# Yanar Dag, Baku > Yanar Dag, the “burning mountain”, is a strip of natural gas fire about 10 m wide that has been burning non-stop at the foot of a hillside on the Absheron Peninsula, 25–27 km north of central Baku. Foreign visitors pay 15 AZN, under-12s go free, and it is open daily 10:00–19:00. Allow 45 minutes on site, 2–2.5 hours with the drive. Come at dusk if the season allows. Web page: https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/yanar-dag - City: [Baku](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku), Azerbaijan - YesGo score: 29/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 45 min - Entry: 15 AZN foreigners, under-12s free - With kids: Fine with kids - Foreign visitors: 15 AZN - Children: Foreign children under 12 free - Combo ticket: Yanar Dag + Ateshgah 25 AZN, valid 72 h from first entry - Combo + mud volcanoes: 35 AZN - 30-min guided tour: 10 AZN in English and other languages - Opening hours: Daily 10:00–19:00 - Where to buy: Ticket office at the gate or iTicket.AZ - Paying at the gate: Card not guaranteed — carry some manat in cash - Address: Məmmədli village, Absheron District - Bus: No. 217 from Koroğlu metro, ≈ 40 min, then 0.6–1 km on foot - Coordinates: 40.50176, 49.89122 - Facts checked: 02.11.2026 ## Key facts - **15 AZN** — entry for foreign visitors since 1 January 2026 (it was 9 AZN before) (source: Yanardag State Reserve official website; Report.az) - **≈ 10 m** — width of the wall of fire; the Geological Survey describes flames along 15 m of the slope (source: Russian Wikipedia; Geological Survey of Azerbaijan via English Wikipedia) - **Daily** — open every day 10:00–19:00, no closing day (source: Yanardag State Reserve official website; reserve page on heritage.org.az) - **2007** — declared a State Historical-Cultural and Natural Reserve on 2 May (source: reserve page on heritage.org.az; English Wikipedia) - **64.55 ha** — area of the reserve (source: English and Russian Wikipedia) - **2019** — museum and Cromlech stone exhibition opened after renovation (source: English and Russian Wikipedia; reserve page on heritage.org.az) - **Up to 3 m** — flame height per the encyclopedia; the Geological Survey says about 1 m (source: English Wikipedia) - **Natural gas** — hydrocarbon gas seeping from beneath the Absheron Peninsula feeds the fire — no pipe (source: English and Russian Wikipedia) - **1950s** — local legend says a shepherd lit the gas by accident (source: English Wikipedia) - **Guide only** — Qırməki valley viewpoint, mud volcano, Ottoman trenches, sulphur springs and kurgan (source: Yanardag State Reserve official website) ## Yanar Dag tickets and entrance fee Foreign adults pay **15 AZN**. Foreign children under 12 go free. The price went up on 1 January 2026 — many blogs and older guides still quote 9 AZN, which is out of date. If you are also visiting the [Ateshgah Fire Temple](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/ateshgah-fire-temple), buy the **combo ticket for 25 AZN** instead of two singles at 15 AZN each. It covers one person and is valid for 72 hours from first use. A 35 AZN version adds the Mud Volcanoes tourist complex (Palçıq Vulkanları). Tickets are sold at the gate and on iTicket.AZ, where you pay by card and get a QR code. The reserve does not say whether the ticket office takes cards, so bring some manat in cash. Foreign Visa and Mastercard work widely in Baku — in hotels, restaurants and the Bolt and Uber apps — while Russian-issued cards generally do not. Groups of 10 or more get 10% off. ## Yanar Dag opening hours and the best time to go The reserve is open **every day, 10:00–19:00**, all year. The flames burn round the clock, but you can only watch them during opening hours. The fire looks far more dramatic in low light, and that is where the closing time matters. From roughly April to August the sun sets in Baku after 19:00, so you will see the flames in daylight — still impressive, just paler. From about October to February dusk falls before closing: aim to arrive an hour before sunset. This is our own estimate from Baku sunset times, not a rule set by the reserve. > **Leave the reserve before you lose your ride** Taxis rarely wait at Yanar Dag. Either ask your Bolt or Uber driver to wait, or book the return car before you sit down to watch the fire. The last public option is the bus back to Koroğlu. ## How to get to Yanar Dag from Baku 1. From the Old City (Icherisheher), take the metro at **İçərişəhər**. You need a BakıKart, sold at the machines in the station. 