Azerbaijan Tour

Azerbaijan Tour Packages: The Complete Land of Fire Guide

Azerbaijan stands at a crossroads that even the most intrepid travelers tend to ignore. This nation borders Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Iran, and the Caspian Sea. Its capital, Baku, has an ancient fortress city with a modern oil money skyline. Just two hours from the city, mud volcanoes are spewing up from the flat land, while a mountain nearby has been burning for decades.

When considering a Caucasus tour package or a spot that showcases contrasts, Azerbaijan tour packages offer both on a single geographic map.

This is all you need to know when planning to visit Azerbaijan.

Entry: Azerbaijan eVisa, ASAN Visa, and What to Know

The ASAN Visa of Azerbaijan is a popular visa system used by travelers visiting Azerbaijan. It can be applied online via www.evisa.gov.az by 95 nationalities. Visa approval normally takes about 3 business days; however, there is also an urgent service that issues visas within just 3 hours. Travelers receive the Azerbaijan eVisa via email; they need to print and show the printed document during immigration.

Transit visa: If you're building a Central Asia Caucasus tour and need to leave the airport during a Baku layover, apply for an Azerbaijan transit visa through the same ASAN Visa portal before you travel.

Registration: Stays beyond 15 days require registration with the State Migration Service. Hotels handle this automatically. Private accommodation hosts must register you through the migration portal. Missing it means a significant fine at departure.

US citizens take note: The US Department of State issues a "Reconsider Travel Advisory" for Azerbaijan, based on threats close to the southern border and also the border with Armenia. Baku, Sheki, Quba, and Gabala are not covered by this warning.

Baku: Two Cities in One

A Baku city tour means a visit that combines two narratives. The Icherisheher is a walled city and UNESCO site where one can walk through in 20 minutes, although one can take up to half a day to explore. The Maiden Tower is located at the east end of Icherisheher, while the Shirvanshahs Palace complex will take one and a half hours.

While outside the walls, the Flame Towers provide an iconic view with their fire animations using LEDs at night. The best vantage point to observe the structures would be along the boulevard that overlooks the Caspian Sea; that’s where everyone meets in Baku during the evening. At the same time, the nearby Heydar Aliyev Center deserves the entrance fee for anyone interested in architecture.

Regarding the oil tourism in Baku, your Azerbaijan tour packages itinerary will include the old mansions of the oil magnates from the Petroleum District and the offshore oil installations in the Caspian Sea both narrate the same tale. The Baku Formula 1 Grand Prix takes place every June at the street track within and outside the walls of the Old City of Baku. Make sure to book accommodation way in advance as rates increase threefold during that time.

Gobustan, Yanar Dag, and Ateshgah: The Fire Sites

All three can be covered in one long day from Baku, and together they're the reason Azerbaijan calls itself the Land of Fire.

Gobustan National Park, Gobustan is situated about 60 km southwest from Baku, with over 6,000 petroglyphs dating back more than 40,000 years and engraved on the stone faces. This UNESCO site tour usually lasts around 90 minutes. The Gobustan mud volcanoes are located within the unique grey desert landscape some kilometers down the road. A mud volcanoes adventure off-road can be added to this trip.

Yanar Dag, the Burning Mountain, which burns for 10 meters along a mountainside 25 kilometers from Baku where methane leaks out of the rocks and catches fire when it touches oxygen. Visit in the evening. During the day, it is seen as a flame, but in the night, it is seen as an old soul.

Ateshgah Fire Temple at Surakhani was a Zoroastrian and Hindu pilgrimage site built above a natural gas vent, active from the 17th century through the Silk Road trade era. The courtyard flame still burns, fed now by a gas line since the original vent ran dry in the 1800s.

Sheki: The Silk Road of your Azerbaijan Tour Package

Sheki is situated in the foothills of the Greater Caucasus, located 350 kilometers northwest from Baku and can be reached within five hours by train and four hours by road. All tours to Azerbaijan include this place because it acts as the cultural alternative to Baku.

What makes Sheki famous is its Khans Palace. It was constructed as a summer palace in 1762. It has paintings all over its interior walls along with geometrical windows called shebeke. They do not use any kind of glue in putting up pieces of colored glass in wooden frames. Photographs can give an incomplete idea of how rooms actually look.

