Description

100 KM and around 1.5 hours of road will take you to the unique mountains. Roughly mid-way between the two one passes through a dramatic valley flanked by rolling shale mountains whose astonishing red, orange, pink and chalk-coloured swirls led British travel writer Mark Elliott (author of the very popular 'Azerbaijan' guidebook) to dub them the Candy Cane Mountains , a name that’s stuck with travellers ever since. The astonishing colours are said to be due to groundwater that’s altered the oxidation state of iron compounds within the rock. Mt. Beshbarmag , which is Azerbaijani for ‘Five-finger Mountain’. Legend has it that sometime in the ancient past a prophet called Khidr ventured here in search of a ‘potion of life’ and having drunk from a spring at the summit achieved immortality. Today the mountain is shrouded in mystery with locals coming here to pray for strength and good fortune. As a tourist attraction, it’s well worth climbing to witness a number of age-old spiritual rituals as well as for the fantastic views of the Caspian Sea from the summit