Maku Fortress occupies a dramatic position carved into the overhanging basalt cliff above the town gorge. The fortification dates in origin to the Urartian period (8th–7th centuries BC), when it served as a mountain stronghold controlling the valley approaches to the border region. Later occupants added to it across the centuries; the ruins today include stone stairways, ruined ramparts, and storage chambers cut into the rock face.
The fortress is accessible by a path from the town, and the climb rewards visitors with sweeping views down the gorge toward the Turkish border and across the surrounding mountains. The site is significant to Baha'i pilgrims as the place where the Bab was held in 1848–49; some pilgrims visit specifically to walk where he walked. For non-pilgrims, the setting and history are reason enough.