Gavmish Goli Hot Springs

Gavmish Goli ('Buffalo Lake') Hot Springs in the Ardabil Province of northwestern Iran, near the Sabalan volcanic massif, are sulfurous geothermal springs emerging in a highland landscape of alpine meadows and volcanic rock characteristic of the Sabalan mountain zone — Iran's most geothermally active highland area whose thermal resources underpin the Sarein spa complex. The springs' name refers to the pastoral landscape of the Ardabil highlands where Azerbaijani-speaking communities have maintained traditional transhumant herding practices for centuries, moving livestock between lowland winter pastures and Sabalan's summer alpine meadows. Gavmish Goli's sulfurous waters, set in a wild highland environment away from the commercialised Sarein spa complex, offer a more authentic encounter with the volcanic thermal heritage of the Ardabil region in a landscape shaped by the intersection of volcanic geology and highland pastoral culture.