Sheki served as an important location along the Silk Road heritage tour, and its traditional caravanserai is now used as a hotel that accommodates travelers in chambers where medieval merchants once lodged. Pakhlava in the local version and the dish piti, which is essentially a lamb stew prepared in separate clay pots, are the meals one should consider trying at this destination.

Northern Azerbaijan: Quba, Khinalig, and the Caucasus Mountains

The Quba region of the Caucasus Mountains in the northeast of the country is where tourists who opt for an Azerbaijan tour package beyond culture and monuments go.

The town of Quba is a market town famous for carpet making and two hours' drive from Baku city. From Quba, you drive into the mountains towards Khinalig, which is one of the highest permanent settlements of Caucasus situated at 2,350 meters. Khinalig is a place that has been populated for over 5,000 years, uses its own language different from Azerbaijani, and lies at the end of a road that requires a 4X4 in the rainy season.

Gabala and Shahdag: Resort Azerbaijan

The Gabala resort located in the foothills of the Caucasus is the leading domestic resort in Azerbaijan aside from the capital city of Baku. The cable car at Tufandag Mountain Resort above Gabala transports visitors from valley elevation to mountain elevation within 20 minutes and operates throughout the year.

During the winter season, both Tufandag Mountain Resort and Shahdag Ski Resort provide visitors skiing and snowboarding opportunities from December to March. Among the two ski resorts, Shahdag is the bigger one and is situated around 180 kilometers north of Baku close to Gusar.

Azerbaijani Tour Package Cuisine: What to Order

The cuisine of Azerbaijan incorporates elements from Persian, Turkish, and Caucasian cuisines, creating a cuisine with an identity of its own. Plov, which is saffron-infused rice, cooked for hours in a closed pot with lamb, raisins, and chestnuts, is central to the Azerbaijani menu. Shahplov, a regional variant of Sheki, includes ingredients such as offal from lamb, herbs, and seasonings. Kebabs in all their different varieties, such as lamb loin of lamb, ground meat kebab, and chicken livers on skewers grilled over charcoal fires, dominate the street foods scene.

Pomegranate, both fresh and in sauce, is common in Azerbaijan, as well as in juices and sauces such as narsharab, which is pomegranate syrup. Teas are served in armudu glassware, which resembles pears. Sugar cubes should be added separately when drinking tea, rather than mixing them into the drink.

Planning Your Azerbaijan Tour Package

A practical first-visit itinerary runs 7 to 10 days:

• Days 1 to 3: Baku city tour, Icherisheher, Maiden Tower, Shirvanshahs Palace, Heydar Aliyev Centre, Baku Boulevard, Flame Towers at night
• Day 4: Gobustan petroglyphs, mud volcanoes safari, Yanar Dag, Ateshgah Fire Temple (full-day circuit from Baku)
• Days 5 to 6: Sheki, Sheki Khans Palace, old caravanserai, Silk Road heritage
• Days 7 to 8: Quba and Khinalig ancient village, Caucasus mountain scenery
• Days 9 to 10: Gabala resort or Shahdag (seasonal), return to Baku

The combination of Central Asia Caucasus tours will mean an Azerbaijan tour package best matches with a Georgia tour, with Tbilisi about four hours' drive from Baku. Traveling further east to Uzbekistan or other Central Asian destinations will involve flights. It should be mentioned that traveling directly from Azerbaijan to Armenia is not allowed: passengers usually transit via Georgia when moving between these countries.

Obtain your Azerbaijan visa online at least five to ten days prior to arrival via the official Azerbaijan eVisa website evisa.gov.az. Print out the visa. Get the registration certificate if you plan to stay in non-tourist accommodations. Take Azerbaijani manat for the bazaars and small eateries outside Baku; major cities accept credit cards well, but provincial towns may not always do so.

Practical checklist

Applying for the ASAN Visa can be done on the evisa.gov.az website. You will need to print out your visa and keep it with you when you visit the country. Ensure that you check the travel advisory for your citizenship prior to traveling. In case of any information regarding the transit visa, you can visit the official website.