Adventure in the Land of Fire

Description

Trekking tour

Baku - Sulut village/Lahich village - Sheki - Baku

8 nights/9 days


Program

  • 1

    Day

    Baku

    Meeting the group at the airport. Transfer to the hotel.

    Overnight at a hotel in Baku.

  • 2

    Day

    Baku

    After breakfast the tour begins. First, tourists will get acquainted with the spectacular panorama of the city and Baku Bay from the observation deck of Highland Park. After that, the excursion in the Old City (Baku Fortress) will begin. The Old Town complex, which covers the area of the old fortress, is included in the list of historical monuments protected by UNESCO. The tour begins at the entrance to the Baku Fortress. Tourists enter the fortress through the ancient “Double Gates”.

    While walking with a guide along the ancient streets of the fortress, tourists will visit the Palace of the Shirvan Shahs, enter the ancient Caravan Sarai, look at ancient mosques and medieval baths, climb to the roof of the Maiden Tower. The Maiden Tower is one of the mystical structures of the ancient East. 

    After lunch, the next excursion will be in the Heydar Aliyev Center. It is a complex structure that includes auditoriums, museums, and exhibition halls. The construction of the center was designed by the legendary Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid in 2007. In 2014 the Design Museums’s Desigh of the Year Award for 2014 has been awarded to Heydar Aliyev Center. as recognized as the best building in the world and awarded the Design of the Year 2014 award. There is an interactive museum of national musical instruments, a museum “Masterpieces of Azerbaijan” that includes a collection of national clothes and household items, an exhibition of Azerbaijani carpets, etc.

    Overnight at a hotel in Baku.

  • 3

    Day

    Baku - S.Sulut - S.Lahij

    After breakfast we leave for Ismailli district, village Sulut. During the trip, the scenery outside the car windows will change smoothly from semi-deserted to alpine meadows. In the village we will visit the local resident. Here tourists will be served samovar tea with jam. After teatime we are going to walk. The route will first pass through the old part of the village, then along the mountain river, which full of the stones.

    Then we will pass through the meadow, which is located at the foot of the rocky mountains. Here we will see the underground storage, built in the Middle Ages. Then we will enter the forest and go to the ruins of medieval fortress «Gyrkh otag» (Forty rooms). After a photo shoot and a short rest we will return to our hospitable hosts. We will have lunch from local dishes. Those who want can help set the table and learn some secrets of cooking local dishes. After lunch, guests will be transfered to the village of Lahij. 

    Overnight at a hotel in Lahij.

  • 4

    Day

    Lahij - Sheki

    After breakfast, there will be a village tour with visiting the coppersmiths' workshops. Azerbaijan's well-known tourist destination, Lahij, is a mountain village that is connected to the tourist route "Great Silk Road".The village is more reminiscent of an authentic medieval village. It has the status of a historical and cultural reserve. Lahij was famous as a center of craft village: local craftsmen make copper dishes and carpets, preserving folk traditions. This hike is shorter in time, but more difficult due to the climbs. After lunch we’ll go to Nij. Descendants of the tribe Utiev, who are inhabiting the ancient Caucasian Albania, live here. During the excursion we will visit the Udynskaya Church of Giotari and the National Center. After the excursions in Nij, we will go to Sheki.

    Overnight at a hotel in Sheki.

  • 5

    Day

    Sheki 

    Breakfast in the hotel. After breakfast we will walk on the old streets of Sheki. On this day we will visit the Palace of the Sheki Khans, built in the 17th century, without a single nail and held on a 20-centimeter foundation. In the palace you will see frescoes depicting battle scenes of the wars waged by the Sheki khans. There are craft workshops near the palace, in the fortress. We definitely recommend visiting local sweets shops, the workshops on making “Shebeke” - wooden jewelry, the medieval Caravan Saray, which, just like many years ago, welcomes guests. After lunch, excursion to an ancient temple in the village of Kish, which was founded in 62 A.D. by Apostle Yelisey and became a spiritual center and place of enlightenment of the people of the East. In the courtyard of the temple there are burials of people who are more than 2 meters tall. One of versions of the stories, suggested by the famous Norwegian traveller and writer Thor Heirdal, is that they are descendants of the Atlanteans.. Overnight at a hotel in Sheki.

  • 6

    Day

    Sheki - Baku

    After breakfast, departure to Baku. On the way to Shamakhi there is an excursion to the Shamakhi mosque, founded at the end of the VIII century. and the Sufi mausoleum of Diri Baba. The mausoleum of Diri Baba is unique because it is a tomb, a mosque, and a feast at the same time.

    The mausoleum seems to hang in the air, embedded in a rock at a high altitude. According to the legend, a saint named Diri-Baba (in the translation “living, immortal old man”) is buried here and and remained incorrupt for a long time. There are many legends and mystical details associated with the mausoleum, dating back to the 17th century. it attracts many pilgrims and travelers, as well as scholars who seek to solve its mystery.

    Arrival in Baku. Overnight at a hotel in Baku.

  • 7

    Day

    Baku - Absheron Peninsula - Gobustan

    After breakfast, tourists will go on a tour of the Absheron peninsula. The first object of the visit is the Temple of Fire Worshippers. At the beginning of our era, The Zoroastrian temple was built on the territory of the village of Surakhany on the site of the release of flammable gases.. After the conquest of Azerbaijan by the Arabs and the adoption of Islam by the inhabitants, the fire temple of the Zoroastrians was partially destroyed. Fire worship in Surakhani resumed after the XV century.

    After «Ateshgah» tourists will visit «Yanardag» (Burning Mountain), a place where fire worshipers meditated. After lunch there will be a trip to Gobustan’s Ancient Rock Art. Here tourists will visit an interactive museum and an open-air museum. One-way distance - 60 km.

    Rock paintings of Gobustan belong to different eras and date from 10-8 millennia B.C. to the Middle Ages. In terms of the span of such a large historical period, they occupy a high place among other rock collections in the world.

    Archaeologists have discovered more than 6 thousand drawings on 1000 rocks, ancient dwellings like caves, about 40 mounds, more than 100 thousand objects of material culture. The most ancient drawings refer to the Mesolithic era, but it is assumed that life existed here before, which allows to consider Gobustan one of the cradles of civilization.

    Overnight at a hotel in Baku.

  • 8

    Day

    Transfer from a hotel to the airport.


    Price:

    With hotel accommodation 3*

    With hotel accommodation 4*

    $ 801 per person

    Additional for single occupancy - 

    $124 per person

    $852 per person

    Additional for single occupancy - 

    $165 per person


    Services included in the price:

    - Hotel accommodation;

    - Meal: Breakfast;

    - Lunch in the village Suluth

    - Transport according to the program;

    - Guide services;

    - Entrance fee to museums.