Things to do in Zarat

Besh Barmag Mountain

No. 1 of Night Attractions in Azerbaijan

Old City Baku

Old City Baku is the historic core of Baku, enclosed by ancient city walls. Its history is generally believed to date back at least to the 12th century, though some scholars suggest its origins can be traced as far back as the 7th century. The Old City is adjacent to the Caspian Sea, with cobblestone streets winding along the slopes. Local families still live deep within the alleys, where old buildings, workshops, and residences stand side by side. Walking through them, you can both sense the weight of the historical sites and encounter the vibrant local life of Baku. The charm of the Old City is also hidden in its small alleys. In the Middle Ages, it was a frequent stop for caravans. The Multani Caravanserai and Bukhara Caravanserai, which hosted merchants from India and Central Asia, still stand today. The alleys are lined with carpet workshops, handicraft shops, and souvenir stalls, as well as many traditional restaurants serving local dishes like pilaf and kebabs.

No. 1 of Best Things to Do in Azerbaijan

Sheki Khan's Palace

Sheki Khan's Palace is tucked away in the fortress courtyard on the high ground in the northeast of the old city of Sheki, and was once the summer palace of the Sheki Khan. This two-story building, along with the pool and old plane trees in the courtyard, has been preserved and later converted into a museum. It is not large in size, over 30m long and less than 10m wide. The layout of the upper and lower floors is the same, with three rooms lined up in a row, connected by a south-facing open corridor. The first floor was where the Khan received guests and handled affairs, while the second floor was for the family's living and entertaining. The outer walls are decorated with geometric patterns made of dark blue, turquoise, and ochre tiles. The interior walls are covered with murals, featuring patterns of flowers in vases and plants, and in the halls upstairs, you can also see entire scenes of hunting and warfare. A distinctive attraction here is the stained glass window called Shebeke, where thousands of pieces of colored glass are embedded into fine wooden grids. The entire structure uses no glue or nails, relying entirely on interlocking wood pieces, creating a display of shimmering light when sunlight passes through.

No. 2 of Best Things to Do in Baku

Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape

Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape is located in the semi-desert hills southwest of Baku and is an open-air site famous for its prehistoric rock carvings. The petroglyphs are concentrated on three exposed rocky hills, including Boyukdash and Kichikdash. Dating from the Upper Paleolithic tens of thousands of years ago to the Middle Ages, themes such as hunting, bullfighting, group dancing, camel caravans, and the sun and stars are superimposed on the rock surfaces. The carvings of reed boats with rows of rowers are particularly striking, resembling later Nordic longships. Scattered among the rocky hills are caves, settlements, and burial sites once inhabited by ancient people; the cave known as "Seven Beauties" features paintings of women participating in hunting. The "Gaval Dash" (tambourine stone) at the entrance is a long stone slab that produces a crisp sound similar to a tambourine when struck with a small stone, serving as a natural percussion instrument left by ancient people. The Latin inscription at the foot of Boyukdash Mountain, created by a Roman legion centurion in the 1st century AD, is a rare piece of evidence of Roman presence reaching the shores of the Caspian Sea. A petroglyph museum is located next to the entrance, using unearthed artifacts and video materials to recreate scenes of prehistoric life. You can visit the exhibition first before heading up the mountain to explore the rock carvings.

Mikayil Mushvig Home Museum

Candy Cane Hills

No. 2 of Night Attractions in Azerbaijan

Flame Towers

The Flame Tower is composed of three towers and is the tallest building in Baku. It is named after its appearance that resembles a flame. The project, designed by the American architecture firm HOK, is currently used as a luxury residential apartment, an office building and a hotel (Fairmont Baku Flame Towers Hotel and Resort). These three huge "tongues of fire" can be seen in almost any corner of Baku (it is recommended to watch on the coast of Baku), and they are very conspicuous. Whenever night falls, the tower body, which completely covers the LED screen, will show a variety of effects, just like a beating flame, showing the vigorous vitality of modern Baku.

No. 4 of Best Things to Do in Azerbaijan

Mud Volcano

Mud Volcano are located in the semi-desert hills southwest of Baku. They are completely different from the fiery volcanoes one might imagine. High-pressure natural gas from deep underground carries water and sediment, pushing up through crustal fissures to the surface and accumulating into gray mud pools at the vents, with bubbles rising and popping on the mud surface, gurgling like a pot of porridge simmering on low heat. Up close, the oozing mud feels cool to the touch and has a fine texture, lacking the scorching heat one would expect from a volcano. Looking around, the landscape is almost extraterrestrial, with low mud cones, cracked and crusted mudflats, and gray-yellow plains where almost nothing grows. Any photo taken here looks like a scene from the moon or Mars. It is usually quiet here, though occasionally there is a rumble from underground, mud shoots into the sky, and the escaping flammable gas ignites into pillars of fire in mid-air.

No. 6 of Best Things to Do in Azerbaijan

Palace of the Shirvanshahs

Palace of the Shirvanshahs is located on a high hill in Old City Baku and is a palace complex left behind by the Shirvanshah dynasty of Azerbaijan. Most of the main buildings were completed in the 15th century, and the Murad Gate was added to the east side in the 16th century. The entire complex is built of light-colored limestone and is divided into two courtyards based on the terrain. The council hall, royal mausoleum, mosque, bathhouse, and reservoir are laid out in sequence within the same enclosed space, incorporating residential, administrative, religious, and funerary functions. The main structure is a two-story stone building, with dozens of rooms connected by several narrow spiral stone staircases. You can enter the octagonal domed hall through an intricately carved gate. In the center of the council hall courtyard stands an octagonal pavilion surrounded by pointed-arch arcades, with exquisite stone carvings on the lintels. The lower courtyard contains the royal mausoleum and a mosque with a minaret, as well as the octagonal mausoleum of the court Sufi scholar Seyid Yahya Bakuvi, commonly known as the Dervish Mausoleum. Further down are the remains of the bathhouse, which is half-buried underground with only its domes visible, and the underground reservoir. Today, it has been converted into a museum, displaying archaeological finds such as coins, copperware, weapons, musical instruments, and carpets, as well as a restored model of the Old City's layout. When visiting, be sure to pay attention to the stone-carved lintels at the entrances of each building, as clues about their dates and purposes are mostly hidden there. Looking back from the upper courtyard platform, you can also overlook the layered rooftops of the Old City.

No. 7 of Best Things to Do in Azerbaijan

Maiden Tower

Maiden Tower is located at the southeast corner of Old City Baku, adjacent to the Caspian Sea. It is a cylindrical stone tower built around the 12th century, with eight floors inside and stone walls at the base several m thick. It is featured on the 10-manat banknote and is considered one of the symbols of Azerbaijan. It has now been converted into a museum, with exhibits detailing the urban evolution of Baku from ancient times to the present. The second floor also houses an ancient well, which research suggests was used to collect rainwater. Despite being right next to the sea, the water is fresh. You can climb to the top along the spiral stone staircase built into the wall to overlook the stone alleys and minarets of the Old City, and gaze out at the expansive waters of Baku Bay and the seaside boulevard. The lighting is particularly good in the evening. After dark, the tower lights up, making it a highly recognizable feature of the Old City's nightscape.