Lokbatan: Holiday Apartments and Holiday Homes

The Lökbatan Mud Cone was submitted to UNESCO’s Tentative List in 1998 as a natural site under criteria vii, viii and ix. It is located near the settlement of Lökbatan in Baku’s Qaradağ District. Azerbaijan has protected it as a natural monument of special significance through a government decree dating from 1982. The mud cone rises to about 130 meters above sea level. Those wishing to rent a holiday apartment in Lokbatan can then continue their search for accommodation.

Nature and Geology

The Lökbatan Mud Cone is recorded as having experienced around 20 eruptions. Unlike many other mud cones, it has no mud gryphons. Its geological structure contains deposits from the Upper and Middle Pliocene of the Absheron and Aghdjagil stages. The Pliocene deposits around the Lökbatan Mud Cone emerge at the surface as ridges. The mud cone is described as a prominent representative of Azerbaijan’s 220 mud cones and the approximately 600 mud cones worldwide.

Culture and History

The A. Amirov Culture Palace has been operating in Lokbatan since 1951. It has an auditorium with 361 seats, as well as clubs for dance, visual arts, drama, sewing, recitation and sports. The name Lökbatan is associated with a historic caravan route between Khoja Hasan and Səngəçal; camels are said to have sunk there in the marshland.

The development of Lokbatan is associated with the establishment of an oil settlement in 1931–32, the eruption of Well No. 45 in 1934 and a residential area of reed houses on what is now S. Orucov Street. The Heydar Aliyev Center includes a library, a small cafeteria, a conference room with 50 seats and a meeting hall with 220 seats. It also displays photographs documenting Heydar Aliyev’s visits to the Qaradağ District and the opening of major industrial facilities.

Leisure and Facilities

The Cırtdan Children's Entertainment Park in Lokbatan was established as a 10,000-square-meter family attraction with various rides and entertainment facilities. Heydar Park in Lokbatan was redesigned for recreational use with green spaces, modern lighting, benches and fountains. Nearby, in the Baku area, the Mud Volcanoes Tourism Complex offers explanations of erupted mud, exhibitions on natural history and minerals, opportunities to view mud volcanoes and gryphons up close, quad bike and golf cart tours, as well as a café-restaurant.

More local pages: Nardaran, Baku, Khirdalan, Hovsan, Qobu, Mərdəkan

To the higher-level travel overview: Baku.