Duzdag

Salt has been mined at Duzdag since antiquity, and in the 1970s a clinic was established inside the workings on the theory that the air in the galleries relieves asthma and other respiratory conditions. Patients stay underground for hours at a time, or overnight, in rooms cut into the salt with beds and seating, at a constant temperature and humidity. A hotel was later built at the surface. The rock is banded grey and white and the walls, ceiling and floor of the treatment rooms are all salt.

What you actually see

• The treatment galleries - rooms cut into the salt with beds, at constant temperature and humidity.
• The salt rock - banded grey and white walls, floor and ceiling throughout.
• The mine workings - the older galleries the clinic was built into.
• The surface complex - a hotel and clinic at the entrance, where courses are arranged.

When to go

Year-round, since conditions underground are constant. Courses run over several days and are booked in advance. The surface here is very hot in summer and cold in winter, which the galleries are not.

Honest expectations

Speleotherapy has some supporting evidence for respiratory symptoms but is not established as a treatment, and the claims made here go further than the evidence. This is a medical facility rather than a tourist attraction, and casual visits are limited. Booking is required.

Nearby

Nakhchivan city is fifteen minutes south, and Ashabi-Kahf is east of the city.