Shirvan National Park

Shirvan National Park protects a stretch of coastal semi-desert, salt marsh and lagoon south of Baku, and it holds the largest population of goitered gazelle in the country, several thousand animals on open ground where they are genuinely easy to see. The lagoons take large numbers of wintering waterbirds, including flamingo, and jackals, wolves and tortoises are present. The landscape is flat, dry and treeless, and the gazelle herds moving across it are what the park is for.

History

The park grew out of the Shirvan State Reserve, founded in 1969 to protect the goitered gazelle, waterfowl and the plants of the Shirvan lowland, on land that was once the floor of the Caspian, and the national park was established on 5 July 2003 with 54,373.5 hectares. The name Shirvan seems to come from the Persian shir, lion, an animal now extinct in the Transcaucasus (Wikipedia, Shirvan National Park).

What's there

• The gazelle - herds of goitered gazelle on open ground, the largest population in the country.
• The lagoons - brackish water taking flamingo, pelican and wintering wildfowl.
• The semi-desert - flat salt-tolerant scrub running to the Caspian shore.
• The observation tower - a platform giving distance across the flats.

When to go

March to May and September to November are best for weather and for birds. Winter brings the largest waterbird numbers. Summer is severely hot and the animals move very little in the middle of the day.

Before you go

You need a vehicle inside the park and the tracks are rough. There is no shade anywhere. The gazelle are reliable but at distance, so binoculars matter more than a camera phone.

Nearby

Salyan is the nearest town, and the Gobustan rock art site is back towards Baku.

Key facts