Ascent to Mount Babadag (3609 m above sea level)

To travel from Lahice to BC, it is necessary to have an off-road car, like this UAZ.

In clear weather, you can see the sun rising from the waters of the Caspian Sea from the top.

The top shrine and its guardian.

View north from the top of Babadag. From here, the mountains stretch to Dagestan (Russia).

When descending from the top, the lower western peak is traversed, below which is the second teahouse.

Tourists and pilgrims stop in the tea room for a little rest. On the left the lower western peak, on the right the trail to Babadag continues.

On the way and at an altitude of 3000 m you can meet flocks of sheep, fortunately without watch dogs.

In the base camp, the horses are already waiting for their riders. Like Then in the West …

… and here the riders of Lada Niva are already waiting for their riders.

Similar fords are common on the way from Lahice to BC. At the end of July there was little water, a good time to travel.

The most attractive ascent, for which the starting point is the mountain tourist village Lahic in the district of Ismayili, is Babadag (3609 m above sea level). This sacred mountain is available in summer, the best time to climb is the month from mid-July to mid-August, but you can try to climb from June and with a little luck it is possible to do so in early September. Whether the journey can be successful either before or at the end of the season depends on the weather and especially on the amount of water in the Girdimancay River. Its valley is the only way to get to the base camp under the mountain by off-road car. The river wades several times, and when it rains in the autumn or the snow melts longer in the spring, the road is impassable for off-road cars. Maybe you could drive it by truck or tractor. The journey by off-road car from Lahice to the base camp (BC) takes 2.5 hours under ideal conditions. In BC there are teahouses, buffets, social facilities. You can buy drinks and food here. The ascent is not difficult, taking into account the altitude, there is no need for a guide, because since it is a sacred mountain, many local pilgrims go to the top, even at an advanced age, and there is a well-known path to the top. If you are on average fast, you will be able to climb from the base camp to the top and back in 8 hours (elevation gain approx. 1400 m). But many people go out in the evening or at night and are at the top at dawn, which is not a mistake in clear weather. I was on the mountain on July 28, 2017 with local pilgrims, one of whom was the jubilee tenth ascent. We left BC (2254 m above sea level) at 11 in the evening in the light of man. Along the way you will come across two teahouses, where you can relax and have a tea. The tea room is just a tarpaulin side of the trail. You can walk to the first teahouse at an altitude of 2763 m above sea level in about 1.5 hours. I often waited for my colleagues who were slower. They were not tourists, but pilgrims. On the way to the second functional tea house at an altitude of 3476 m, you will pass the remains of a shelter on the ridge, probably another, but already former tea house. At tea room No. 2 (or in it) you can relax, hide from the wind and wait for the sunrise. It is about 20 minutes to the top. At the top is a small shrine made of sails, where a holy man is available to pilgrims. Next to it is another sailed place where you can relax and hide in bad weather. You start back to BC along the same path. From the top, however, you can continue both north and east along trails, which are far less noticeable than the one leading here from BC. After the descent in BC, your off-road vehicle will be waiting for you and take you back to Lahice.