Baku, Quba, Absheron District and Gobustan: 5-day sightseeing tour

Day-by-day itinerary

1. Day 1

   Arrival in Baku and transfer to the hotel — a day without excursions, only the road and the first acquaintance. You notice how glass towers and old domes flash outside the car window, and the city immediately sets its rhythm. Night in Baku, meals not included.

2. Day 2

   The most urban day: you walk through Icherisheher, where stone walls and narrow streets keep traces of different eras. The main impression is the Palace of the Shirvanshahs on the hill and the workshop of the artist Ali Shamsi with blue eyes on wood. After lunch — a boat ride in "Little Venice" and a funicular ascent to the Highland Park, from where the evening panorama with the Flame Towers opens. The day ends on Nizami Street and Fountain Square.

3. Day 3

   The northern day — the calmest and coolest. You go to Quba to walk in the Gachresh forest, where tall trunks and the smell of pine needles, and then see the arched bridge over the Gudyalchay river. In the afternoon — Krasnaya Sloboda with synagogues and patterns on the houses, then a carpet workshop, where they show how wool is dyed and what each ornament means. The pace is measured, many pauses for tea.

4. Day 4

   The most saturated day: fire and stone. First the Ateshgah temple, where a flame burns in the center of the courtyard, and around are cells with wax figures and inscriptions in Sanskrit. Then Yanar Dagh mountain — tongues of fire right from the ground, which you can approach and feel the heat. After lunch — Gobustan: petroglyphs on the rocks, the "singing stone" Gaval Dash and a trip by off-road vehicle to the mud volcanoes, where gray bubbles slowly come to the surface.

5. Day 5

   The final day: breakfast, check-out and transfer to Baku airport. On the way you once again see the familiar outlines of the city, which has become closer over these days. Farewell to the guide and driver — and departure home.