Unforgettable 1 week in Azerbaijan

Arrival in the airport. From Airport to City Center 20-25 minute. The representative of our company will receive guests in Baku International Airport named after Heydar Aliyev. Then take guests to their accommodation by our company car. – Relax time

Tour will start from the main entrance of the Old City called Double Gates. During the tour you will be able to see the Chain, Sailor and Cat Houses, Bukhara and Multani Caravanserais, Juma Mosque, Maiden Tower. Guide will explain to you the history of the Old City, and its buildings mentioned above

Our next station will be Shirvanshahs Palace – the pearl of the architectural heritage of Azerbaijan, the former residence of the rulers of Shirvan, located in the heart of Baku. In addition to the palace, the amazingly beautiful complex includes the Divan-Khan courtyard, tomb, mosque in 1441, as well as the bathhouse and mausoleum of court scholar Seyid Yahya Bakuvi.

Bukhara caravanserai constructed in late 15th century over the trade highway of Icherisheher in Baku. The caravanserai has a quadratic shape and salient portal and, its yard is octagonal. Caravanserai surrounded by balconies and personal premises – chapels along the perimeter. The octagonal comfortable yard was a special hall under open sky. There travellers and merchants were gathering after daily commercial operations. The crossing arch connected in general style along the full perimeter of the internal space of the yard within direct frame aggregates the main part of the architectural composition. The restoration works implemented in 1964 completely discharged the caravansaray building from the constructions and layers added later and it promoted to discover its large-scale structure on the background of the surrounding buildings.

Maiden Tower is an Eiffel Tower of Baku.In 12th century it was used as a fortress of Shirvanshahs for defensive causes.Maiden Tower's architectural plan, seemingly so simple, consists of walls which at the base are extraordinarily thick, beginning at five meters in depth and gradually narrowing to four meters at the top. Today, the interior contains an interesting display of old photographs and a souvenir shop, but the highlight is the superb rooftop viewpoint surveying Baku Bay and the Old City. The views from the top are worth the climb, with a sweeping panorama of the Old City, the new skyscrappers on the hills and the Caspian Sea.

The Museum of Miniature Books, located within the old city - Icheri Sheher, is included in the Guinness Book of Records as the museum with the largest number of miniature books. The creator of the museum, Zarifa Salahova has amassed this unique collection over the past 30 years. The only museum of miniature books in the world opened its doors on April 2, 2002. Today, the museum holds a unique collection of over 5,600 books published in 66 countries around the world.

Upland (Dagustu) park, well known as ‘’Viewing Square’’, and earlier in Soviet era as ‘’Sergei Kirov park’’ is one of the most favourite places in Baku to have walk, rest, and enjoy the sea view. There you can take rest by breathing fresh air, viewing the city, drinking tea in the Highland Park Café , while listening to the classic lounge music. It’s the best place to relax, that is located right in the heart of Baku.We suggest you to visit this park at night time, because of the amazing lighting on the stairs to the Highland park! And also on hot summer days and nights you can feel there cool, and a bit windy.

Baku Boulevard, also known as the National Seaside Park in Baku, Azerbaijan is the favorite promenade of many city residents and visitors and the second largest in Europe after the park on the banks of the River Seine in Paris. Its establishment goes back to more than 100 years, to a time when Baku’s oil barons built their mansions along the Caspian shore, and the seafront was gradually built up.Today, the National Seaside Park in Baku covers an area of 3,750 meters, and is located on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea. It starts at the National Flag Square and ends at Freedom Square.The Boulevard area includes a number of museums, cultural facilities, malls and entertainment centres, including the modern panoramic amusement ride – the Devil’s Wheel, which has a beautiful view over Baku Bay.

The Azerbaijan Carpet Museum presents different schools and techniques from around the entire country, as well as covering various historical states and the development of carpet weaving. In August 2014, the museum got a luxurious new building, which itself is in the shape of a rolled carpet. The new Azerbaijan Carpet Museum was designed by the Austrian architects Franz Janz and Walter Mari. Today, there are more than 14,000 exhibits, including rare carpets, exquisite jewelry, clothing, embroidery, delicate glass pieces, wood and felt. The first floor of the museum has flat-weave carpets and various examples of applied arts, including bags and saddles for horses. The second floor is pile carpets from the different regions in Azerbaijan, showing off the unique patterns and designs of this country. The third floor is all about modern designers, the history of the Carpet Museum, and a children’s room. The Carpet Museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 10:00-18:00, and on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00-20:00. The museum is closed on Mondays.

