One of rural Azerbaijan’s best-preserved castle ruins, Çirax Qala's spindly, three-storey keep rises on a forested bluff, high above Qala Altı, a big, modern sulphur-water sanatorium complex. You see the caste's silhouette while driving past on the Siyəzən–Şabran back road but access requires a muddy 4km off-road plus 15 minutes' walk. Alternatively, you can walk from the spa complex in around 90 minutes.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
18.1 MILES
Atop a supersteep grassy ridge, Beşbarmaq Dağ is a distinctive split crag whose mystical crown of phallic rocks attracts (mostly female) pilgrims. They…
Quba 1918 Genocide Memorial Complex
29.69 MILES
A startling pair of concrete spike-pyramids rise dramatically above a subterranean museum that very powerfully commemorates the massacres of April and May…
29.3 MILES
Across the river from central Quba, Qırmızı Qəsəbə is a much-celebrated Jewish village with two active synagogues, including the Grand Synagogue. Its…
20.18 MILES
An eye-catching area of vivid pink-and-white striped hills is commonly nicknamed the 'Candycane Mountains' by Baku expats. Look carefully and you find…
29.31 MILES
The most impressive of Qırmızı Qəsəbə's surviving synagogues is a two-storey brick structure dating from 1888, pimpled with six spired minidomes.
25.95 MILES
This stylishly designed, relatively well-endowed little museum, opened in August 2018, attractively displays several antique grave sites and finds from…
27.31 MILES
Azerbaijan's world-class observatory, founded in 1966, currently has six large telescopes beneath archetypal silver domes, most now automated. By paying a…
29.26 MILES
Old chaps in flat caps sip tea and slap dominoes all day long beneath shady chestnut and plane trees on this attractive, tree-shaded square. There's an…
Nearby Azerbaijan attractions
18.1 MILES
Atop a supersteep grassy ridge, Beşbarmaq Dağ is a distinctive split crag whose mystical crown of phallic rocks attracts (mostly female) pilgrims. They…
20.18 MILES
An eye-catching area of vivid pink-and-white striped hills is commonly nicknamed the 'Candycane Mountains' by Baku expats. Look carefully and you find…
25.95 MILES
This stylishly designed, relatively well-endowed little museum, opened in August 2018, attractively displays several antique grave sites and finds from…
27.31 MILES
Azerbaijan's world-class observatory, founded in 1966, currently has six large telescopes beneath archetypal silver domes, most now automated. By paying a…
28.97 MILES
Quba is famous for its handmade carpets and this workshop is one accessible place where visitors can see the process in action.
29 MILES
This octagonal mosque is Quba’s most-distinctive historic building. Painted a dull red and topped with a metallic dome forming a central point like a…
29.08 MILES
Fronted by a wild rose-bush, this colourfully painted brick mosque, originally built as a square-plan church, is the most eye-catching of several minor…
29.13 MILES
Restored in 2018, this 19th-century brick hamman building has a distinctive beehive dome and lies on a street that has several patches of archetypal old…