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How many days in Azerbaijan? 7 days, from Baku's walls to the Caucasus villages
By Tony Panopoulos · travel-agency planner in Greece · Updated
Azerbaijan is two trips in one: a Caspian capital of oil-boom towers and medieval lanes, and a green mountain north where villages still bake bread in clay ovens. Give it seven days: three in Baku and its desert peninsula, two in the Quba highlands, and two on the road west through Lahij to Sheki. Distances look short on the map, but mountain roads are slow, so plan one region per day and travel in daylight.
Short answer
Four days covers Baku, the Gobustan petroglyphs and one trip to Sheki. Seven lets you add the mountain village of Khinalug and the craft town of Lahij without spending every day in a car.
The 7-day plan, day by day
Day 1: Baku: the Old City
Morning. Enter Icherisheher, the walled Old City and a UNESCO site, through the Double Gates off Neftchilar Avenue. Climb the Maiden Tower (about ₼15), the 12th-century stone tower whose purpose is still argued over, for views across the bay. Allow an hour to walk the lanes past old caravanserais.
Afternoon. Visit the Palace of the Shirvanshahs (about ₼15), the 15th-century royal complex with its mausoleum, mosque and bathhouse. Then walk 10 minutes out of the walls to the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum, housed in a building shaped like a rolled carpet on the seafront.
Evening. Stroll Fountains Square and Nizami Street, the pedestrian shopping street, then eat in a restored caravanserai restaurant in the Old City, where plov and kebab cost about ₼15-30.
Carpet sellers in the Old City are friendly and persistent. If you buy, ask for the export certificate; carpets over a certain age need one to leave the country.
Day 2: Baku: Flame Towers, Heydar Aliyev Center and the Boulevard
Morning. Take a taxi 10 minutes to the Heydar Aliyev Center, Zaha Hadid's flowing white building, for the exhibitions inside (about ₼20) and the photographs outside. Then head to the Baku Boulevard, the seafront park that runs for over 3 km along the Caspian.
Afternoon. Ride the funicular (about ₼1) from the Boulevard up to Highland Park and the Martyrs' Lane memorial, beside the three Flame Towers. The terrace gives the best view over the bay and the Old City.
Evening. Come back up after dark, when the Flame Towers are lit with moving flames on LED screens, then walk down to the Boulevard for tea in a glass with jam, the local habit, at about ₼5-10 a pot.
Baku taxis are cheap through the Bolt or Uber apps (most city rides ₼4-10). Avoid unmarked street taxis that do not use meters.
Day 3: Absheron day trip: Gobustan, mud volcanoes and fire
Morning. Drive about 1 hour south-west to Gobustan National Park (about ₼10), where more than 6,000 rock carvings of hunters, boats and animals date back up to 40,000 years. The modern museum at the entrance explains them well; allow 2 hours.
Afternoon. Continue 15 minutes in an old Lada taxi up dirt tracks to the mud volcanoes, small cold cones that bubble grey mud. Then drive back past Baku to the Ateshgah fire temple in Surakhani (about ₼10), used by Hindu and Zoroastrian fire worshippers.
Evening. End at Yanar Dag (about ₼10), a hillside where natural gas has burned without stopping for decades; it is most impressive after sunset. Back in Baku for dinner by about 21:00.
A group tour covering all four stops costs about ₼60-100 per person, often cheaper than a private taxi for the day. Bring closed shoes for the mud volcanoes.
Day 4: Quba and the Red Settlement
Morning. Drive or take a bus north about 2.5-3 hours to Quba, a market town in apple orchards at the foot of the Greater Caucasus. Shared minibuses leave Baku's main bus station (avtovağzal) for about ₼6-8.
Afternoon. Cross the river bridge to Qırmızı Qəsəbə, the Red Settlement, one of the few all-Jewish towns outside Israel, with its synagogues and a museum of Mountain Jews. Then walk Quba's centre and the carpet workshops.
Evening. Stay in Quba or at a guesthouse in the hills; dinner of lamb and fresh herbs costs about ₼15-25.
Quba is known for apples in September and October, and for its carpets; buy dried fruit at the market for the mountain drive next day.
Day 5: Khinalug, high in the Caucasus
Morning. Take a 4x4 or local taxi about 1.5-2 hours along the Qudyalchay gorge to Khinalug, a stone village at about 2,300 metres where people speak their own language. A return taxi with waiting time costs about ₼80-120.
Afternoon. Walk up through the stacked houses, whose roofs form the streets above, to the small history museum and the hillside cemetery. Short hikes lead to viewpoints over the valley and Mount Shahdag.
Evening. Either stay in a Khinalug homestay (about ₼40-60 with dinner and breakfast) or drive back to Quba, then continue to Baku next morning on the way west.
The road can close after heavy snow from December to March. Bring a warm layer even in summer: afternoons at 2,300 metres can drop below 10°C.
Day 6: Shamakhi, Lahij and on to Sheki
Morning. Start early from Baku (or come down from Quba) and drive about 2 hours west to Shamakhi, an old capital whose Juma Mosque has been rebuilt many times since the 8th century. Stop at the hillside Diri Baba mausoleum just beyond.
Afternoon. Turn off into the mountains to Lahij, a cobbled village of coppersmiths about 1 hour from the main road. Watch copper being hammered into jugs and trays on the main street.
Evening. Drive on 2-3 hours to Sheki and check in. If you can, stay in the Caravanserai hotel, an 18th-century inn with rooms around a stone courtyard, from about ₼80-120.