Little Venice” in Baku Boulevard is a small town built in 1960. It was expanded up to 10.000 sq.m. now. The town has two large and several small islands. The redevelopment of the “Small Venetian town” saw the expansion of the existing channels and the construction of additional bridges and two restaurants, one offering Western cuisine and the other Eastern. Boats are provided for 4 people: one is designed for guide and the rest – for passengers.Located nearby the Caspian seashore you will feel yourself as in Venice by visiting ‘Small Town of Venice’. The restaurants located in the ‘islands’ offer various meals of the different cuisine, including Azerbaijanian tasty dishes. It will be interesting firstly to observe around in gondola, later to have a great lunch or dinner in the ‘islands’. Currently Mini Venice has several islands which are divided by pristine water channels. Beautiful ornate bridges connect these islands. You can hire a 4 seater Gondola for a ride around these islands. There is one Eastern and one Western restaurant in this complex.

The next destination in the Baku city tour will be the Nizami Street. You will have 15-20 minutes to walk to see the beauty of the most central street of the Baku with full of shops and nice restaurants. You will also be able to see the Fountain Square full of magical fountains.

Fountains Square - Endlessly popular with strollers, this leafy piazza forms Central Baku’s natural focus. The fountains for which it is named include one topped by shiny silvered spheres giving fish-eye reflections of the trees and stone facades. And the beautiful statue-inlayed facade of the Nizami Literature Museum.

The Temple of Eternal Fire - Ateshgah - is an authentic Azerbaijani exotic. It is well-known practically all over the world. It is located 30 km from the center of Baku in the suburb of Surakhany. This territory is known for such unique natural phenomenon as burning natural gas outlets (underground gas coming onto surface contacts oxygen and lights up). The temple in its present state was constructed in the 17th-18th centuries.

One of the most famous and popular tourist places of the "eternal flame” in Azerbaijan is the mountain of Yanar Dag. Actually, it is rather a hill than a mountain, with natural gas burning on its slope from ancient times. Meter-long tongues of fire are licking the stratified earth approximately for 10 m in width, searing those who approached too close. People occupy the benches to watch the blazing hill in the evening, when the its sight is most effective. Yanar Dag is located 25 km to the north from Baku, in Mehemmedi village. From the year 2007 Yanar Dag is declared a state-protected conservation area.

On the way back to hotel you will stop in Haydar Aliyev Cultural Center for the photos from outside. You can take a nice picture front of the "I LOVE BAKU" sign. The iconic Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre was designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid and is famous for its distinctive flowing, curved style that eschews sharp angles. As a brilliant piece of post-modern architecture, the building’s shape is an eternal cycle, connecting the past with the present. The building houses a conference hall, gallery halls, museums and more and seeks to unite people of diverse backgrounds in a place of shared ideas. The building won the London Design Museum award in 2014.

On the way to Gobustan, you will see whole jungle of oil rigs, which provided the USSR with black gold for more than 70 years. First you will visit the Gobustan Museum to get the better insights to the history of the area.The Archeological monument is located in 56 km from the capital city, Baku. The artifacts and rock carvings were discovered in 1939 – 1940 years. As a result of the researchers, more than 3,500 human and animal paintings and various markings – petroglyphs were recorded and 20 suburban shelters have been identified in this place. Mesolithic monuments (medieval stone) are mostly exhibited in the reserve. There are many caves, springs, carved by primitive men on walls of caves, rocks, and stony lumps.

Later on the tour will continue to the Mud Volcanoes which is not far from Gobustan National Museum. Azerbaijan keeps the first place in the world for the number of mud volcanoes. About 300 mud volcanoes are to be found in Azerbaijan – at the shore, in the sea and on islands. During this trip you will get a great chance to see these amazing active volcanoes from very close distance.Spending 15 minutes around Volcanoes you will be transferred back to your car.

