Azerbaijan Multi-Day Trips: Sheki and Quba

October 18, 2026

Travel advice. The UK FCDO advises against all travel within 5 km of Azerbaijan’s border with Armenia, and against all but essential travel to the south-western districts affected by the 2020 and 2023 conflicts, where mines and unexploded ordnance remain. The US State Department lists the country at Level 3, Reconsider Travel. Land borders with Armenia and Russia are closed; the Georgia and Iran land crossings are temporarily closed, so fly in. Every route below runs through the north, north-west or centre of the country, away from those districts. Check gov.uk and travel.state.gov before you book, since travel insurance can be invalid against official advice.

Azerbaijan rewards a stay of three days to a week, with Baku as a base and one or two overnight trips outward. Distances are long and mountain roads slow, so each trip below needs a night. Fees are in manat (AZN), about 1.70 to the US dollar.

Entry and visa

Most visitors need an e-visa from the official portal, evisa.gov.az . Apply at least three days before travel, expect about US$25 plus a small service fee, and print it. A single-entry e-visa usually allows 30 days in a 90-day validity. The passport needs to be valid for six months after arrival, with two blank pages.

Baku base, three to four days

Spend the first days in Baku: the Old City (Maiden Tower 19 AZN, Shirvanshahs’ Palace Complex 24 AZN), Baku Boulevard and the Carpet Museum. Add the Absheron fire sites and Gobustan, each a half day. The metro costs 0.60 AZN a ride.

Baku to Sheki, two nights

Sheki is about 283 km from Baku, a bus ride of 6 to 6.5 hours, with fares of about 6 to 9 AZN one way, so allow two nights to make it worthwhile. The Palace of the Sheki Khans, a UNESCO monument, is known for its shebeke windows, and a foreign adult pays 15 AZN. Interior photography is restricted. The Kish church, an Albanian church museum, is also 15 AZN, and the Yukhari Karavansaray stands in the old quarter. Try piti, the clay-pot lamb stew, and Sheki halva. Look at places to stay in Sheki .

Quba and Khinalug, two nights

Quba is about 170 km north of Baku, and the road takes 2.5 to 4 hours. The Red Village across the river holds the Six Dome Synagogue and a museum. Khinalug, a UNESCO cultural landscape since 2023, lies about 50 to 60 km up the mountain road from Quba, at around 2,350 m. Its people speak Ketsh, an isolated Caucasian language. Reach it by taxi or 4x4 from Quba, and ask locally about the road, as reports of its condition conflict. Staying overnight in the village gives time for the walks.

Gabala and the mountains

Gabala is about 220 km from Baku, 3.5 to 4 hours by road. There is no direct Baku to Gabala train, but a Ganja to Gabala train runs via Laki. Tufandag resort has summer rope lines, a coaster, archery and hiking, and Lake Nohur nearby has rowing boats. Check Tufandag’s site for current prices and hours.

Ganja and Naftalan

A Stadler train runs from Baku to Ganja in about 5 to 5.5 hours. Naftalan lies 4 to 5 hours from Baku by road and is a medical spa town where crude-oil baths are a treatment at specific hotels. One hotel is reported to offer the baths on weekdays only, so ask before you plan around it.

Sample routes

For a week, try Baku for three nights, Sheki for two and Quba for two. For five days, drop Quba. Each leg is an overnight, not a day trip.