This is a long day of about 6-7 hours' driving in total. Hire a driver (about ₼150-200 for the day) or take a tour; buses do not reach Lahij easily.
Day 7: Sheki: palace, silk and halva
Morning. Visit the Palace of the Shaki Khans (about ₼10), a small 18th-century summer palace whose painted rooms and shebeke windows are made of thousands of pieces of coloured glass fitted without nails or glue. Arrive at opening to see it calmly.
Afternoon. Watch shebeke being made in a workshop on the main street, buy a silk kelaghayi headscarf, then drive 5 km to Kish to see the restored Caucasian Albanian church, one of the oldest in the region.
Evening. Eat piti, a lamb and chickpea stew cooked in a clay pot, and finish with Sheki halva, layered rice-flour lace with nuts and syrup. Return to Baku next morning by road (about 5 hours) or by train.
Photography is not allowed inside the Khan's Palace. Halva is sold everywhere; buy from a shop that makes it on the spot.
Only have 4 days?
With 4 days, keep Days 1-3 in Baku and take a long day trip or one night to Sheki via Shamakhi. You lose Quba and Khinalug, the most remote part of the trip.
Got extra days?
Extra days can go to Gabala for the Tufandag cable car and mountain lakes, to Ganja and the Goygol lake region in the west, or across the border to Georgia: Sheki to Tbilisi is about 4-5 hours via the Lagodekhi crossing.
Where to stay in Azerbaijan
| Budget | Area | Why | Typical double/night |
|---|---|---|---|
| Budget | Baku Old City hostels / Sheki guesthouses | Inside the walls in Baku; family homes with breakfast in Sheki and Quba. | ₼40-80 |
| Mid-range | Baku centre near Fountains Square | Walk to the Old City, Boulevard and Nizami Street. | ₼120-200 |
| Mid-range | Sheki Caravanserai / Quba hill hotels | Historic courtyard rooms in Sheki, mountain views near Quba. | ₼80-150 |
| Comfort | Baku seafront and Flame Towers | International hotels with Caspian views and pools. | ₼300-600 |
Getting around
In Baku, the metro costs about ₼0.50-1 a ride with a rechargeable BakuKart, also used on buses. The airport express bus to 28 May station takes about 30-40 minutes for roughly ₼1.50; a taxi is about ₼20-30. Between regions, shared minibuses run from Baku's main bus station to Quba (2.5-3 hours) and Sheki (about 5 hours) for under ₼15. For Lahij and Khinalug, a driver for the day costs about ₼100-200. Most visitors need an e-visa (ASAN), issued online in about 3 working days.
What to eat in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani food is built on lamb, herbs and rice. Try plov with saffron and dried fruit, dolma in vine leaves, qutab (thin flatbreads with greens or meat, about ₼1-2 each), dushbara (tiny dumplings in broth) and lyulya kebab. Tea comes all day in pear-shaped glasses with jam. Local wine is cheap; try Savalan labels. A good meal in Baku costs ₼20-40, less in the regions.
Best time to visit
May to June and September to October have warm days of 20-28°C in Baku and clear mountain roads. July and August bring 32-38°C heat in Baku but pleasant air in Quba and Sheki. Baku is famously windy year-round. Winters are mild on the coast (about 5-8°C) but bring snow to Khinalug. Novruz, the spring new year around 20-21 March, fills the streets with bonfires and sweets.
Month-by-month weather for Azerbaijan →
What a day costs
| Budget | Mid-range | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bed (per person, sharing a double) | ₼30 | ₼75 | ₼200 |
| Food & drink | ₼25 | ₼50 | ₼110 |
| Sights & tickets | ₼15 | ₼35 | ₼60 |
| Local transport | ₼10 | ₼40 | ₼110 |
| Total per person, per day | about ₼80 | about ₼200 | about ₼480 |
Approximate 2026 prices in Azerbaijani manat (about ₼1.70 to US$1); private drivers for Lahij and Khinalug raise transport on those days, and the e-visa costs roughly US$25-30.
Before you go
Common questions
Do I need a visa for Azerbaijan?
Most nationalities need an electronic visa, applied for online through the official ASAN portal; it usually arrives within about 3 working days and allows a stay of up to 30 days. Some neighbouring and partner countries are exempt. Apply only on the government site, since copycat sites charge extra. Check current rules before booking, as the land borders have had long periods of closure.
Can I visit Armenia on the same trip?
Not directly. The border between Azerbaijan and Armenia is closed, so travellers combining the two go through Georgia, usually Baku to Tbilisi and then Tbilisi to Yerevan. Having Armenian stamps is not normally a problem today, but travellers who visited Nagorno-Karabakh without Azerbaijani permission in the past may be refused entry.
Is it easy to travel without a guide?
In Baku, yes: the metro, Bolt taxis and walking cover everything. Outside the capital, English is less common, signs are in Azerbaijani with some Russian, and remote places like Lahij and Khinalug are much easier with a driver. Many visitors do Baku on their own and book day tours or a driver for the regions.
Is Azerbaijan a conservative country?
It is mostly secular, and Baku dresses much like any European city. In mosques, women cover their hair and everyone covers shoulders and knees. Alcohol is sold widely. In villages, dress more modestly and ask before photographing people, especially women.
How this guide was made
Compiled by TonyPlan from official tourism, transport and attraction sources and on-the-ground travel knowledge. Prices are approximate for 2026 and change with season; anything we could not confirm is marked as approximate.
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