adminThat’s the tagline given by the tourism board, given to encourage travelers to scratch beyond the surface and experience the culture, take part in various activities offered.
Very apt, after coming back to one’s own country travelers will wonder did I do justice or should we have stayed a bit more ? Soaked in the culture some more ? No end to greed I guess.
By the Caspian Sea, sharing borders with Russia, Turkey, Armenia, Georgia and Iran. For Indians it’s E visa & can be obtained in 3-5 working days. A safe destination that is easy to travel, hiring a car with chauffer is will not burn a hole in the pocket. If combining countries one can exit Azerbaijan by road to go to neighboring Georgia but cannot enter Azerbaijan from Georgia by road. This is valid for now & may change later.
Azerbaijan celebrates the Persian New Year with the Novruz festival in a big way . To check out dates & visit around that time would be a fabulous idea, weather is ideal as well, chances of getting snow in the mountain regions. It was a coincidence that I travelled on those dates & there were festivities all around, Nizami street was full of pop up stalls with games & food, total carnival vibes.
Easter eggs everywhere
In autumn (September and October), there are several festivals celebrated. In September Baku hosts the Grand Prix ( 18th -21st) probably better to not travel during these dates as everything is crowded & expensive.
I found the metro in Baku simple to navigate despite language issues. Each trip is standard .50 ANZ. Buses in Baku are also easy to use & connect well.
Metros also have underground art, travelling is not only simple but opportunities to appreciate art. Xalglar Doslugu and Elmler Akademiyasi Stations are embellished with mosaics and other Soviet-era decorations.
Many places still accept only cash. Recommended to change currency to get Manat. (ANZ) Most supermarkets & even small local shops willingly exchange USD, GBP or EURO. While buying even something as basic as a packet of wafers be careful as even supermarkets may charge way above the printed price.
Airports are naturally the first impression of how a country is going to unfold. Baku was cute, modern & compact, there were huge decorated Easter eggs and grass grown in various pots as symbol of growth, renewal & arrival of Spring as Nawruz was around the corner. As Iran is a bordering country there is an influence of Irani culture here
Broadly would recommend 3 places to explore in Azebaijan : Gebele or Gabala, Baku & Shahdag. Recommended to travel as a prebooked tour, it’s reasonable & saves mind space for enjoying the country. Food recommendations would be lacking on this blog as being vegetarian I survived on food carried from back home.
Gabala : North of Azerbaijan, famous for ski slopes & other winter sports like snowboarding & snowmobiling. Best place to enjoy would be from Tufandag mountain resort, for all those who prefer to relax & not exert the resort has a lot of cafes, food stalls, music, bonfire going on throughout the day at the cable car station. One can take a cable car from the resort to the mountain top.
From Baku to Gabala a must stop place is Alpaca farm. Cute, cuddly & docile they are so endearing. Also adding to the Alpaca experience is the patient and knowledgeable staff. They have a small cafe & shop. We got a cookie each as a souvenir. One can feed the females, (food to be given to them is part of entry ticket), get close & take pictures with the males. We were warned not to touch the females, they are kept in a separate enclosure. Tipping the guide in charge is expected.
Alpacas are native of South America, look like sheep but are part of the camel family. They can survive extreme climates because of their hair, they are sheared only once a year and the price of their wool is higher than traditional wool. Graceful & friendly, even those who are scared of animals will not hesitate to hug these cuties.
Enroute one can do a wine tour, stopped for a wine tour at Savalan Apsi winery, felt it was a waste of time & money. It was more like someone giving a lesson than a fun experience, the table setting for wine tasting was impressive though. Personally I was not very enamored by the local wine I had anywhere in Azerbaijan. Instead of a wine tour a fabulous very recommend lunch stop would be at Abqora, it’s a restaurant where Shirvan wines are located, near Alpaca farms and very picturesque.
A few more stops on way would be at Shamaki village, a drive around is good enough. Shamaki Jummah Mosque, the oldest mosque of the country built in 743AD, since then it has been destroyed & rebuilt many times, latest being in 2013. It’s beautiful & peaceful. Nohur lake, there is a games zone, go carting, horse riding etc. If travelling with children they may enjoy the break. Decent food stalls, not a mandatory stop but can add to itinerary if time is no constrain.
