7 Days Itinerary to Azerbaijan for First-Timers

Once upon a time, nobody talked about Azerbaijan. Honestly, I had never heard of the country until recently. Maybe they never needed the tourists. For a country rich in oil and oil exports, tourism wasn’t a focus until recently. With its excellent infrastructure, a safe society, world-class amenities, and lovely countryside, Azerbaijan should definitely make it to your list. And if you are planning to visit Azerbaijan, I have just the perfect 7-day itinerary for first-time travellers.

This itinerary covers almost everything that you would want to visit in Azerbaijan. But if you wish to take it slow, I will suggest spending more time in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan. Baku is a treat to the eyes and has a wonderful and wide palette for food lovers.

Here is a detailed 7-Day Itinerary to Azerbaijan

I assume that Baku will be your first stop unless you are crossing by land. And Baku will also be your last. In fact, for this itinerary, Baku will remain the centre while you travel across different routes and return. You can also plan to visit more of Baku in those pockets instead of all at once.

For the first day, you can plan to visit the Old City during the day and watch the flame towers around sunset, well into the evening. Here is what your day would look like:

Start your day with a walk in the Old City. It is located right in the middle of the city. I think it is the first place one must visit to set the tone for Baku. It looks like a town from the Arabian Nights’ story, and the best way to explore is on foot. It takes about 45 minutes to go around the whole area. Spot some lovely snippets of art and culture, and you enjoy your walk. 

The highlight of the Old City is the Palace of the Shirvanshahs, who were the dynasty that ruled eastern Azerbaijan for a long time. The Palace is simple and beautiful with a lot of architectural details from Central Asia. There is an entrance fee to the palace, and I highly suggest you to get a tour guide who will share a lot of stories about the place. The tour takes about 30 minutes.

Just a short walk from the palace is a miniature book museum. This unique museum holds the Guinness book of World Record for housing the largest collection of tiny books from over 80 countries. You can find books as small as 2cm x 2cm. It’s a short stop before your next destination.

The Maiden Tower or Giz Galasi seems like a watchtower or a tower from a fairytale with a princess on top. But its original purpose is shrouded in mystery. Although the most common explanation is that it is a watchtower since the old town was located on a citadel with the palace in the middle. The watchtower would have given a good view of both the ground and the sea below. You can climb up to the top and take a look at the view like an old soldier, but you will need to pay for it.

Baku was located on the Silk Road. Therefore, you will find a few karavansarais in Azerbaijan. These are rest houses located on the Silk Road for the merchants to take a break, which provide a roof and meals. Much like hotels today. This one in the old town was getting a makeover when we were there, but hopefully you will be able to explore it.

After half a day of sightseeing, you must be hungry. And the old town is a fabulous place to grab lunch. The restaurants offer affordable, fresh meals with a variety of options. Check out Qaynana Restaurant or Qala Divari near the main gate, which offer fantastic traditional Azerbaijani food.

Once you are fed and happy, it is time to take a stroll in one of the most beautiful gardens of Baku. You can just walk out of the Old Town from its west gate and enter the Philarmonia Garden. It is a lovely walk with lush gardens on both sides, obstructed by spectacular fountains and a couple of cafes on the way. Take your time and maybe enjoy a coffee on the go.

If you have the time or interest before sunset, you can also stop by the Azerbaijan State Museum of Art, which is located right opposite to Philarmonia Garden. It is a sweet museum with art exhibitions from European and local artists. Takes about an hour to finish.

Our next destination is Highland Park. The park is accessible both by road and well as the funicular. If you are up for it, take the fun way with the Funicular. The start of the Funicular at the base is within walking distance of the Art Museum. The funicular runs every 20 minutes, so expect a wait time. Pace yourself so you don’t miss the sunset on top.

Once you are there on top, just enjoy the park area. It is a big space divided into several levels and viewpoints. You will also encounter a few interesting buildings and monuments. The sunset time is lovely to get a panoramic view of the city, as well as a great view of the iconic Flame Tower. But wait for the evening when they light up, and you can see the flames dancing.

Make your way back to the city to enjoy dinner and nightlife around the city centre and Liberty Square. 

Enjoy the Baku Boulevard and the city centre area with the local market and a few other places of interest if you wish to travel further and deeper.

Baku Boulevard must be the pride of Baku. It is huge, it is pleasant for a great day outdoors, it is decorated with pockets of gardens and fountains, and it is a great space for people to get together. You can find people on a morning stroll and then enjoy the view of the Caspian Sea. A few steps ahead, you will find people playing chess (post-Soviet, if you know) and then kids drooling over ice-creams. Take your time and enjoy this place.

