Location
Between treatments, Naftalan and its surroundings offer quiet walks, history and some of the most beautiful nature in western Azerbaijan.
Naftalan City Park
Eight hundred metres from the hotel gate — the easiest walk to take after a procedure. The park has shaded avenues, fountains and benches along the way; on summer evenings the air shifts and cools here, and the town comes out to walk with you. The route is flat and stepless, which makes it manageable for guests with limited mobility. A quiet twenty to thirty minutes after a bath or a physiotherapy session is often recommended — check the timing with your physician. There are small cafés and a playground inside the park.
Naftalan History Museum
The story of the only medicinal-oil town on earth, gathered into one building: from the wooden bathhouses of the nineteenth century to today's resorts. The collection holds the first bathing equipment, archive photographs, reports written by visiting foreign physicians, and letters from people who came for treatment. You can follow how naftalan was found, why the oil was at first used only by local people, and how the town then became a resort taking guests from across the Soviet Union. It is 1.2 km from the hotel, five minutes by car. A visit takes under an hour, so it fits comfortably into a gap between procedures.
Ganja Old Town
Azerbaijan's second city and one of its oldest centres — 50 km from the hotel, forty-five minutes by car. The old quarter holds the Shah Abbas mosque and the caravanserai beside it, the red-brick Juma mosque, the mausoleum of Nizami Ganjavi, and the famous Bottle House built from glass bottles. The city sat on the Silk Road for centuries, and the market and craft workshops in the centre still carry traces of it. It works well as a day trip: leave in the morning and be back at the hotel for dinner. Our guest services desk can arrange a transfer and a guide.
Lake Goygol
A deep turquoise mountain lake at 1,550 metres in the foothills of the Lesser Caucasus — the most photographed piece of nature in Azerbaijan. The lake formed when a landslide during the great earthquake of 1139 dammed the river. The national park around it is covered in beech and pine forest, and the water stays calm and clear for most of the year. It is 75 km from the hotel, about an hour and a quarter by car. Walking paths and viewing points ring the shore; the air up there is mountain air, so a light jacket is worth taking even in summer. Tell us the day before and the kitchen will pack a basket for the road.
Murovdag Mountains
The highest range in the Lesser Caucasus — alpine meadows, mountain springs and air that stays cool through the summer. It is 90 km from the hotel, and the road is a mountain serpentine, so the trip is planned as a full day. High up, summer pasture life carries on between the meadows: flocks of sheep, shepherds' camps and local dairy. Lower down there are forest paths and open ground for a picnic. This route asks something of you physically and is not recommended for guests with limited mobility — talk to your physician before planning it in the middle of a course. Guided day trips and a picnic basket from the hotel kitchen can both be arranged in advance.