Baku : One can feel confluence of Turkey here, and in many places the Turkish flag soars along with Azerbaijan’s flag. Great vibes, amazing restaurants, sheesha places, cafes, futuristic buildings, cobbled lanes with vestiges of an era gone by. It’s a blend of modernity & transportation back to ancient ages. Vintage cars, shops selling luxury brands, carpet shops, small souvenir stalls all blend together seamlessly.
Just across Baku old town is the Baku Boulevard also known as Denizkenari Milli park, along the Caspian sea it starts at Flag square and goes beyond freedom square, 5 kms of promenade with shops, cafes, Baku Ferris wheel ( inspired probably by the London eye ) & a small meandering cute boat ride. Enough and more to do here.
Would highly recommend staying at Old town over staying at the promenade. Baku has so many amazing hotels, to choose from them would be tough. Would recommend Art gallery, a small boutique hotel with limited rooms but amazing location, In old town with European vibes, small shops & cafes around, walkable to Nizami street, opposite the boulevard, big rooms, fabulous service. Only thing lacking was limited breakfast options.
Covering all places in Baku city in a day is very doable, add another day to cover the places around.
For Baku start with exploring old town, try to not stop too many times to shop for souvenirs, walk across to the fountain square, from there a short ride away is flame towers, get off there, walk along Martyrs’ Lane, which is a cemetery & memorial on the hill dedicated to all who lost their lives in the first Nagorno – Karabakh war in January 1990. Originally known as Kirov Park, it honors Azerbaijani national heroes. Walk ahead to the viewpoint, it’s a great place to take pictures of the city as it’s on a hill with amazing views of the sea, Baku wheel & Baku city. Take a funicular to go downhill. Carpet museum is almost where the funicular ends. To rest a bit take the Venice boat ride. It’s a peaceful waterways stretch along Baku Boulevard, where one can hop on a tiny gondola and float under decorative bridges. Having done that walk along the Boulevard approx a km and cross the road at the puppet museum.
As one crosses the street from peace one is transported to a busy street lined with shops and cafes. A place where one can spend hours without knowing where time flew. Great to stop for lunch & end with a baklava. Being neighbors with Turkey is probably the reason behind this delicacy being perfectly prepared. ( A layered dessert made of filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with honey ) The variety of baklavas is mind blowing, most shops give a small taste if one gets totally confused on which one to buy.
In the evening or as continuation after a lunch break can walk from here to Shirvanshahs palace, a 15th-century palace built by the Shirvanshahs and described by UNESCO as one of the pearls of Azerbaijan’s architecture. A short walk away is the museum of miniature books. It holds the Guinness World Record for the largest collection of the tiniest books worldwide. The museum features a variety of miniature books, including some that are only 2mm x 2mm and require a magnifying glass to read. Entry to the museum is free, and it is open from 11 am to 5 pm.
This part of town done exploring, a drive away is Heydar Aliyev Center. Famous for it’s unique architectural design, it has a fluid undulating structure. Designed by the renowned Zaha Hadid. An architect very well known the world over, winner of highest prize for architecture in the UK, The Stirling Prize. He is also known in the UK as ‘The Queen of the curve’ Not only the exterior but also the interior has a lot of curves instead of straight lines.
To enter one can buy a museum & exhibition entry which does not include the classic car section which is a must visit. The car exhibit entry can also be bought as a standalone ticket. Vintage cars displayed here are in perfect condition, with huge blowups next to them of yesteryear celebrities driving or modelling with the cars. It houses rare car models from across the globe.
The entry ticket includes an interesting museum section which is engaged in studying, promoting and protecting Heydar Aliyev’s heritage. Spanning 3 floors it has many items on display that show Azerbaijan through the ages. From traditional clothing to musical instruments, to other designs throughout the city. Azerbaijan in a nutshell.
Outside Heydar Aliyev Center is the I LOVE BAKU sign with a backdrop of Heydar Aliyev center & of green gardens.
Hectic but possible, all in a day, be prepared to walk a lot.