Located a little ahead on the boulevard is the iconic carpet museum of Baku. It is easy to spot because of its architecture. It is hard to believe that a building can look like a carpet. Inside, you can spend some time looking at the local Azerbaijani traditional carpets. Each carpet is handwoven and takes months to complete. You can even find a lady working on the loom inside, so you can appreciate the effort even more. If you are looking for a souvenir, you can find one here. 

You will find Mini Venice right next to the carpet museum. It is an artificial structure built with pools and bridges that looks like Venice (No, I don’t think so). But it doesn’t stop you from enjoying a gondola ride or having a fun time. So go for it.

Once you have had your time on the Baku boulevard, you can head over to the city centre to enjoy some architecture and a lovely lunch. Nizami Street is the centre of Baku, and you will find plenty of restaurants and busy areas to enjoy. If you are looking for some local food, check out Nergiz Restaurant and Firuze Restaurant for impeccable taste and service. It is also great to find local souvenirs and the retail therapy you are looking for. But do not expect many big brands.

It is time to explore something local. For a cultural immersion, there is no better place than a local market. Head over to Yasil Bazaar to find the best produce from local farmers and find ingredients used in traditional Azerbaijani cuisines. However, you may not get the best prices as a tourist. If you wish to shop, it’s best to head over to a supermarket like Spar.

You can add this optional stop if you haven’t been to an Orthodox church yet. The church was built in 1909 in Russian style architecture by the then Tsar of Russia. Inside, you will find frescoes from the biblical stories. It is best to visit on a weekday to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere.

While the mosque is majestic and usually in the list of places to visit in Baku, it is surely located on the outskirts, and you will have to travel a bit to reach there. But still, the architecture and intricate details make it worthwhile. It is even more beautiful lit up in the dark, so if you are short on time during the day, you can visit by the evening as well.

For the next two days, we are heading towards north-western Azerbaijan to the town of Sheki, passing through Shamakhi and Gabala. You can either rent a private car to drive, with a driver or join a group tour for this stretch.

The first stop on the way to Sheki is Shamakhi, which is just an hour’s drive away. The most important place to visit here is the Jumma mosque. The mosque, initially built in the 12th century and rebuilt recently, marks an important landmark in the whole of Azerbaijan. Visitors are welcome during visiting hours. Women will need a scarf to cover their heads to enter.

If you are into wine, consider visiting the Shirvan Winery just a little ahead of Shamaki. It features organic wines from French and Azeri indigenous grapes and offers vineyard tours with tasting options. It also has a lovely restaurant with several food options, a museum, a gift shop and a guesthouse.

Just a little ahead of the Jumma mosque is a small farm with a bunch of Alpacas that you can enjoy petting if you like to spend time with animals. You can feed them and pet them. The place is especially enjoyable for kids. However, the entry price may be steep for tourists for the experience (35 Manats for adults and 15 Manats for children in 2024).

The next stop is around 2 hours from Shamakhi. Nohur Lake is located near Gebele and is a popular place amongst locals to enjoy a day out, especially during summer. You can rent a paddle boat on the lake or just sit around enjoying the cool breeze. You can also relax at any of the small shops around with some tea and coffee.

The Tufandagh Ski Resort is certainly the highlight of the day. The resort is extremely popular during the winter months when the locals flock here to ski. Although you can still enjoy the beauty of the Caucasus in other seasons. There are 4 stations at this resort. You can plan to visit a section or all of them. It will take a couple of hours to visit all 4 stations. So make sure you have the time to be back on time. The last ride back closes at 6 pm.

Depending upon your preference, you can stay in Gebele itself or head to Sheki to spend the night.

Sheki is the most important stop on this tour. Make sure you carve out half a day (4-5 hours) to enjoy Sheki. Even though there are not a lot of tourist attractions, I suggest you take some time and walk around the small village. This rustic place has a village charm that will give you lasting memories of Azerbaijan.

The palace of the Sheki Khans is the most important landmark of Sheki. The small palace was the home of the Khan dynasty that ruled the western areas of Azerbaijan. You are not allowed to take photographs of the inside, but you can enjoy the palace and intricate details of the rooms with a tour guide.

If you have been following this Itinerary, then you may have visited the Karvansaray at Old Town in Baku. Similarly, you can also visit and enjoy the Karvansaray at Sheki. This may be much bigger, and you can see the place more closely. You can even find some shops and restaurants that have opened up in the old Karvansaray.

You can add this if you are feeling adventurous. Just around 5 kilometres ahead of Sheki, lies the small town of Kis. You can enjoy both the town and the Georgian church with a picturesque view of the mountains behind. 

