Sunrise on Kapaz: leaving at night to meet the morning from the summit

Some routes stay with you for the view, others for the rhythm. Kapaz is the second kind: most of the walk happens in the dark, by headlamp, and you reach the summit exactly at sunrise.

The night schedule

• 21:00 — meeting point, 21:30 — departure from Baku
• 03:30 — the village of Toghana, the foot of Kapaz
• 03:40 — the walk begins
• 06:30 — summit
• 11:00 — descent, return by UAZ and Niva vehicles
• 15:00–16:00 — Goygol
• 23:00 — Baku

Programme: One-day Kapaz summit + Goygol and Maralgol.

Three rules for walking at night

1. A headlamp, not a hand torch. Your hands must be free — on a rocky slope you need them for balance. Bring spare batteries too; in the cold they run down faster than you expect.

2. Dress for two temperatures. It is cool at 3 a.m. and hot by 10. Layering here is not theoretical advice but a practical necessity.

3. Sleep. You can doze for 4–5 hours on the bus, but it is not deep sleep. A full night's sleep before the tour is the single most important part of preparing for this route.

Goygol and Maralgol

After the summit the programme moves on to the lakes. Goygol was formed when a strong earthquake in 1139 triggered a landslide that dammed the Aghsu river — so the lake itself is a piece of Kapaz. Looking down from the summit, you can see that connection with your own eyes.

Who I recommend it to

People with average fitness but a good tolerance for lost sleep. If you feel awful at 4 a.m., this route will test you. In return, twenty minutes of sunrise on the summit stay with you for years.

For a similar feeling in daylight: Niyaldag summit trek.