Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan 2026: Baku & Sheki

Arriving in Baku

On the drive from the airport, it was immediately obvious that Baku is a clean, modern and prosperous city - wide boulevards, landscaped gardens, and modern buildings incorporating traditional design elements.

We stayed in the old town and the architecture in this area is beautiful. In every direction there are buildings with unique features and intricate decoration. After walking the streets of Delhi, the contrast with Baku's old town couldn't be more extreme. Both are fascinating, but it feels strange to have been in two such vastly different places within such a short time.

We encountered many friendly cats today and some have little houses set up so they can stay warm and dry. How can you not love a city that cares for its cats so well?

Exploring Baku

We spent two days wandering around in Baku’s old town and also along the Caspian Sea. It’s clean and safe with loads of options for food at every price range. 

In the afternoons, we stopped off for a beer here and there, and also visited the Museum of Miniature Books along with a couple of other museums. It's impossible to take a bad photo in Baku as it's just so beautiful.

Gobustan & Yanar Dag

We went on an organised tour and visited four very different sites. The cost of the tour was US $23.50 each, starting at 9am and finishing at 2.30pm. It was excellent value and we learned so much. The sites included were:

1. Bibi-Heybat Mosque - women go there to pray and generally stay 24 hours. They don't sleep in that time and when they leave, they walk out backwards so they don't turn their backs on the four holy graves that are housed inside.

2. Ayrantoken mud volcano - we were driven from the parking lot to the site itself in Lada Niva cars, and that was a lot of fun. The ride is hectic and they swerve around like crazy to avoid the massive potholes in the track.

3. Gobustan petroglyphs - the rock carvings at this site are 22,000 years old. The people who lived here were the first to move from hunting animals to domestication and animal husbandry. It's a very interesting site.

4. The world’s first industrially drilled oil well, 1846.

We were so hungry when we finished that we ordered a big shared meal for 26.90 Manat or US $15.82, so less than US $8 each. We didn't even come close to finishing it, but every element was delicious.

The next day we went to see Yanar Dag, the fire mountain, and sad to say it was a bit disappointing. I don’t know what I expected, but there’s only one small area where the fire burns and there’s an auditorium set up around it. 

Baku to Sheki

On the sixth day, we travelled by bus from Baku to Sheki. It was a five-hour journey and cost just under US $8 each. We arrived in Sheki at about 3pm and walked to a great restaurant for a late lunch where we had our own little heated room on the rooftop terrace. We ended up staying for a few beers and arrived at the hotel at 5.20pm. The weather in Sheki was colder, and there was a chance of snow forecast for the next day. Even the newer part of Sheki is gorgeous with the backdrop of the Greater Caucasus. It's odd to think that Russia is on the other side of those mountains. 

Exploring Sheki’s old town

We started the day late with a huge breakfast that was included in the price of our room at the hotel. The spread would have easily served four. On the agenda today was a walk around Sheki's Old Town. The Old Town stretches up into the foothills of the Greater Caucasus, so we got a Bolt to the furthest point and meandered our way back down, taking in the numerous sites as we went. We didn't leave the hotel until around 3pm as until then it was raining and very cold. We were so fortunate that the skies cleared and we were able to see so much. Sheki is a gorgeous town of about 68,000 residents and it's around 100km to the border with Georgia.

Side trip to Kish

After battling once more through the massive breakfast laid on at the hotel, we made our way to Sheki's main market. We had a bit of a poke around, then jumped in a Lada taxi and headed up to Kish to see the 12th century Caucasian Albanian church. Caucasian Albanians are distinct from European Albanians, indeed there is no connection between the two beyond coincidentally having the same name. Kish is a small village around 6km from Sheki, and it is also home to a huge hotel reminiscent of The Overlook in The Shining. Based on today's forecast, we didn't expect the sky to clear. What a delight it was when the clouds dispersed to reveal snow capped mountains! We could even see them from Sheki town centre and our hotel room.

Also in today's travels, I came across what was easily the most disgusting toilet I have ever used. Any port in a storm, as they say. This particular example had no door, and let it be said that the stench was extreme. I have no issues with squat toilets, and generally find them more hygienic than their cousins of the pedestal variety. But this one was something else, snatching the Worst Toilet award from the previous title holder in the hutongs of Beijing. There was something about the possibility of being caught with my pants down in a compromising position that took the overall experience to a completely new level. In the end, I had a chuckle to myself and decided that the stench would work in favour of my privacy by keeping all but the most desperate toilet-goers at a safe distance. Enjoy it for yourself in the last pic. 

The next day we crossed the border into Georgia.

Back in Baku

About six weeks later, after travelling around Georgia and Armenia, we returned to Baku ahead of our flight out of the Caucasus back to Delhi. We spent another few nights next to the entry to the old town. It was considerably warmer in Baku than it was when we first came through at the beginning of this trip in early April. The weather was particularly sunny with big blue skies making everything look stunning. Baku's old town is so beautiful, I can't believe it isn't overrun with tourists even now that the season has started.

Last day in Azerbaijan

Today we visited the Philharmonic Garden that stretches along the western side of Baku’s fortress wall. Established in the 1830’s, it is a gorgeous and meticulously maintained green space. You can enter the garden across the road from the Caspian Sea and walk north through it to reach Icherisheher Metro station, the entry to which is inside a glass pyramid-shaped structure. Our hotel was just across the road, and wandering around in the garden on our way to and from the old town has been a highlight of our return visit to Baku.