HIRKAN NATIONAL PARK

Location & accessibility

Name: Hirkan National Park

Year of foundation: 2004

Area (hectare): 40358

Location: Within the territory of Lankaran and Astara administrative districts.

Brief description: The Hirkan National Park is in the Lankaran natural region and protects the landscapes
of humid subtropics. The Hirkan National Park consists of a valley area of Lankaran lowland and a
mountainous landscape of Talysh Mountains. The Lankaran natural region has rich fauna and flora
including many rare and endemic species. Flora of the park consists of 1, 900 species including 162
endemics, 95 rare, and 38 endangered species. There is the iron tree, three-thorned acacia (Gleditschia
tricanthos), Zelkova, Quercus Castaneifolia, Fircus hyrcanys, etc. There are many endemic are rare
animals, particularly, among the representatives of ground mollusks and non-flying insects. Birds’
endemism is well represented, up to subspecies level, while the species level has a relatively poor
representation. The main protected objects are the natural complexes of lowland and low mountainous
forest areas of the Lankaran natural region, including the unique well-preserved plot of lower forest, the
ecosystem of the rare forest of the Hirkan type. The Hirkan National park is located 64 km far from
center of Lankaran. The visitors can go to the Park by automobile or Taxi(*1635). The way to the Hirkan
National park is well and comfortable.

Core Products: The visitors go to the National park in order to enjoy beatiful scenes of Hirkan and The
visitors watch real flora and fauna that cannot be found anywhere else. Hirkan National Park is a
magnificent place worth to visit.
Near attractions tourism resources :

Khanbulan, Hot spring of Masallı, Sin Waterfall, Lighthouse of Lankaran

Service and Facilities:

Special guiders help the tourists to see great sides of Parks. Our Ministry of National Resources and
Ecology have decided to enter the park without fee.

Characteristics:

For the purpose of including the Hirkan National Park and the Caspian Hyrcanian (Girkan) forests
respectively into UNESCO’s World Heritage Site list of cultural and natural heritage and Biosphere
Reserves Programme, documents substantiated from the scientific point of view have been prepared
and introduced to the UNESCO Secretariat.

Market: Adventure lovers and Nature lovers, also scientist can be attracted to the park.

Summary:Hirkan National Park lies in the south of Azerbaijan. I first heard of it when I found out that
there are leopards in Azerbaijan. A little bit of digging on the Internet threw up a few tantalising articles
and I decided that one day I would like to visit Hirkan Park, home to Persian leopards. It was not so
much seeing the leopards face to face, as the idea of being somewhere where leopards live that was
enticing.