The Bibi-Heybat Mosque includes the tomb of Ukeyma Khanum (a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad), and today is the spiritual center for the Muslims of the region and one of the major monuments of Islamic architecture in Azerbaijan. It's locally known as "the mosque of Fatima" which Alexandre Dumas using the same name, described the mosque during his visit in the 1840s. The old mosque was located in the southern part of the tomb, while there was a 20 meter high minaret in the west part of the mosque. Later a crypt and two niches were added to the mosque to the south of the minaret. On the niches there were inscriptions containing the name Fatali Khan, whose tombstone marble slab is now in the State Museum of History.

On the way from Baku to Gabala we visit Juma Mosque in Shamakhi (or Friday Mosque) is one of the tourist attractions often visited by travellers. Unlike many mosques, entrance to Juma Mosque of Shamakhi is permitted even to non-Muslims. To enter, you need to remove your shoes, but walking barefoot is not a problem, because the floor is covered with thick carpets. In addition, women must cover their heads in order to enter the mosque, so they provide free head cover at the entrance, which is required to be returned at the exit.

Diri Baba mausoleum stands in a square located on a cliff. The building is two-storeyed. The first storey has a hall, which has a passageway to an octahedral cupola from a small vestibule. Stairs leading to the hall of the second store have been carved on the cliff. A spherical cupola with a pointed top has squinches decorated with plant ornaments.Architecture of Diri Baba mausoleum harmonically fits into picturesque surroundings of the building – view against the background of rocks and greenery of trees. The building of the mausoleum is a masterpiece of the architectural school of Shirvan and a beautiful creation of arts of ancient masters. The monument is protected by the government.

At the foot of Gulistan Fortress is located Yeddi Gumbaz Mausoleum or “Seven Domes”. This is how people named Shamakhi tomb of Shirvan Dynasty rulers. There the notorious representatives of Shirvan Dynasty were buried. The monument's name is defined be the number of gravestones in the crypt. Today the gravestones look like half-destroyed stone domes as if grown directly from under the ground in the middle of deserted graveyard. Therefore the atmosphere of this district seems a little mysterious.

The next stop will be the village of Lahij, the way to which lies through the forests and serpentine roads of the Caucasus Mountains. You will have the opportunity to see the breathtaking natural canyon, and you will also stop at the Zernava suspension bridge. The particular architectural style of Lahij will undoubtedly stun you with its two-storey houses and cobbled streets stretching along the banks of the Girdiman River. Lahij is a real village of craftsmen and artisans who have preserved their traditions and technologies of working on non-ferrous metals (copper, bronze). The magnificent works of Lahij masters on copper dishes were exhibited at the World Exhibition in Vienna in 1873 (Weltausstellung 1873). In Lahij, each quarter has its own unique mosque, which reinforces the impression of guests from the village.

Nohur Lake within the populated area near Gabala-Ismayilli-Baku motorway is one of the natural attractions in Azerbaijan visited by international and local tourists. It is located in 5 km East of Gabala city, about 200 km away from Baku. The lake is surrounded by the mountains called Yumuru, Goydag, and Gulluburun. The length of Nohur lake at present time is 1925 m, width is 1355 m and its total area is 240 ha. Maximum depth reaches 24 m and volume of the water is about 16 million m3. It is situated in 700 meters above sea level.

This mountainous waterfall flowing from the highest peaks of the Caucasus Mountains and locates in Vandam village of Gabala. The name of the Seven Beauties (Yeddi Gozal) Waterfall originates from the name of the 7 mountain roads that should pass to reach the waterfall. As the waterfall is completely frozen in the winter, it gets harder to get here. But in spring and summer, tea houses are available on every mountain road, where the guests are offered a tea set with traditional types of Gabala jam. At the highest point of the waterfall there is a tea house with a special wooden mattress where you can drink tea with the pleasant sound and scenery of the waterfall in the background. The water of the tea is taken from the waterfall and gives a unique taste to it.

