The Stunning Azerbaijan Tour

After breakfast at the hotel, the tour will start at 09:30 local time.

The first place on our tour will be “Icherisheher”. The oldest part of Baku, the “Ancient City “, popularly known as the “Castle” or simply the “Old City” is also a historical-architectural reserve. Icherisheher, the oldest part of Baku, is surrounded by well-preserved fortress walls. More than 1,300 families live on 221,000 m² of land.

Famous architectural monuments located in Icherisheher, Gizgala, and Shirvanshah are considered pearls of Azerbaijani architecture. In addition, there are dozens of historical-architectural monuments: mosques, caravanserais, baths, residential houses, several museums, embassies, hotels, commercial facilities, cafes, and restaurants.

Lunchtime.

Our excursion will continue on Baku Boulevard. Baku Boulevard (Seaside Park), known as the National Park, is a promenade that was built in 1909 and runs parallel to the seashore of Baku. It is the second largest park in Europe after the park on the Seine in Paris. The park is very popular among both tourists and Baku residents for walking and enjoying the beauty of the city and the sea.

Here you will also see the National Carpet Museum of Azerbaijan, designed by Austrian architect Franz Janz and resembling a rolling carpet.

Stroll between decorative stone bridges called Little Venice, a small town on the water and one of the jewels of Baku. There are two large and several small islands, and the gondolas move on canals filled with clear and clean water

Baku Eye Ferris Wheel, also known as Baku Eye and Devil’s Wheel (Azerbaijani: Sheytan Charkhi), is a Ferris wheel located on Baku Boulevard in the Seaside National Park of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. “Devil’s Wheel” users have the opportunity to see Baku Bay, Flag Square, Crystal Hall, and the whole city.

Nizami Street is home to a variety of outlets, from banks to fashion stores, and is one of the most expensive streets in the world.

Fountain Square, as the name suggests, has several beautiful fountains decorating the square. Apart from them, various human-like figures are erected on the streets of the Square, which often attract the attention of tourists to take photos. Like Icheri Shaher, Fountain Square is one of the liveliest and most visited places in Baku.

Return to the hotel.

After breakfast at the hotel, the tour will start at 09:30 local time.

The first place we will visit on our tour will be the Ateshgah Fire Temple. This place, located 30 km away from Baku, was built in the 17th and 18th centuries. From that time until today, the fire temple has continued to burn. Until 1880, Ateshgah was a place of pilgrimage for Hindus. At present, beautiful landscaping works have been carried out in that area, and a museum has been established.

Then our destination will be the Yanardag State History, Culture, and Nature Reserve. The history of this eternally burning mountain is unknown

Today, our excursion will continue with a visit to the village of Gala (40 minutes away from Baku), which has a State History-Ethnography Reserve and an Open-Air Museum, which gives an opportunity to see the original lifestyle of the Azerbaijani people from the 10th–19th centuries. This is a unique place where you can not only take a tour of the past but also bake bread in the ancient oven “Tandir”, weave carpets, rub clay in the pottery workshop, and feed camels and horses.

Lunchtime.

The next place we will visit will be the Heydar Aliyev Center. The project for the center was developed in 2007 by the world-famous architect Zaha Hadid. Stop by the famous “I Love Baku” sign to take a photo

Park Bulvar Mall is considered the first modern shopping center in Baku. In addition to the world’s favorite brand stores, there are also a number of entertainment such as a luxurious restaurant, cinema, and bowling

We will go to Daghustu Park (Highland Park) to see Baku from the highest point. Here, you will enjoy a panoramic view of the city of Baku and the Caspian Sea. You will have a chance to see the Flame Towers, one of the famous buildings in Baku. The height of this complex, which consists of three skyscrapers, is 182 m. The three flame-shaped towers are intended to symbolize the elements of fire and refer to Azerbaijan’s nickname, “The Land of Fire”.

Return to the hotel.

After having breakfast at the hotel, we will leave at 08:00 to start the tour.

The first stop of the Shamakhi tour will be Meraza village. There you will visit the tomb of Diri Baba (a 15th-century mausoleum mosque called Diri-Baba located in front of the old cemetery).

