Places to visit in Azerbaijan

Old City (Icherisheher)

Baku's medieval core, ringed by 12th century walls and listed by UNESCO in 2000. A maze of narrow lanes with mosques, caravanserais, hammams, small museums, galleries and cafes.

Google MapsWebsite: icherisheher.gov.azOfficial source

Maiden Tower

A massive stone cylinder on a rock by the old shoreline, 28 to 31 metres high with walls up to 5 metres thick. Its age and purpose are still debated. Part of the UNESCO listed Old City.

Hours

Daily, 10:00 to 19:00

Ticket

Foreign visitors: adults 19 AZN, children 5 to 17 9 AZN. Local visitors: adults 5 AZN, students 2.50 AZN, children 2 AZN.

Google MapsWebsite: icherisheher.gov.azOfficial source

Palace of the Shirvanshahs

The 15th century residence of the Shirvanshah dynasty, at the top of the Old City. The complex includes the palace, a mosque, a mausoleum, a bathhouse, the divankhana and a gate.

Hours

Daily, 10:00 to 19:00

Ticket

Palace and Treasury. Foreign visitors: adults 24 AZN, children 5 to 17 12 AZN. Local visitors: adults 7 AZN, students 3 AZN, children 2 AZN.

Google MapsWebsite: icherisheher.gov.azOfficial source

Heydar Aliyev Center

Zaha Hadid's flowing white building, opened in 2012, has no straight lines and won the London Design Museum's Design of the Year in 2014. Inside are exhibitions, a Mini Azerbaijan display and classic cars; outside is a large park.

Google MapsWebsite: heydaraliyevcenter.azOfficial source

Flame Towers

Three flame shaped skyscrapers that dominate Baku's skyline, with a hotel, apartments and offices. At night some 10,000 LED lights turn the facades into flames. Best seen from the Boulevard and Highland Park.

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Baku Boulevard

A seaside promenade founded in 1909 along the Caspian, with trees, cafes and views of Baku Bay. Along it are the Carpet Museum, the Baku Eye, Little Venice canals and short boat trips.

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Azerbaijan Carpet Museum

Housed on the Boulevard in a building shaped like a rolled carpet, opened in 2014. It holds the world's largest collection of Azerbaijani carpets, over 6,000, mostly from the 17th to 20th centuries. Carpet weaving is on UNESCO's intangible heritage list since 2010.

Google MapsWebsite: azcarpetmuseum.azOfficial source

Highland Park

Baku's best viewpoint over the bay, the Old City and the Flame Towers. Especially beautiful at sunset and after dark. Reach it by the Baku Funicular or by car.

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Gobustan Rock Art

A reserve with over 6,000 petroglyphs made between 5,000 and 20,000 years ago, showing hunters, animals, boats and dances. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2007, with a modern museum at the entrance.

From Baku

About 60 km south of Baku

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Mud Volcanoes

Azerbaijan has about 350 recorded mud volcanoes, bubbling cones of cold mud pushed up by underground gas. The Mud Volcanoes Tourism Complex near Gobustan has an information centre, exhibitions and quad bike or golf cart tours.

Ticket

Combined ticket for Yanar Dag, Ateshgah and the Mud Volcanoes Tourism Complex: 35 AZN per person, valid 72 hours after first use.

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Yanar Dag (Burning Mountain)

Natural gas seeping from a hillside has kept flames burning here for thousands of years, sometimes up to 10 metres high. Marco Polo described them in the 13th century. The reserve has a modern museum and is most striking after dark.

Hours

Daily, 10:00 to 19:00

Ticket

Foreign visitors 15 AZN, local visitors 2 AZN, students 1 AZN. Guided tour 10 AZN (3 AZN in Azerbaijani). Combined ticket with Ateshgah 25 AZN, valid 72 hours. Children under 18 free.

Google MapsWebsite: yanardag.azOfficial source

Ateshgah Fire Temple

A fire temple in Surakhani, used as a place of worship by pilgrims from India in the 17th and 18th centuries. Today it is an open air museum and on UNESCO's Tentative List since 1998.

Ticket

Foreign visitors 15 AZN, local visitors 2 AZN, students 1 AZN. Guided tour 10 AZN (3 AZN in Azerbaijani). Combined ticket with Yanar Dag 25 AZN, valid 72 hours.

Google MapsWebsite: ateshgahtemple.azOfficial source

Gala Historical and Ethnographic Reserve

An open air museum of more than 81 hectares with finds from the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC, a 14th century fortress and a recreated medieval village. A second museum shows art made from waste, and there are craft masterclasses.

From Baku

About 40 km from Baku

Ticket

15 AZN, includes both museums and the masterclasses. Children 12 and under pay half, 3 and under free.

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Beshbarmag Mountain

A 382 metre rock named Five Finger Mountain for its shape, a place where locals come to pray for strength and good luck. The climb gives wide views of the Caspian, and the area is a top birdwatching spot.