2. Ride the red line straight to **Koroğlu** — no change, about 15 minutes. 3. Find the stop for **bus 217** just north-west of the metro entrance. The ride takes about 40 minutes. 4. Get off at the last stop and walk 600 m to 1 km to the entrance. Alternatively, bus 147 from Azadlıq Prospekti metro stops right at the gate. 5. The easy way is a taxi: a Bolt or Uber from the centre takes 30–50 minutes depending on traffic, with the fare shown in the app up front. ## Is Yanar Dag worth visiting? Yes — paired with the Ateshgah and timed for dusk. Honestly, the fire itself is a single scene: a long line of flames at the foot of a low rock face, watched from an amphitheatre opposite. Fifteen or twenty minutes is enough to take it in. If you have already seen Turkmenistan’s Darvaza crater or the Chimaera flames in Turkey, Yanar Dag will feel smaller. Its advantage is access: half an hour from the city and close to the airport, so it fits into an arrival or departure day. Skip it if you only have one day in Baku and would rather spend it in the [Old City](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/baku-old-town). ## What is Yanar Dag? It is not a volcano and not a well. The Absheron Peninsula sits on a large store of natural gas, and here it seeps through cracks in the rock and burns on its own, day and night, rain or wind. The name is Azerbaijani for “burning mountain”. Nobody knows how long it has burned. A local legend credits a shepherd who lit it by accident in the 1950s; others talk of thousands of years. The fires of Absheron were described by travellers from Marco Polo to Alexandre Dumas and were sacred to fire worshippers — one reason Azerbaijan calls itself the Land of Fire. The site became a state reserve in 2007, and a renovated visitor area with a museum opened in 2019. ## What to see at Yanar Dag - **The burning hillside** — sit high in the amphitheatre to fit the whole line of fire into one frame. - **The Yanar Dag museum** by the entrance — a short exhibition on the gas, the fires of Absheron and the site. - **The Cromlech stone exhibition** — open-air stone circles gathered from the reserve. - **Qırməki valley viewpoint, a mud volcano, sulphur springs, Ottoman trenches and a kurgan** — guide-only areas; ask at the ticket office. - A café, toilets and a playground near the car park. ## Before you go: checklist - [ ] I'll arrive by 18:00 — it closes at 19:00 - [ ] Checked today's sunset time - [ ] Some manat in cash, plus a BakıKart for metro and bus - [ ] Visiting the Ateshgah too — I'll buy the 25 AZN combo - [ ] A warm layer: the hillside is windy - [ ] Return taxi sorted ## Yanar Dag vs Ateshgah | | Yanar Dag | Ateshgah | | --- | --- | --- | | What it is | A natural fire on a hillside | A fire temple with cells around a courtyard | | Where | Məmmədli, north of Baku | Suraxanı, east of Baku | | The flame | Natural gas from underground | The natural fires went out; gas is now piped in | | Foreign visitor ticket | 15 AZN | 15 AZN | | Combo | 25 AZN for both, 72 h | 25 AZN for both, 72 h | | Time needed | ≈ 45 min | ≈ 1 h | Do both: the temple in daylight for the history, the burning mountain at dusk for the show. With time for only one, pick the Ateshgah for history and Yanar Dag for the spectacle. ## Sunset spots in Baku compared Places in Baku for sunset rated by YesGo. - [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 - [Yanar Dag](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/yanar-dag) — YesGo score 29/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · 15 AZN foreigners, under-12s free ## Absheron fire and Baku by night in half a day The fire temple at Suraxanı in the afternoon, the burning mountain at dusk, then the seafront and the lit-up Flame Towers. Add them to your route — YesGo fits in the timing and transfers. 