What to do in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan is the least visited of the three Caucasus countries. Partly due to the old complicated visa process and partly because of an underdeveloped tourist industry. However there some amazing things to do in Azerbaijan and since 2017 the government has introduced an e-visa system making getting a visa much easier. As a result Azerbaijan is becoming more accessible to tourists from countries other than Russia and Turkey. However, even with these increasing tourist numbers Azerbaijan still remains a country that is very much off the beaten track.
Language Issues?
At present English is not widely spoke outside of Baku with Russian still being widely spoken above people over 40. For more information about the language barrier in Azerbaijan check out article on the usage of Russian in the Caucasus.
What to do in Azerbaijan, getting off the beaten track
Ramana Castle
Located out on the Absheron peninsula this deserted castle is more famous for whats around it. Built on top of a small hill outside the tiny village of Ramana the castle now overlooks a huge section of of Baku’s oil fields.
At the turn of the 20th century Baku was supplying half the worlds oil through vast oil fields around the city. However when technology advanced to the use of oil rigs, Baku’s onshore drilling couldn’t compete. Azerbaijan’s economy is heavily dependent on oil with many rigs out in Caspian Sea. However out on the Absheron peninsula there are still vast oil fields which make up a large chunk of the view from Ramana Castle. It gives you an a striking insight into Azerbaijans Soviet past.
Getting to the castle is very easy. Take the subway out to Koroglu and follow the signs to the bus station. From here take bus 204 until the final stop. The buses are pretty regular, roughly every 10 minutes and each ride costs 0.2AZN.
To get into the castle knock on the door of the house opposite the castle entrance. This is where the castle attendant and key holder lives. After paying the entry fee of 3AZN per person, she will take you up to the castle, open the doors, give you the key and tell you to lock the door behind you, meaning you have the castle all to yourself. A rather remarkable experience.
Suraxani – Fire Temple
Another interesting site on the Absheron peninsula, this site has been a site of worship for Zoroastrians for over 1000 years. The present day temple was built in the 18th century by Indian Hindus, but as the number of Hindus in the area decreased the temple was neglected. Previously the flame was thanks to a natural gas vent, but in the 1950s so much gas was taken from Baku that the flame went out. A gas pipe is now keeping the flame the going.
Like Ramana, this site is very easy to visit. From Koroglu bus station take bus 184 to the final stop. Buses come once every 10 minutes and like the 204, each ride costs 0.2AZN.
Yanar Dag
Another quirky delight located on the Absheron peninsula is Yanar Dag. A shepherd carelessly flicking away his cigarette during the soviet era started a fire that continues to burn on a remote hillside. There is some interesting scenery around, including what looks like a soviet era factory that may or may not still be running.
Getting here can be a little confusing. Take bus 217 from Koroglu, however at the time of writing the signs at the bus station were incorrect. Upon entering the bus station signs will tell you that you an pick up bus 217 from bay 3. This is not the case, you need to pick it up from bay 2. From here you can stay on the bus until it’s final stop. Transport both to and from Yanar Dag is pretty regular. It seemed to be roughly every 10 minutes, although like with a lot of bus schedules in Azerbaijan there is a reasonable amount of flexibility.
Xinaliq
Breathtaking Xinaliq is located about 60km from Quba, the largest town in Northern Azerbaijan. Visiting this hamlet is a highlight of any trip to the land of fire.
The vast majority of people visit as a day trip, which is exactly what we did. It is possible to stay in Xinaliq, there are a couple of home-stays in existence. However, aside from that the infrastructure of Xinaliq itself is extremely limited.
There were no public buses that went to Xinaliq at the time of writing so the only way for us to get there was a tour from our guesthouse or with a private taxi driver. Our guesthouses tour cost 80AZN, however we found a taxi driver that was willing to take us for 45AZN. This covered the cost of traveling to and from Xinaliq and as long as we wanted to explore the village itself. If we wanted to stop to take photograph’s en route, since the drive there is truly spectacular, we just needed to ask. The road into Xinaliq from Cek is particularly lovely.
Most drivers will drop you at the bottom of the village. From here you can slowly work you way around the village, checking out the scenery and quirky houses. There are plenty of little backstreets that lead to excellent viewpoints of the surrounding mountains and valleys.