From Baku

Just over an hour by car along the Guba highway

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Red Village and Museum of Mountain Jews

A Mountain Jewish settlement across the river from Guba. The museum, in the former Garchagi Synagogue, shows everyday life of the community in the 19th century, with tours in several languages.

Hours

Sunday to Thursday 10:00 to 18:00, Friday 10:00 to 14:00

Ticket

Tourists 10 AZN, local citizens 5 AZN, children 12 to 16 3 AZN, under 12 free.

Google MapsOfficial source

Khinalug

An ancient village at about 2,000 metres, 57 km from Guba, where houses climb the slope so one roof is the next yard. Villagers speak their own Ketsh language. Khinalug and the Köç Yolu migration route are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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Shahdag Mountain Resort

Azerbaijan's first ski resort in Gusar, named after 4,243 metre Mount Shahdag. In summer it offers hiking, horse riding, ziplining and family activities in Shahdag National Park.

Google MapsWebsite: shahdag.azOfficial source

Shamakhi Juma Mosque

First built in 743 AD, it is the oldest mosque in Azerbaijan and the second oldest in the Caucasus. Destroyed and rebuilt several times, the present building dates from 2013.

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Lahij

A 2,000 year old mountain village of cobbled lanes and stone houses, famous for its copperware. Over 40 crafts were once practised here, and locals speak their own Tat language.

From Baku

About 3 hours by car

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Gabala and Tufandag

Azerbaijan's outdoor hub at the foot of the Caucasus. Tufandag Mountain Resort has skiing in winter and paragliding in summer, and there are jeep safaris and rafting on the Turyanchay river.

From Baku

260 km; there is also a Baku to Gabala train

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Ancient Gabala (Chukhur Gabala)

Ruins of the old capital of Caucasian Albania and a Silk Road trading hub, 15 km south west of Gabala. Two round brick towers mark the old southern gate, and a museum explains the 25 hectare site.

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Historic Centre of Sheki

A Silk Road town at the foot of the Greater Caucasus, with cobbled streets, caravanserais and craft workshops. The 18th century Upper Caravanserai still works as a hotel. A UNESCO World Heritage Site together with the Khans' Palace.

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Sheki Khans' Palace

The 18th century administrative palace of the Sheki khans inside the fortress, shaded by 500 year old plane trees. Its frescoes and shebeke windows, made of wood and coloured glass without glue or nails, are masterpieces.

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Kish Albanian Temple

In Kish village, 5 km from Sheki, one of the finest monuments of Caucasian Albania. Its core may date to the 1st century AD, and it now works as a museum with Bronze Age finds.

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Ilisu Waterfall

A 25 metre waterfall falling from the cliffs of the Greater Caucasus above Ilisu village in Gakh. About an hour's hike up a steep slope; in winter it freezes.

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Nizami Ganjavi Mausoleum and Museum

The resting place of the 12th century poet Nizami in Ganja, with a square of sculptures from his Khamsa. The nearby museum shows copies of rare Khamsa manuscripts kept in libraries around the world.

Ticket

Mausoleum free. Museum: foreign nationals 2 AZN, locals 1 AZN, students 0.50 AZN.

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Bottle House, Ganja

A two storey house finished in 1967 by Ibrahim Jafarov in memory of his brother, lost in World War II. Its walls are covered with 48,000 bottles of different sizes and colours.

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Lake Goygol

A clear blue lake at 1,500 metres in Goygol National Park, formed by an earthquake in 1139 that blocked a river below Mount Kapaz. Trails lead on to the smaller Lake Maralgol.

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Hirkan National Park

Ancient Hyrcanian forest in the Lankaran and Astara regions, with iron trees that survived the last Ice Age. The forests are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Marked trails, horse riding and picnics around Khanbulan Lake.

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Momine Khatun Mausoleum

A ten sided 12th century tomb in Nakhchivan City by the architect Ajami Nakhchivani, a gem of the Nakhchivan school with red brick and turquoise tiles. It honours the wife of the ruler Shamsaddin Eldaniz.

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Nakhchivan Khans' Palace

Residence of the rulers of the Nakhchivan Khanate from the mid 18th to the early 20th century. Since 2010 its three ornate floors with shebeke windows house a museum of the khanate period.

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Ashabi Kahf Cave

A holy cave complex about 12 km east of Nakhchivan City, linked to the story of the Seven Sleepers. Stairs lead to a mosque and shrines, and it is a popular pilgrimage site.

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Alinja Fortress

A rebuilt medieval fortress on a craggy peak in Julfa that held out against Tamerlane for 14 years. Visit the museum at the bottom, then climb about 1,500 steps for huge views.

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