Gobustan : Rock petroglyphs & mud volcanoes. An hour away from Baku is the Gobustan National Park Museum, outside the museum there are rock art petroglyphs dating back up to 40,000 years. More than 6,000 individual carvings were discovered here in the 1930s and have been protected through the Gobustan National Park. Many of the petroglyphs found here depict horses, goats, lions and other animals. Evidence suggests that animals were carved into the rock as part of pre-hunting rituals, maybe for target practice. Other petroglyphs are records of Gobustan’s culture, dance ceremonies, pregnant women depicted in profile and abstract status symbols. Faded over time, taking a guide to explain and point out the significance is recommended, guides are mostly available in the museum.
Mud volcanoes are around 30 minutes away from the museum, to reach them a tougher vehicle is required, these are co ordinated by the tour company.
Methane and carbon dioxide gases released from deep within the Earth cause Gobustan’s mud volcanoes to constantly bubble away, releasing a slow drizzle of wet mud that plasters the surrounding ground grey and black. More than half of world’s mud volcanoes are found in Azerbaijan, many in Gobustan. It’s safe to get up close as the mud is cold and the bubbles are small. Many tourists collect the mud coming from the volcanoes for applying as face packs. Not sure if it is of any good at all. Tour companies give plastic shoe protectors as else the sticky mud will take forever to be scraped off the shoe.
Absheron : Around 30 minutes from Baku is the Ateshgah Fire Temple. History of the temple goes back more to time immemorial, when Zoroastrians would come here to worship the inextinguishable fire. After the introduction of Islam the temple was destroyed & many Zoroastrians migrated to India. During the 15th -17th centuries Hindus/ Sikhs came to Absheron for trade & started pilgrimages to Surakhani. The Indian merchants started to rebuild the temple, the earliest part is dated from 1713. The latest part, the central temple-altar, in 1810. During the 18th century, chapels, cells and an inn were added. The temple has Hindu Gods & carved inscriptions in Hindi.
In beginning of 19th century the Temple got it’s present day look, mid 19th century due to earth’s movement natural gas yield stopped as did the fire burning. Pilgrims interpreted it as a punishment from God and abandoned the temple. It was used as a place of worship till 1880. Now this place has been opened for tourists with artificial fires.
Yanar Dagh, the burning mountain is hardly 20 minutes away from the fire temple. A huge sign marks the mountain much before the fire is seen. Fire at the bottom of the mountain has been burning from last 4,000 years. Historically, Yanar Dag was a site of worship for Zoroastrian fire rituals as they revered fire as a symbol of purity & divinity. In present day tourists also throw coins into the flames after making a wish. Heat from the fire burns the coins, leaving behind melted metal & hopes of many. There is a line around the fire which one cannot cross ( Lakshman rekha ? A Hindu story to be narrated some other time ) On the premises there is a museum, a cafe & a small shop. Tickets are required to see the mountain.
Gobustan & Abershan are normally clubbed together as a single day trip.
Shahdag : Around 3 hours from Baku surrounded by the breathtaking landscapes of the Greater Caucasus mountain range. Pristine glaciers and deep ravines, stunning mountain lakes and canyons. A white fairytale for most part of the year. Even summers have pleasant temperatures of 20°C.
One of this region’s largest national park, it has the largest ski resorts, having 19 ski slopes with various levels of difficulty. Shahdag is bestowed with nature’s gifts to the point where if places could be envious then Shahdag would be the place all other regions are jealous of. Here one can do skiing, snowboarding, ride snowmobile or do sledging, whatever thrills. Walks & treks can be enjoyed in summer.
Pik Palace would be a great place to stay, they have a heated swimming pool, spa, sauna, whirlpool, ski center, games, bowling alley. Right outside the door are the slopes and ski lifts. If booking here be sure to take room with balcony. The views will be the biggest take away from the entire holiday.
Another must do activity is Shahdag mountain coaster, one can walk to it from many resorts 2.590 meters of fun, speed upto 42 km/ hour, sharp twists & turns which can be controlled by brakes given on the sledge. Safe for all ages, children can be seated along with parent if they are scared. While one can enjoy the thrills while going down, the journey up is slow & one can then enjoy scenic views of the Caucasus mountains. Roller coaster ends at a fun place with food stalls and nice sit outs to relax before heading up again.