1. [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 2. [Yanar Dag](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/yanar-dag) — YesGo score 29/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · 15 AZN foreigners, under-12s free 3. [Baku Boulevard](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/baku/baku-boulevard) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Free 4. [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 ## Good to know Yanar Dag is not the “Gates of Hell” — that is the Darvaza gas crater in Turkmenistan. Nor is it Yanartaş, the Chimaera flames in Turkey. Some areas of the reserve, including the mud volcano and sulphur springs, are open only with a reserve guide. ## Tips - Pair it with the Ateshgah — temple first, fire at dusk, and the combo ticket saves 5 AZN. - Sit in the top rows of the amphitheatre: you see the whole fire and feel less of the heat. - On windy days the flames lean and leap higher — the best photos, but hold on to your hat. - The 30-minute reserve tour unlocks areas you cannot enter alone. - Under-12s go free and there is a playground, so it works well with kids. - It is closer to the airport than to the centre — easy to fit in on arrival or departure day. ## Questions ### How much is the Yanar Dag entrance fee? 15 AZN for foreign adults; foreign children under 12 are free. The Yanar Dag + Ateshgah combo is 25 AZN and lasts 72 hours. ### What are Yanar Dag opening hours? Every day from 10:00 to 19:00, with no closing day. ### How do I get to Yanar Dag from Baku? Taxi (Bolt or Uber) takes 30–50 minutes. By public transport, take the red-line metro to Koroğlu and bus 217, then walk 600 m–1 km; or bus 147 from Azadlıq Prospekti, which stops at the gate. ### Is Yanar Dag worth it? Yes, if you combine it with the Ateshgah and arrive near dusk. For the fire alone in midday sun, it is a long round trip for a short sight. ### What is the best time to visit Yanar Dag? Dusk. Because it closes at 19:00, you will catch dusk roughly from October to February; in summer you will see the flames in daylight. ### How long do you need at Yanar Dag? About 45 minutes, or an hour with the museum and a guided tour. Allow 2–2.5 hours including the drive from the centre. ### Does the fire at Yanar Dag ever go out? No — it burns continuously, fed by natural gas seeping from underground rather than by a pipeline. ### Can I see Yanar Dag and the Ateshgah on the same day? Yes, they are a classic pair on the Absheron Peninsula. Do the temple first and finish at Yanar Dag. ### Can I pay by card at Yanar Dag? Online on iTicket.AZ, yes. At the gate it is not confirmed, so carry some manat in cash. ## How we checked Hours, fares, free-entry rules, combo tickets and the guide-only areas come from the reserve’s official website; the new foreign-visitor fees are confirmed by Report.az. Older guides and blogs still give 9 AZN and a 15 AZN combo — those are pre-2026 prices. Sources differ on the size of the fire: Russian Wikipedia says about 10 m wide, the Geological Survey of Azerbaijan 15 m along the slope; flame height is given as up to 3 m or about 1 m. We show both. Buses 217 and 147 are unofficial (Wikivoyage and a 2026 blog) and are marked “verifying”; they disagree on the walk from the 217 terminus (600 m vs 1 km). Card payment at the gate is not confirmed officially. The months when dusk falls before closing are our own estimate from Baku sunset times. For the Ateshgah, sources disagree on when its natural fire went out (1902 vs 1969), so we give no year. ## Sources - Yanardag State Reserve: official website, Plan your visit — hours, fares, free entry, combo tickets, address and rules, 02.11.2026 - Yanardag reserve page on heritage.org.az — hours, founding date, museum, 02.11.2026 - Report.az, 18.12.2025 — new entry fees for foreign visitors from 1 January - English Wikipedia: Yanar Dag; Russian Wikipedia: Yanardag (mountain); Wikidata Q917489 - English Wikipedia: Ateshgah of Baku; Russian Wikipedia: Ateshgah — for the comparison - Wikivoyage: Absheron Peninsula — buses 217 and 147 - Adventures of Nicole travel blog, February 2026 — bus 217 from Koroğlu --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.