I quote from the excellent guide book to Azerbaijan from Mark Elliott: "Like cows, mud vulcanoes constantly fart flammable gases.They also like throwing gobs of mud and streaming forth watery flows with a vigor that varies seasonally. This behaviour is gently amusing rather than life threatening. Mud vulcanoes are cold and have...

A short drive (about 14 kilometer) from Gilazi on the main road connecting Baku and Quba are the Candy Cane Mountains. The mountains have beautiful rose and white stripes and swirls, and are littered with small conical fossils. We had only a few minutes, but there is enough to see for a day excursion! For...

We were mentally prepared for some high-summit mountain hike, but not for the bad weather that engulfed Azerbaijan in mid-April. So we were left to exploring the village of Xinaliq - which at 2200 meter elevation requires a day of acclimatization anyway - and some easy hiking to some nearby sights. Xinaliq village is said...