I had read about this before I came to Azerbaijan. This is not the best time to see the Masazir Lake turn pin. Later in the summer is better. But we wanted to give it a shot anyway.

Driving from Yanar Dag, we crossed Mirzaladi Golu (Golu = Lake). That looked distinctly pink to use. Encouraged, we pressed on. As we neared Masazir Golu, you would clearly see the pink effect. Unfortunately, the sun was high, and the angle was not perfect from all directions. Additionally, the entire lake was fenced off (there is a salt lake factory on its banks), and we could not reach a convenient spot.

Hamid insisted that we keep driving south. Eventually, we took a side road, and Hamid’s efforts came to fruition! There was an open area to get to the water!

You can clearly see the color difference. Again, the bright sun was not making it easy. But I have a shot of this lake from the airplane that I will post later, and you can see the difference!

Apparently, the pink color is formed by the salt and a certain kind of algae (that thrives in summer heat).