The Ateshgah of Baku is a walled fire temple in Surakhani, on the Absheron Peninsula outside the city. At its centre stands an altar where flames rise beneath a stone canopy. Once fuelled by naturally seeping gas, the fire is now supplied by a gas line, but it still gives the courtyard a compelling focal point.
The surviving complex largely dates from the 17th and 18th centuries, when it became a place of pilgrimage for Hindu and Sikh visitors, particularly merchants and ascetics from the Indian subcontinent. Its fire-worshipping traditions are also often linked to Zoroastrianism, though the precise history of earlier worship at the site is debated. Inscriptions in Indian scripts and Persian, together with the small cells around the courtyard, hint at the lives and beliefs of those who travelled here.
Today, the cells house exhibits about the temple’s history and the ascetics who stayed there. The compact site is worth visiting for its unusual architecture and for the way it connects Azerbaijan’s natural gas landscape with its identity as the Land of Fire. Allow around an hour to explore, and check current opening hours before setting out. From central Baku, take a taxi or use the metro to Koroghlu and continue by taxi; journey times depend on traffic. You can also combine Ateshgah with Yanardağ’s burning hillside for a longer trip around Absheron.