After haggling with taxi drivers (people who can master this art, can save a lot), we chose the cheapest offer and went to the mud volcanoes with the old man. The driver turned the keys in the ignition and went outside the city.

After traveling through the rocky valley, through the streamer we entered the next hill. Volcanoes appeared before our eyes, most vividly they could be compared to lunar craters. Amazing view. There are about 68% (about 400 volcanoes) of all mud volcanoes on Earth in Azerbaijan. Volcanoes, as the name suggests, instead of lava, they “spiting” mud. The mud is cold so we can touch them without problems. There are traces of oil and gas on the mud surface and volcanoes are still working.

When we walk between volcanoes, we feel the ground trembling slightly under our feet. Although mud eruptions are lazy and slow, they can turn into very violent eruptions. It is believed that such a sudden eruption occurs once every 20 years (the last major eruption of mud volcanoes occurred in 2001).

Our taxi driver showed us how power lies in the apparent and dormant volcano. He threw a stone slightly larger than his fist into the crater and told him to wait for reactions. A few seconds later, with a loud gurgling bubble of air rose on the mud surface. This experience has shown us what power lies in mud volcanoes and how strong processes occur under our feet.