By Susanne Schwarz.
Autumn is the high season for hiking and biking. Susanne Schwarz checks out the options around the village famous for its traditional coppersmithing.
When I said I wanted to go mountain biking in Lahıc (Lahij), people told me I was crazy. Lahıc has the highest density of summer pastures in Azerbaijan. More than sixty herds of sheep are guarded by ferocious shepherd dogs. But despite this on all my previous visits I got the impression that Lahıc offers more hiking and biking options than all the guide books promise. I thought September would be a good time to check this out, as the days are still warm, but the sun is no longer scorching. Also, September is the month, when the shepherds leave their summer camps.
When I started my trip, the weather was not as promising as the forecast had been, but even heavy rainfall could not stop my enthusiasm. When I turned at the junction into the valley up to Lahıc, I met my first herd of sheep; they were bedraggled creatures but accompanied by huge, healthy looking dogs.
Where there's sheep, there will be shephard dogs!
The “Bridge to Nowhere”
I began my first short hike in heavy rainfall, following the dirt road that passes the Evim Otel, straight uphill. The road soon became a trail and at one point I had to stop, as the fog got so dense and nothing was visible to help orientation.
The next morning I was not only greeted by the sun, but also by twenty-three Griffon vultures circling so low that I do not even need my binoculars to identify them. I got my mountain bike ready for action.
At the border between old and new Lahıc stands the ‘bridge to nowhere’, noted in the guidebooks as ‘crossing the Girdiman River’. At least, a road can be seen winding up the mountain. So, I checked it out… The very steep road leads to a pass from where the view opens into another river valley with several small settlements. The trails then lead to the right, along the pass that was blocked by sheep (…or to be honest, by my fear of the dogs that might have been guarding them). So I took the road downhill, as steep as the one I had come up. Several dirt roads were available to me but dark clouds coming over the mountain tops unfortunately stopped me from being more explorative.
I decided to head for the river and hoped for a trail leading towards the Lahıc valley. I soon realized this hope was in vain, and I left the riverbank for a cattle trail leading uphill… again. That required a good push on my part… but nevertheless, the trail was exciting as the hill offered different types of vegetation, and a species of butterfly accompanied me that I hadn’t seen before. I passed a remote house up in the hills and reached an unexpected pond. Passing some graves, I found myself back on the top, right above a landslide -the next cracks already visible. There was an old dirt road leading along the ridge that I followed towards a transmission tower.
If anybody is ready for steep climbs, this is your trip but my advice is to take it the other way around! When you first come to the pass, turn left towards the transmission tower, keep right on the meadow to find the trail and have fun on the single trail down.
Beautiful Autumn colours
An Amazing River Gorge
My next biking trip brought me to Burovdal. While a sign in Lahıc tells you the general direction, there were no signs at the junctions where I needed them – I just followed my instinct. An unexpected loop to the right brought me through another river gorge which was just amazing, lined with sea buckthorn and rosehips. So far, the road was more or less flat with just a few short climbs. Now the first more serious climb lay in front of me; I came back to the Girdiman river valley and could see a village that was not even on my map. From above, the gardens gave me the impression of a small park. I continued towards Zarat as here, I would have to cross through the river. It looked rough and deep. I was not keen on getting into the cold water, as I already felt a sore throat coming on. So I rode up the meadow (which would have been a great camping site) enjoying the view and the return to Lahıc.
My host later told me, there is an alternative road via Hǝftǝsov. But even along the short part of the road I could see from Lahıc, I counted five shepherd camps…
With some bread and cheese that turned out to have the taste of banana drinking yoghurt, I spent the early evening hours high up on a meadow. The golden light of the early autumn sun lay like a blanket over the valley. Cows walked their way home to the stable, and horses and donkeys were calling to each other. The local sheep passed by looking healthy and strong and a bright spot landed on a tree, it was Lilac Breasted Roller; a beautiful bee-eater, which can be found both in Europe and Africa.
First make sure you have a sturdy mountain bike!
Hiking to a Peak
The next day I put on my hiking boots again. Wasn’t there still a small peak calling for me? After about two and a half kilometers from Evim Otel, the trail divides. The trail to the right leads through a low forest and then on to a mountain ridge. From there on the trail followed the ridge, but you would have to be an experienced mountaineer to continue. If you are hiking with kids, you should definitely secure them with a rope and you also have to share this place with a pair of local ravens.
This time, I decide on the path to the left. After another kilometer, the forest opened up. I crossed the meadow straight uphill towards a bald rock hanging over me and continued the trail towards the little twin peak with their big brother behind then and walked straight into a shepherd’s camp! Fortunately, the wind was on my side and the dogs don’t get my scent. To be sure, I went lower down behind the hills but the trail towards my target was blocked. The little peaks however, make it a good choice and offered spectacular views.
“It is Always Worth Coming Back”
The air was filled with the “glück-glück”, calls of bee-eaters and I filled my stomach with blackberries that were growing all around me. I was leaving, knowing I was still far from exploring all the hiking and biking possibilities around but, with the friendly people of Lahic, the options of accommodation from camping, a simple home stay or a comfortable hotel, all offering fair prices, it is certainly worth coming back.
