Yanar Dag — Burning Mountain

Yanar Dag — literally "Burning Mountain" in Azerbaijani — is a natural gas fire that burns continuously along a 10-metre section of a hillside on the Absheron Peninsula, 27 km north of Baku. The flames have burned without interruption for as long as records exist, fuelled by a constant seep of natural gas through the porous sandstone.

Marco Polo is believed to have described this phenomenon during his journey to the East in the 13th century, noting "a fountain from which oil springs in great abundance." Zoroastrian pilgrims journeyed here for centuries to worship at what they believed was a sacred eternal flame. Today it remains one of the most hypnotic and unusual natural attractions in the entire region.

The flames are most spectacular at dusk or on windy days when they dance and roar. Even in daylight the heat radiating from the hillside is remarkable — you can feel it from several metres away.

A brief history

Yanar Dag's continuously burning hillside results from natural gas escaping through porous sandstone and igniting on contact with air — a phenomenon documented by travelers and geographers for centuries, and one of the sources behind Azerbaijan's historic nickname, the Land of Fire. Unlike Ateshgah's now-artificial flame, Yanar Dag's fire remains genuinely fed by natural gas seepage, making it one of relatively few places on earth where a hillside burns continuously without any human intervention or fuel source beyond the earth itself.

The flames at Yanar Dag are visible day and night, though the effect is considerably more dramatic after dark, when the fire's glow against the dark hillside creates a genuinely memorable sight. The site has drawn attention from travelers and writers for centuries, predating any formal tourism infrastructure.