Azerbaijan — Where to Go
Top Things to See
• Watch the flames dance at Yanar Dag (fire mountain), a short distance from Baku, where a 10m (33ft) wall of fire blazes day and night thanks to underground natural gas. Pull up a chair at the nearby chaikhana at sunset.
• Shop for exquisite copper products in the Persian mountain town of Lahic, where great hiking, charming architecture and natural beauty combine for the ultimate mountain escape.
• Uncover glimpses of Zoroastrianism at the Ateshgah Fire Temple in Surakhany. The temple was established by Parsee fire-worshippers living in Baku in the 18th century and Zoroastrians still occasionally stage ritual dances here.
• Discover the remote mountain village of Xinaliq, where you can find a unique ethnic group of 1,000 Tats, who have preserved the original language, customs and traditions of this ancient and threatened Iranian ethnic group from the Caucasus.
• Tour the desolate Absheron Peninsula beyond Baku and explore the 14th-century defensive fortresses built by the Shirvanshahs. The best-preserved of these are those at Ramana, Nardaran and Mardakan.
Top Things to Do
• Explore the fabulous Içeri Seher, the walled old city of Baku. The narrow streets, the old mansions and the myriad mosques make this the most authentic experience of Baku before the oil boom of the 20th century created the modern city.
• Climb the multiple spiral staircases inside Maiden’s Tower, which overlooks the Caspian in the Içeri Seher, and be privy to a stunning 360-degree view of the city.
• Visit the enchantingly weird mud volcanoes of Qobustan and see the astonishing nearby Stone and Bronze Age petroglyphs all on a day trip from Baku.
• Discover Sheki, one of Azerbaijan’s most beautiful towns, set in the mountains and with a large number of well-preserved mosques and caravanserais from the 18th century.
• Join spiritual Azeris on a climb up Beshbarmaq Dag (Five Finger Mountain), which rises dramatically 520m above the coast and is one of Azerbaijan’s most holy animist sites.
