Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijan is a miraculous country with its rich natural resources, and ancient culture, history and people, whose lifestyle presents a unique and harmonious combination of the traditions and ceremonies of many different cultures and civilizations.

For the past several years, the country attracted many foreigners, who desired to discover this beautiful land and feel a unique mixture of East and West.

Azerbaijan’s glitzy capital, Baku, already has enough fans from around the world, and now many tourists seek to visit the regions of the Land of Fire for new adventures and experiences.

Although, Baku recorded the highest growth of tourists this year, other most popular places of Azerbaijan are Gabala and Naftalan, followed by Shahdag, Quba, Ismayilli, Gakh, Zagatala and Lankaran.

In its recent ranking, the Russian RoomGuru.ru website Lankaran was placed among the popular destinations among CIS countries for Russians.

The region has been included in Top 5 most popular tourists resorts of CIS countries from June 1 to August 31, alongside resorts such as Issik-Kul (Uzbekistan) and Naroch (Belarus).

According RoomGuru.ru, the number of summer trips of Russians to the CIS countries grew by 10 percent compared to last summer, and tourists spend on an average of 3,600 rubles per stay ($55) per day.

This summer, tourists visiting Lankaran stayed on average for a week. The majority of the tourists were from Saint Petersburg and Moscow.

Lankaran is known as a sub-tropical area, with extremely picturesque scenery, and rich flora and fauna. Clean air and beautiful nature combined with an abundance of attractions and the hospitality of the local people are that overwhelming factor which annually attracts tourists from all over the world.

The majestic Talish Mountains covered with thick forests, the main part of which constitute native species, including demiragaj (iron tree), is one of the most visited places here.

Lankaran is also one of the brightest and most beautiful cities in the country. Exquisite architecture, a wonderful climate and beautiful natural landscapes are the hallmarks of this city.

Lankaran includes three tourist zones such as the coastal (Caspian Sea), the Haftoni and Narimanabad zones.

Lankaran's coastline is unique, as here one can encounter the black sand that possesses amazing curative properties.

The Haftoni Zone is well known as an historical site, as well as an opportunity to take an intensive healthy course based on the water from the healing springs of Istisu ("hot water"), which are situated in the Haftoni Woods.

Istisu are thermal waters and are close in substance to the springs of the resort of Karlovy Vary. The healing properties of this water have been well known since ancient times. It is capable of healing a whole range of ailments, from rheumatism, liver and kidney diseases to contusions.

Fans of eco-tourism should visit The Narimanabad zone, which includes the Gizilagach reserve and the nearby Sarah Peninsula, which are located right at Gizilagach Bay here. The Hirkan National Park, which is of considerable interest to lovers of eco-tourism, is also in this area. It has an enormous territory of 15,000 hectares where wild boars, jackals, Asian leopards can be met.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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