Gobustan State Historical and Cultural Reserve

Gobustan State Historical and Cultural Reserve (Azerbaijani: Qobustan dövlət tarixi-bədii qoruğu) is a protected historic and natural site in Azerbaijan, located about 70 kilometres (43 mi) southwest of Baku, near the settlement of Gobustan. It was established to preserve the region's prehistoric rock carvings, mud volcanoes, and natural musical stones. The reserve encompasses the Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape, which spans 537 hectares and contains over 6,000 rock carvings that depict people, animals, battles, ritual dances, bullfights, boats with armed oarsmen, warriors with lances, camel caravans, and celestial symbols such as the sun and stars, dating back 5,000 to 20,000 years.

It also includes the Petroglyph Museum, which has been operating within the reserve since 2011, and the Mud Volcanoes Tourism Complex, inaugurated in 2024. The area was first declared the Gobustan State Historical Artistic Preserve in 1966 by a decree of the Council of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR. In 2007, the Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. That same year, the site was formally designated a National Reserve by presidential decree and named...