Baku, Absheron District, Gobustan and Gabala: 8-day sightseeing tour

Day-by-day itinerary

1. Day 1

   Arrival in Baku and transfer to the hotel — a day without a program, given to the road and rest. Check-in after 15:00. If you want to go out, the Seaside Boulevard next to the hotel gives a first impression of the city: water, the light of towers, unhurried walks. Night in Baku.

2. Day 2

   The most urban day of the trip, seven to eight hours long: first the ancient Icherisheher with fortress walls, the Maiden Tower and the Palace of the Shirvanshahs, then modern Baku — Little Venice, a funicular ascent to the Highland Park, Fountain Square and the Surakhani tanker museum. The day ends at the Heydar Aliyev Center. Lunch — in the Old City, among plane trees.

3. Day 3

   An outing day and the most "earthy": Gobustan with rock carvings and the singing rock Gaval Dash, then off-road vehicles to the mud volcanoes, where the clay in the craters is warm and soft. After lunch with grilled fish — the Ateshgah fire worshippers' temple with a living flame in the middle of the courtyard and the fiery mountain Yanar Dagh, by which you just want to sit and be silent. Night in Baku.

4. Day 4

   A travel day to the west: the Diri Baba mausoleum, growing out of the rock, and the oldest mosque in Shamakhi with wooden columns and stained-glass windows. Then — a winery among vineyards, where the tasting is paid on site, and Lahij, a village of craftsmen, where blacksmiths, chasers and potters work before your eyes. In the village teahouse — kutabs with herbal tea, included in the program. The road through mountain passes leads to Gabala.

5. Day 5

   The quietest and highest day. Lake Nohur Gel, where you just want to breathe, the "Seven Beauties" waterfall with a forest path and a spring, a cable car ascent to the "Sleeping Beauty" peak and swings over the valley. After lunch — the village of Nij with the culture of the Udis. By evening you are already in Sheki: a walk through the streets, a night in a caravanserai and a tasting of Sheki sweets.

6. Day 6

   A day about craft and antiquity, the longest of the trip — ten to eleven hours. The Palace of the Sheki Khans with shebeke mosaic and a workshop where this mosaic is assembled by hand, then a pottery workshop where you can mold a bowl yourself. Then the mountain village of Kish with an Albanian church and a glass floor over burials and a monument to a researcher. On the way back — a silk manufactory, and by night a return to Baku.

7. Day 7

   A free day without a guide — a rare opportunity to walk along Nizami Street, look into a teahouse where they play backgammon, and visit the Yashil Bazaar for spices, churchkhela and figs. You can again visit the Heydar Aliyev Center or simply sit in a cafe opposite the towers. A farewell dinner with a view of the Caspian — optionally and at your own expense.

8. Day 8

   Rooms are vacated by 12:00, then — transfer to the airport and departure home. Memories are taken away together with souvenirs: glass mosaic, swings above the clouds, the heat of the fiery mountain and the ringing of copper in Lahij.