Almost every tour to Gobustan includes the mud volcanoes, but I'm still wondering if they're genuinely worth visiting or if they're simply added to make the itinerary longer. If you've already been there, would you include them again?
Absolutely. In fact, the mud volcanoes ended up being the biggest surprise of our day. Before travelling I imagined something similar to geothermal areas in Iceland, but they're completely different. There's no steam or dramatic eruptions—just dozens of small cones quietly bubbling away in an almost lunar landscape. It feels strangely peaceful.
The journey there was part of the adventure. As soon as we left the paved road, the scenery changed completely. Within a few minutes we were surrounded by grey hills with almost no vegetation. It honestly felt like we'd driven onto another planet. Even before seeing the first volcano, we knew this wasn't going to be an ordinary excursion.
Can you actually walk around the volcanoes, or do you just stop for a quick look?
You can walk freely around most of them, although it's worth being careful where you step because the ground can be soft in places. We spent nearly an hour wandering between different cones, listening to the bubbling mud and taking photographs. It's one of those places where there isn't a huge amount to "do", yet you somehow don't want to leave.
Photography enthusiasts should definitely make time for the volcanoes. The textures, colours and endless open landscape are unlike anything else we saw in Azerbaijan. If you visit early in the morning or later in the afternoon, the light is fantastic. Around midday everything becomes much flatter, especially during summer.
I travelled with two teenagers who weren't particularly interested in archaeology, and I was worried they'd find Gobustan boring. Surprisingly, they talked about the mud volcanoes for the rest of the trip. They loved the fact that the mud was cold rather than hot, and couldn't believe that Azerbaijan has one of the highest concentrations of mud volcanoes in the world.
One thing I'd mention is not to expect a huge tourist attraction with cafés, souvenir shops and lots of facilities. That's actually part of its charm. The landscape is wild and surprisingly quiet. We met only a handful of other visitors during the entire time we were there.
If you're already making the journey to Gobustan, I honestly can't think of a good reason to skip the mud volcanoes. They're close enough to make the detour worthwhile, and together with the petroglyphs they create a day that's unlike anywhere else in the Caucasus. If we'd visited only the archaeological reserve, I think we would have felt we'd missed half the experience.