobustan State Reserve; Russian Wikipedia: Gobustan (reserve); Wikidata Q318181 - Report.az, 2026 — contactless foreign bank cards on Baku public transport - Wikivoyage: Qobustan; Wander-Lush and Escape With Annual Leave guides; Sputnik8 — fares and transport (unofficial) --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.