Lerik

Lerik sits at around eleven hundred metres in the Talysh mountains, reached from Lankaran by a road that climbs continuously through the Hyrcanian forest and out onto open ridges. The district became known in the Soviet period for the ages claimed by its oldest inhabitants, and the town has a small Museum of Longevity documenting them, including Shirali Muslimov, whose reported age of over a hundred and sixty has never been supported by documentation. The mountains around the town are the real reason to come.

History

Lerik counts among the old settlements of Azerbaijan, with traces of early people in its caves and of settlements from the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. In Soviet times it became the centre of the Zuvand district, renamed Lerik in 1930, and the 1939 census recorded the Talysh as most of its people (Wikipedia, Lerik, Azerbaijan).

What's there

• The Museum of Longevity - portraits and records of the district's oldest residents.
• The mountain road - a continuous climb from Lankaran through forest onto open ridge.
• The Talysh villages - stone and slate settlements scattered along the valleys.
• The high pastures - open grazing above the treeline, with views back to the Caspian on clear days.

When to go

May to October is the season; snow closes the higher roads in winter and the pass can be blocked. Summer here is pleasantly cool compared with the coast. Cloud frequently fills the valleys in the mornings.

Practical notes

The longevity claims that made the district famous rest on no documentation and are not accepted by demographers, which the museum does not make clear. The road up is steep, narrow and unpleasant in fog. Accommodation and food in the town are limited.

Nearby

Hirkan National Park is on the road up, and Lankaran is at the bottom of it.

Key facts