Meet Azerbaijan
Learn about, explore, meet Azerbaijan.
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Why Azerbaijan?
Some reasons why you might consider traveling to Azerbaijan (provided by Wikivoyage):
Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan) is a former Soviet republic in the Caucasus and variously considered part of Europe or Asia. It is nicknamed the Land of Fire. Initially a part of the Persian Empire, the country was ceded to the Russian Empire in the late 19th century.
Notable National Parks and Reserves:
- Qobustan National Historical-Artistic Reserve — Best known for its rock petroglyphs (a UNESCO World Heritage site) and mud volcanoes. Mud volcano wise, a better option might be the free site a little further south, see Baku Region.
- Göygöl National Park — About 25 km further afield from Ganja, near Toğanalı. A hiking and leisure destination, whose lake was formed during a strong earthquake in 1139.
- Ismailli State Reserve — A national park, also offering some fancy hotels.
Cities:
- 1 Baku — The capital and largest city of the Caucasus.
- 2 Ganja — Azerbaijan’s second largest city has a long history, some important sites and an interesting and manifold architecture.
- 3 Lankaran — Southern city near the Iranian border.
- 4 Nakhchivan (city) — The administrative capital of Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan exclave.
- 5 Qabala — A new resort town deep in Caucasian Mountains, which has taken its name given from the archaeological site about 20 km southwest.
- 6 Sheki — A beautiful city in the forested Caucasus Mountains with lots to see and do. It has one of the largest densities of cultural resources and monuments that span 2,700 years of Azerbaijani history.
- 7 Shemakha — The capital city of Shirvanshahs before Baku.
- 8 Sumqayit — Due to its industrial plants, the Blacksmith Institute, a US environmental pollution agency, ranked the city as the first in the most polluted cities of the planet, both in 2006 and 2007.
- – home to the impressively tiled Blue Mosque, and the staging point for trips into Uzbekistan. Ethnically diverse, Mazar is considered the most liberal city in the country after Kabul.
Other Destinations:
- 9 Khinalug (Xinaliq) — A scenic, remote and ancient mountain village, and the mountain of the same name nearby. Once a centre of Zoroastrianism; today the few inhabitants are an ethnic isolate believed to be descendants of the Caucasus Albanians (unrelated to modern-day Albanians of Albania).
- 10 Nabran (Nebran) — Nabran is rich in many recreational facilities offering a wide range of services: luxury accommodations, sports activities, children’s camps and music entertainment venues.
- 11 Quba — Its urban suburb is home to the largest Azerbaijani Jewish community in the mountains and is considered one of the largest Jewish communities in the former Soviet Union.
- 12 Lahich — A cozy and remote highland village, and potential “base camp” for tracks to Quba through the Caucasus Mountains.
- 13 Qax — A gateway into the Caucasian Mountains besides Sheki, and “base camp” for treks towards Sarıbaş and into the Alazan Valley .
- Nij (Nic) — Enormous village of endangering Christian ethnic group, the Udins.
- Göygöl — A must visit German town in the suburbs of Ganja, formerly named Khanlar (Xanlar) and Helenendorf, founded by German farmers from Bavarian Swabia. Today, the town remains an old German neighbourhood in excellent conditions and partly renovated, including a Lutheran church. A local museum shows the finds (e.g. bronze weapons, jewels, pottery, etc.) extracted from a large cemetery excavated in 1990.
- Shamkir — Another by Germans populated town. There are cognac and wine plantations.
- Wakhan National Park
– one of Afghanistan’s most isolated areas, with soaring mountains and unique cultures
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