8-days silkway travel Azerbaijan

Arriva in Baku. You will be met by our driver and transferred to hotel. Check-in at noon. Start sightseeing tour in Baku. Visit Memory Alley – “Shehidler Khiyabany”, from where you can have a great panoramic view of Baku city. Continue touring new Baku and exploring architecture of XIX- XX centuries: Nizami Street, Fountain Square, Nizami Ganjavi monument, Rasul-Zade Street. Pay a visit to Azerbaijan History National Museum and move to the old part of the city – Icheri Sheher. Visit Maiden Tower, Shirvan Shahs’ Palace, Caravanserai, and market square with numerous art studios and souvenirs stalls. An excellent round-up to the city tour will be visit to the richest bank of Azeri carpets – National Carpets Museum. Overnight at hotel. - - - Hotel

Today you will visit the area of the Greater Baku and Absheron peninsula. Start with Gobustan National Park. Pay a visit to the Petroglyphs Museum and explore petroglyphs dating back to 10,000 BC. Continue to mud volcanoes in Gobustan Reserve. Gobustan is home to almost half of world’s mud volcanoes. Later drive to Ateshgah – temple of fire worshippers located in Surakhany village. Zoroastrians from India travelled thousands of kilometers to Ateshgah to worship fire coming out of the earth. Continue to Yanardag Mountain with natural gas burning for several thousands of years. Return to Baku. Overnight at hotel. B - - Hotel

Morning departure to the northern part of Azerbaijan – Guba region. Visit one of most ancient settlements in the country – Khinalug (210 km, 3-4 hours). The road to lies through picturesque mountain pass on the altitude of 2,000 m. Enjoy breathtaking views of the landscape. People have been continuously living in Khinalug for more than 5,000 years. Return to Baku. On the way back, stop in Guba and visit Sakina Khanum Mosque, medieval bath hammam, and carpet workshop. Overnight in Baku. B - - Hotel

In the morning, depart Baku and drive to Sheki town. Stop on the way in Ven Dam village in Gabala province and explore ruins of ancient Caucasian Albania capital. Continue to Basqal village and taste local mineral water “Bado” there. Arrive in Lahij, a famous settlement in mountains built in the 5^th century in the Girdimanchay River canyon. In Lahij, one can admire ancient mosques and bath-houses, medieval water supply and sewage systems as well as visit numerous workshops (jewelry, copperware, carpets, pottery, daggers, iron tools, etc.). Continue driving to Sheki. Arrival in Sheki. Overnight at hotel. B - - Hotel

Check out from hotel and start sightseeing tour in Sheki. Visit medieval fortress, Sheki Khans Palace (currently under the restoration, observation from the outside), history museum, handicrafts workshop, mosque-madrassah, and local bazaar. Depart Sheki and head to Ganja town (160 km, 2-3 hours).Stop in Kish village see the first church in Caucasus (I cent.). One the way, visit Mingachevir town. Have a short drive around the city; pass by riverside, city center, and beautiful water reservoir. Continue driving to Ganja. Check-in to hotel on arrival. Overnight at hotel. B - - Hotel

In the morning, start city tour in Ganja with visiting Shakh Abbas Mosque with two minarets. Continue to Ganja Caravanserai, mausoleum of the last khan of Ganja Javad Khan; visit Chokek Hamam (medieval bathes). Continue sightseeing tour walking by Central Square, Sardar Baghi park, Alexander Nevski Christian Orthodox Church and Christian Temple Agvan Kilsasi. Drive out of the city to a small town of Goygol to visit village Helenendorf that was settled in the winter of 1818–1819 by 194 Swabian German families. German architecture of local buildings will surprise you. Return to Ganja city. Visit Imam-Zada Muslim complex and central market. Free time after city tour. B - - Hotel

In the morning, depart Ganja and drive back to Baku (340 km, 5-6 hours). On the way, stop in Shemakha. The town was the capital of Shirvan Empire in 8-15 centuries. Visit a residence of Shirvan Dynasty Gulistan fortress for the city's defense in 11-12 centuries, which also served as the last refuge of Shirvan Dynasty. Continue to the Mausoleum of Addy-Gyumbez (“The Seven Domes”) with numerous burial places of Shamakhi governors, and Djuma Cathedral Mosque. Continue driving to Baku. Arrive in Baku. Free time. Overnight at hotel. B - - Hotel

Check-out from hotel till noon. Free time until transfer to Baku International Airport. Departure. B - - - - -