I visited the Azeri location closest to Xanbulan in 2023, knowing that this tWHS has great potential of being an easy extension to the already inscribed Iranian WHS this year (the Colchic Forests WHS in Georgia made it as a separate inscription!).

The "rangers' office" of the Hirkan National Park (Hirkan Milli Parki) and the best base for any organised or guided visit of one of the many trails around the 3 locations in Azerbaijan can be found along the main road 2-3km outside Xanbulan proper and the actual locations, not far from the Khanbulan lake. Unless you decide to cover a lot of ground with a multiday hike (on mostly muddy terrain), a guide is not necessary and online or offline (better) GPS maps are sufficient for a day trip from Baku towards the Iranian border. Should you opt for a guided visit, do make sure to call well ahead as the office doesn't seem to have fixed opening hours and supposedly an entrance ticket is charged too. The areas around and south of Xanbulan which I tried to cover during my day trip, involved some hairpins and minor offroading with my rental car, mostly because the area is prone to flooding and mudslides, and the only rangers I saw were busy covering higher ground on horseback and didn't charge me any entrance ticket.

The parking area close to the lake is very touristy and popular among locals, with lots of makeshift tea houses, swings, photo spots with plastic flowers, hearts, etc. However, especially when the terrain is muddy, most people stay very close to the parking area, so after a rather short (distancewise, but very muddy so time consuming nonetheless), you will most likely be alone in one of the three shaded mixed broad-leaved forests; even if you don't do much research before visiting the Hirkan forests of Azerbaijan, you'll still easily understand the main feature of the trees that make up these forests, as the leaves shed on the muddy terrain are a godsend when hiking, as well as great for birdwatching. During my short visit, I easily spotted and took photos of one of the smaller endemics, the Hirkan Caspian Tit (Parus Lugubris Hyrcanus) looking for acorns under the many leaves on the forest floor. The larger birds of prey are easily heard but much more difficult to spot and/or photograph. Another thing to watch out for and to keep a distance from are the colourful bee hive boxes clearly marked with white painted stones in some areas of the park.

All in all, it was a pleasant day trip away from the arid and desert-like environment around Baku, and I see no apparent reason why Azerbaijan should be left out when Iran and Georgia have already their similar inscribed forests on the list.