Understandably many tourists in the region compare Xinaliq and Ushguli in Georgia. Both are high altitude villages surrounded by breathtaking scenery. Ushguli is more developed, with a number of interesting towers and churches, however the road is in very bad condition. Xinaliq is the opposite. The town itself is not as developed as Ushguli, however the road is substantially better.
There are also a number of hiking routes from Xinaliq however permits for the surrounding Shahdag national park can be tricky to obtain and need to be arranged in advance.
Quba
Many people use Quba as a base to explore the surrounding mountain villages, however it is an interesting place to explore. The town centre has a couple of old mosques and across the river there are 2 synagogues.
However probably the most interesting place is the Quba genocide memorial museum. Located 2km or so from the town centre it is a memorial to the tragic events of 1918 when Armenian bolsheviks murdered 3000-12000 people. Visiting the museum gives you an deep understanding of the pain that still exists in this region of the world due to actions that took place nearly a century ago. We didn’t intend on spending a day in Quba, we used it as a base for exploring Xinaliq. In truth you can easily explore it in an afternoon after arriving by bus from Baku.
Kish
A 20 minute marshrutka ride from Sheki you will find the delightful village of Kish. It is a world away from the bustling streets of Sheki. The main sight in Kish itself is the beautiful Albanian church. Drivers will assume thats where you want to go and will let you know where to get off accordingly. However the village is not particularly big so the likelihood is that you will only be a short walk away. There are blue signs dotted around pointing to the church itself. Entry into the church costs 2AZN.
From the church exit and take a right and follow the path down into the gorge and you will be rewarded with some spectacular views over the Greater Caucasus mountains. Wandering around the backstreets of the village you discover plenty of quirky buildings and meet friendly locals.
To get here from Sheki, you will need to take marshrutka 15 from bazar bus station in the north west of the city. Going back its probably best to catch the bus from the point it dropped you off at. Marshrutky seem to run very regularly, but there is no fixed timetable.
Ivanovka
Welcome to one of the strangest places in Azerbaijan. A small farming village populated by a Russian Molokon community. Here people speak Russin, signs are in Russian and the local population is clearly not of Azeri descent.
The town lacks any real “sights” in the traditional sense however it does have one of the worlds last remaining kolkhoz (Soviet Collective Farms). We stayed at John and Tanya Ivanovka guesthouse, a wonderful little b’n’b with great food.
The kolkhoz was the main reason for our visit. From the guesthouse turn right and walk to the gate at the end of the road. We asked the guy if we could go in and have a look, to which he responded with a positive grunt and gestured us to head inside. Here was a graveyard of soviet farming equipment. Some of it hadn’t been used since the 60’s or 70’s, possibly even earlier. From here, exit where you entered and take a left following the curve of the road. You will then see another gate that is most likely to be open.
We checked with the attendant and were given the ok to go in and explore. From here enter and head into the kolkhoz itself. We didn’t take any pictures as our guesthouse owner warned this can cause problems amongst the farmers, as you would expect. Sadly our time looking around the kolkhoz was ended when a slightly grumpy attendant told us uncertain terms to piss off.
Aside from the one disgruntled attendant everyone else we met was extremely friendly and were very keen to chat to us, in spite of my limited Russian. They were very excited when I told them Miranda was Chinese, lots of “очень хорошo” (very good) smiles and thumbs up. They were less excited to find out I was from the UK (not in a negative way). Probably because they don’t get a lot of Chinese tourists.
The town certainly has an strange feel to it, almost like it is trapped in a time warp, trapped in a foreign land. Without a shadow of a doubt this little patch of quirkiness was one of the highlights of our trip to Azerbaijan.
Getting to Ivanovka is easy if you’re coming from Baku, Sheki or Lahic. First of all need to go to Ismailli. Marshrutky and shared taxis make up the lions share of the public transport on this route. However you will need to inform the bus driver you want to get off at Ismailli as there is very little direct public transport. They will drop you at the little square on the edge of town. From here you can negotiate a taxi to drive you the remaining 15 or so km to Ivanovka for around 8 manat..