Stop at the Bio Garden while returning from Sheki as your last stop. You can enjoy the garden itself with fresh fruits and spend time with their pet animals. You can see several ducks, rabbits, chickens, dogs, peacocks and a few other (mostly friendly) animals on the farm.

Return to Baku.

This is the day when you are staying in Baku but visiting places that are nearby. On one side, you can visit Gobustan with mud volcanoes and on the other side, visit the Absheron peninsula and understand why Azerbaijan is called the ‘Land of fire’.

Start your day at the Gobustan National Park museum. The museum showcases and shares information about the prehistoric rock carvings (petroglyphs) present in Gobustan. It has interactive modules that are fun and immersive, and can take about 30 minutes of your time to cover. 

Now that you have visited the museum to understand the significance and importance of the prehistoric rock carvings, it is time to see them in reality. Once you exit the museum, you will find it on your left. Take your time to spot (it can be challenging to find) and read our current-day interpretations of the petroglyphs.

While Gobustan is well built and preserved, mud volcanoes are out in the wild. There are several volcano sites and absolutely no roads that lead to them. You will need to hire a 4×4 truck to reach them. If you are travelling with a guided tour, it will be included in it. Otherwise, you can ask your driver or locals to help you hire one. Takes about an hour time but sit tight for the ride and do not touch the volcanoes, especially when they pop.

You are now travelling to the other end of Azerbaijan across the Absheron. Yanar Dag is one of the reasons Azerbaijan is called ‘the land of fire’. Also known as ‘burning mountain’, this hillside has been permanently burning for thousands of years (speculative). Legend has it that a shepherd made fire for himself and has been burning ever since due to the presence of natural gas.

Atashgah is a Zoroastrian temple used as a Hindu, Sikh and Zoroastrian place of worship. The temple has a fire altar in the middle where the fire continues to burn due to the presence of natural gas. The altar is surrounded by an open courtyard, followed by an outer structure with several rooms that were used to house monks. It has been converted into a museum today.

Technically, it’s not even in the Absheron and is quite close to the city. So if you want, you can also visit on other days. But it’s one of the star attractions of Baku. The modern centre is dedicated to their much-loved president. You will find state-of-the-art exhibitions and miniatures of the most popular buildings in Baku, along with incredible art pieces from Soviet artists.

The next two days, you will be travelling to Quba city, passing the Candy Cane mountains. You can also do this in a single day with tours offered by several tour operators. From Quba city, you can either head towards the small village of Khinaliq or to Mount Shahdag, known for adventure sports and a ski resort.

Candy cane mountains are about an hour and a half drive from Baku. The name comes from the candy-patterns of bright colours that make these mountains look like Mars. The colours pop out the best in June and July. But it’s still worth a quick stop.

The Red town or Qırmızı Qəsəbə was once one of the largest Jewish settlements after the US and Europe that thrived under the rulers of Azerbaijan. Although most of them migrated in recent years, you will still find a small town of Jews with a synagogue that is also the centre of education for young jews. You can also visit the Mountain Jews Museum right next to it.

While you may have already visited the carpet museum in Baku, it is an experience to see carpet weaving by the local weavers. You can head to a local carpet weaving shop in Quba and see the craft and looms for yourself. It also allows you to buy souvenirs.

On the outskirts of Quba is Gachrash Forest, known for recreational activities. It’s a low-key, peaceful forest (Ghibli style) with tea and food stalls. You can have a simple lunch surrounded by nature, or if you are travelling slowly, maybe stay here overnight. You can hear the gurgling of a river right next to the forest area and enjoy activities like horse riding.

You choose to head to Khinaliq the same day or start the next day. Khinaliq does not have hotels, so you will need to arrange for a homestay.

On the way to Khinaliq village, you can stop at Eagle Top. This is a viewpoint that gives you a chance to watch eagles flying. You need to climb up a ridge towards an eagle statue. And if you are lucky, you can watch eagles fly by on a clear day. However, there is no safety rail along the ridge, so exercise caution for yourself, kids and elders.

Visiting Khinaliq is a raw experience, and the effort it takes to get there will show. Khinaliq is the highest village of Azerbaijan. It is a small village with a few homes and barely any roads. But you will see the raw beauty of the Caucasus all around you. Enjoy a walk around the village and spend some time just taking in the mountain views. The villages are friendly.

Head out the the one-room museum in the village where the locals have put together some snippets of cultural appreciation. You can find artefacts from the soviet era and even older from around the village, like a spinning wheel and pottery.

If you are travelling with a guided tour or even a tour guide, they can suggest a place where you can have a fresh lunch with locals made with local ingredients. Not a lot of people speak English, but tourists are welcome amongst the locals, making it one of the primary sources of income for the village.

Return to Baku.