Baku, Gobustan and Lankaran: 4-day sightseeing tour

Day-by-day itinerary

1. Day 1

   Day of arrival and adaptation: you are met at the airport and taken to the hotel, then the time is yours. You can go along Nizami Street — an old shopping area with shops and boutiques. Or spend time on the Seaside Boulevard, where both locals and guests of the city like to walk. There, in season, you can also ride a pleasure boat around Baku Bay. Another option is to try Azerbaijani tea with pakhlava or white cherry jam.

2. Day 2

   The day is dedicated to Baku — from grand mansions to the narrow streets of the Old City. Breakfast on this day is in a restaurant: scrambled eggs with tomatoes, homemade butter, local cheeses, honey, cream and fresh bread from the tandoor — but such a replacement of the usual breakfast at the hotel is available only in the premium tariff. The walking tour begins with stories about the houses of oil barons, among which are the National Museum of Azerbaijani Literature named after Nizami Ganjavi, the Ismailiyya Palace and the building of the former Alexandrian Muslim Girls' School. Then — a stop at the Palace of Happiness and an exit to the Building of the City Duma, then the Philharmonic Garden and the building of the Azerbaijan State Philharmonic named after Muslim Magomayev. Through the garden the route takes you to Icherisheher, where the Maiden Tower and the Palace of the Shirvanshahs stand, as well as mosques, minarets, remains of caravanserais and ancient baths; in souvenir shops you can find national clothing, scarves, dishes and handmade carpets. Lunch — in a cozy restaurant of the Old City: dushbara and dolma. The day ends with a walk along Baku Boulevard past the Mugham Center and the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum.

3. Day 3

   The longest and most contrasting day: after breakfast you leave Baku for the south. The road lies through Gobustan, where there are mud volcanoes and a reserve with ancient petroglyphs and a museum with interactive screens. Then — the south of Azerbaijan with a subtropical climate and a stop in the "Citrus Valley": here you will be shown how local fruits grow, and in season you can pick them yourself or simply take a few with you to try. For lunch you will be awaited by dishes of the southern region, among which are levyangi, and Lankaran tea. In Lankaran you will see the fortress, the Kichik-Bazar mosque and the Palace of Mirahmad Khan, and then go to Hirkan National Park in the Talysh Mountains — a place of wild nature with Lake Khanbulan. Return to Baku.

4. Day 4

   After breakfast at the hotel — free time, then check-out from the hotel and transfer to the airport. There are no excursions on this day: only packing and the road to the plane remain.