Tufandag Winter-Summer Tourist Complex is located 4 kilometers far from Gabala city. The resort allows visitors to enjoy different extreme sports and tourism activities in the harmony with nature. Tufandag complex provides skiing in winter, going up to the mountains by cable cars in summer, mountain climbing by ATV quad bikes and other types of entertainment. The ski slopes of the Tufandag complex provide visitors with unforgettable moments with its a 1000-meter vertical downhill, 15-kilometer ski slopes and 4 rope lines. Here are green and blue ski slopes for beginners and moderate skiers, and red and black ski slopes for professional skiers. Along with the natural snow, there are snowmobiles that provide unforgettable skiing experience in snow-covered slopes throughout the season. It is possible to rent the skiing equipment of the skiing center inside the resort. It is also possible to take ski lessons from professional instructors

On the way to Sheki, visit the first Albanian church in Caucasus, dating back to the 1st century AD. Kish Albanian Church - The brilliantly renovated round-towered Albanian church in pretty Kish village has been lovingly converted into a very well-presented trilingual museum. It’s the best place anywhere to learn about mysterious Caucasian Albania, the Christian nation that once covered most of northern Azerbaijan.

The Palace itself built in 1762 as a summer residence for the Khan of Sheki. During the construction of the building, no single nails and glues were used. From inside, all the walls of the Palace are full of paintings which each painting has its own philosophical meaning. In the garden outside of the palace, you will discover 2 plane trees that both are 500 years old.

Caravanserai” historical complex in Sheki is two magnificent caravanserai which reached present days and traditionally named “Yukhari” and “Ashaghi” caravanserai, which means “Upper” and “Lower” Caravanserai in translation from Azerbaijani into English. Construction of these caravanserai is dated back to the 18th-19th centuries AD. “Lower” caravanserai has a rectangular shape with a large inner yard in the centre of which is located a pool. Total area of the caravanserai is 8000 m2 and dimensions are 55x85 meters. Four entries led to the yard from all four corners of the buildings. There are 242 rooms in the lower caravanserai. Earlier there were merchant stores and storage rooms in the coaching inn, but the first floor was intended for guests whom the rooms were leased. Each room had a manhole which was connected to the ground floor with a stepladder and it was very comfortable for merchants who wanted control the safety of their products at any time.

For centuries Sheki was the center of silkworm breeding and silk production center and located on the silk road. Sheki city is also very famous for its very rich cuisine and sweets not only among the locals but tourists also. You can try a special Soup called “Piti” that cooked 8-9 hours, from night till morning with the significantly small amount of fire. You definitely should try Sheki sweets also like Sheki Baklava, Tel Halva, Bamiyehs and many more.

The bath is a cultural monument and is under protection of UNESCO. The bath was built in the 17 century and made of red brick. It is located in the city centre, next to the Mall of Ganja. In the Mall you can park your car for free and take a walk through the city center.

The first mausoleum at Nizami's tomb was built in the 13th-14th centuries. In 1947 a new mausoleum was built and the current building dates back to 1991. Near the mausoleum is a sculpture depicting the great poet surrounded by the characters of his works and an artificial lake and five fountains symbolize the five major poems of Nizami, known as the 'Khamsa'.

Located in central Ganja and dating to 1606, Juma Mosque boasts a red-brick exterior and a large white dome. Sheykh Baheddin Mohammad Amil of the Persian Safavid Empire commissioned the mosque which once had an adjoining madrassa. The two minarets were added later towards the end of the 18th-century.

The Bottle House, a local icon in Ganja, Azerbaijan is a perfect example of this synthesis. An entire house ostensibly constructed entirely out of glass bottles, this abode is unlike any most will ever see.The Bottle House is a private residence – there are no fees to take a look, but also no hours or official guided tours. That doesn’t stop numerous visitors and passers-by from coming to marvel at the feat of both engineering and creativity that were used to create it. Call it a collection, or call it a work of art, but the closest description of this house is that it’s both. Visitors can support the maintenance costs of the house by shopping at the homemade souvenir stand under the porch whenever open.

Today your 7-day Adventure tour comes to an end. Breakfast at the hotel After breakfast at the hotel in Baku, check-out from the hotel & you will be transferred to the Heydar Aliyev International Airport.