Must see attractions in Azerbaijan

  • H

    Top Choice

    Heydar Aliyev Center

    Vast and jaw-droppingly original, this Zaha Hadid building is a majestic statement of fluid 21st-century architecture forming abstract waves and peaks…

  • Top Choice

    Maiden’s Tower

    This tapering 29m stone tower is Baku’s foremost historical icon, with rooftop views surveying Baku Bay and the Old City. Possibly millennia old, its…

  • A

    Top Choice

    Alinja Castle

    For those prepared to climb over 1500 steps up a mountain crag, one of Naxçivan's great highlights is the magnificent view from the sparse medieval ruins…

  • X

    Top Choice

    Xan Sarayı

    This ornate 1762 palace building features vivid murals and dazzling coloured light streaming through şəbəkə (stained-glass windows), making it Şəki’s…

  • M

    Top Choice

    Möminə Xatun

    Perfectly proportioned, if gently leaning, Naxçivan’s architectural icon is a 26m brick tower dating from 1186. It’s decorated with geometric patterns and…

  • Y

    Top Choice

    Yarat Contemporary Art Centre

    Yarat means 'create', a spirit that's in ample evidence in this centre's many thought-provoking installations that don't shy away from sociopolitical…

  • İ

    Top Choice

    İmamzadə

    One of Azerbaijan's most impressive Islamic structures, the İmamzadə is a masterpiece of brickwork and Central Asian–style blue majolica tiles on the…

  • F

    Top Choice

    Flame Towers

    Completed in 2012, this trio of sinuous blue-glass skyscrapers forms contemporary Baku's architectural signature. The three towers range from 28 to 33…

  • B

    Top Choice

    Bazaar

    Lənkəran’s sprawling bazaar area is centred on an architecturally drab concrete hangar, but it’s loaded with colourful produce and equally colourful local…

  • Top Choice

    Palace of the Shirvanshahs

    This splendid confection of sandstone walls and domes was the seat of northeastern Azerbaijan’s ruling dynasty during the Middle Ages. Mostly 15th century…

  • F

    Top Choice

    Fountains Square

    Ever-popular with strollers, this leafy piazza forms Central Baku’s natural focus. The fountains for which it is named include one topped by shiny…

  • Q

    Qobustan Petroglyph Reserve

    The Unesco-listed Qobustan Petroglyph Reserve protects thousands of stick-figure stone engravings dating back up to 12,000 years. Themes include livestock…

  • A

    Ateşgah Fire Temple

    The unique Ateşgah is an 18th-century fire temple whose centrepiece is a flaming hearth. Arching above is a four-pillared stone dome with side flues which…

  • M

    Mud Volcanoes

    On top of utterly unpromising little Daşgil Hill is a weird collection of baby mud volcanoes, a whole family of ‘geologically flatulent’ little conical…

  • K

    Kiş Albanian Church

    The brilliantly renovated round-towered 'temple' in pretty Kiş village has been lovingly converted into a very well-presented trilingual museum. It’s the…

  • M

    MOMA

    This joyous tailor-made gallery uses struts and tubing to create a wide variety of intimate viewing spaces, in many of which you can recline on bean-bag…

  • L

    Laza

    Laza is a diffuse scattering of houses encircled by soaring mountains with grass-clad slopes and ribbon waterfalls cascading over perilous cliff edges. A…

  • G

    Göygöl

    For a surreal slice of transplanted Teutonic history, drive around half an hour south of Gəncə to this agreeable small town founded as Helenendorf by…

  • B

    Beşbarmaq Dağ

    Atop a supersteep grassy ridge, Beşbarmaq Dağ is a distinctive split crag whose mystical crown of phallic rocks attracts (mostly female) pilgrims. They…

  • Y

    Yanar Dağ

    In a raised gully near Digah village, a 10m-long strip of 'eternal' fire licks gently at at the foot of Fire Mountain. The name is misleading for what is…