7426 km: Azerbaijan, Hirkan National Park

25 August 2019

Qobustan - Shirvan National Park - Hirkan National Park

Orux map screenshot: 
BLUE line is the planned route 
RED line is the actual route we drove

Down the Mud Vulcano the road ends in a pit.and we have to turn back and take another mud road to reach the archelogical site with over 10000years old prehistoric art

 The same sh.... road 

We get a warm welcome 

View to the Caspian Sea

The Shirvan Natural park has lots of gazelles running free. Nice lakes and lot of different birds. I suppose since it is midday all the other wild animals are sleeping.

Tara watching out for the wild animal....

... hidding under BlueBird 

Hirkan National Park is a big forest with very old trees and a nice lake which is filled from the rivers coming down the mountain. This time of the year most of the rivers are dry.

We can stay over night in a well kept nice picnic area above the lake.
Jackal howl in the night near us.

Tomorrow we plan to cross the border to Iran ... Tara is ready

7170 km: Azerbaijan, Qobustan Mud Volcano

24 August 2019

Girdimanchay Canyon  - Baku - Qobustan Mud Volcano

Orux map screenshot: 
BLUE line is the planned route 
RED line is the actual route we drove

Beautiful nature and scary bridges in Girdimanchay Canyon

From the Girdimanchay Canyon till the main road and further on are lots of restaurants, cafes, shops and vendors with different fresh fruits, herbs, pickles, honey, nuts,.....

The main road leading from the West/ Georgia to Baku has only one lane in each direction till Samaxi. Then, about 10km, a highway to Baku is under construction, the rest already finished and comfortable to reach Baku.

The riverbeds have very little water flow everywhere

The villages and cities are very clean.  Strange, that there are hardly any garbage bins on the streets. Later we find behind the villages the garbage piles. Very sad.

Baku definitely is a very interesting city to explore with all the "old" and "new" architecture. Next time we visit Baku we will not come in August, will not come with a dog and will stay in a fancy hotel somewhere at the corniche. After 5 hours sightseeing, in the heat, with all the people afraid of Tara or interested to touch and take photos with her, I just want to leave the city and find a quiet cool area for us to relax. Hosain would have loved to explore Baku much more (me too under different circumstances) and enjoy the Shisha lounges, but he always wants to make me happy, so he sadly drives further on leaving Baku behind.

Oil everywhere

Through iOverlander app we find a very nice place beside the mud Vulcans of Qobustan south of Baku. A very rough deserted area. Beautiful

Sometimes I think either we are very brave or naive to camp completely alone somewhere in the wilderness, but with Tara I feel quite secured.  And of course with Hosain beside me.