Our next stop will be the Shamakhi Juma Mosque. The mosque was built in 743–744 years. Shamakhi Juma Mosque is the oldest mosque in the South Caucasus after Darbend Juma Mosque (built in 734). The mosque, which was restored several times in the Middle Ages, was destroyed during the Shamakhi earthquakes in 1856 and 1902 and was restored first by Gasim Bey Hajibababeyov and then by Iosif Ploshko. The last restoration works in the mosque, which was burned by Armenians in 1918, were carried out in 2010–2013 according to the order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.

Then we continue moving to Shamakhi, the ancient city of Azerbaijan, which was the capital of the Shirvan dynasty in the 9th and 16th centuries and the center of the Shamakhi Khanate in the 18th century. Some distance away from the city of Shahmakhi, you will see the “Yeddi Gumbaz” (“Seven Domes”) mausoleum, which is the tomb of the Shamakhi khans from the 18th century.

After leaving Shamakhi, we will visit Meysari Winery. Branded as “Meysari” (the name of the company’s main base), Shirvan Wines is one of Azerbaijan’s newest wine producers and the only EU-certified organic wine producer in the country. With the first crop in 2017, bottling in 2018 is what we have to go on, but the signs are promising. The vineyard area has now grown to 310 hectares, the new processing unit uses the first high-quality French equipment and a museum, restaurant, and guest house have been built to facilitate wine tours

On the side of the road to Gabala, there is Nohur Lake of unique beauty. Lake Nohur in Gabala is one of the most famous tourist attractions in our country, and you will talk about an excursion to this lake during our tour to Gabala. The lake is unusual and beautiful, surrounded by mountains and shale deposits, and looks like a mirror through which wooded slopes are reflected.

Lunchtime.

The best part of the Gabala tour is the shooting club. This is an amazing institution that combines a professional sports base and a social and recreational institution. On the one hand, athletes-shooters are trained here, and on the other hand, almost everyone, even tourists, can come and shoot here.

Tufandag resort is located 4 km from Gabala, the ancient capital of Caucasian Albania. The distance to Gabala International Airport is 20 km, and from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, it is 220 km. The resort has all the conditions for a great family vacation. Tufandag offers skiing in the winter, cable car climbing in the summer, and many other activities besides the breathtaking panoramic views. There are training schools with qualified instructors who will help you not only to sit on skis and snowboard for the first time but also to improve your skills and reach a new level. Kids will love the indoor playgrounds. Babysitting services are available at hotel complexes. The Tufandagh complex can accommodate up to 3000 guests at the same time. In addition to 5-star hotels, the complex includes restaurants, cafes, bars, recreation areas, ski and adult skiing, and rental and repair equipment. The trails of Tufandag Gabala Ski Center are of varying complexity and the total length of the ski trails is 17 km.

At the end of the tour, we will leave for the city of Sheki (1-hour drive).

Overnight at the hotel in Sheki.

After having breakfast at the hotel, we will start the tour at 10:00 local time.

Sheki is one of the oldest and most magnificent cities in Transcaucasia. Rich in many historical and architectural monuments, it is considered the craft capital of the country and an important stop on the Great Silk Road. Local artisans have preserved their secrets until today, passing them down from generation to generation. We will visit several workshops to learn how “shebaka” (handmade frescoes), “baklava” (a special sweet popular in Azerbaijan), and “tekalduz” (a type of weaving popular in this area) are made.

A must-see is the Sheki Khan Summer Palace, covered from floor to ceiling with stunning miniature paintings. Thousands of small pieces of glass were used to make his “grid” window mosaic. The next stop will be the Caravanserai, a historic complex consisting of two magnificent Caravanserai: “Yukhari” (“Upper”) and “Ashaghi” (“Lower”). The castle walls, ethnographic museum, and craft shops are also very popular attractions. Sheki has been a major producer of silk for the past four centuries and is famous for a variety of silk products.

You will also visit the ancient Albanian church in Kish village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site about 5 km north of Sheki.

Lunchtime.

After lunch, you will spend time in the Bio Garden, which consists of eight hectares of green gardens with more than 100 different types of fruit trees, most of which are found in Azerbaijan. It aims to increase interest in agrotourism in Azerbaijan. Fish and poultry are grown here, and a number of exotic birds are brought from other countries. You can pick your own fruits and vegetables (in season) and also learn how to grow them. Peaceful roads with plenty of nice places to sit offer opportunities to relax, while village food and traditional tea sets will help you recharge your batteries.

Return to Baku at the end of the tour.

Overnight at the hotel in Baku.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Transfer to the airport.