Baku's Old City (Icheri Sheher) The walled inner city of Baku is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the most compact collection of medieval Islamic architecture in the South Caucasus. The Maiden Tower (Qiz Qalasi) and the 15th-century Palace of the Shirvanshahs anchor the area, but the pleasure is in wandering the narrow lanes between them. The contrast with the gleaming Flame Towers looming overhead is as surreal as it is photogenic.
Gobustan: petroglyphs and mud volcanoes Two experiences in one half-day trip from Baku. The Gobustan National Park holds over 6,000 rock carvings spanning 40,000 years, including a chiseled Roman legionary inscription from the time of Emperor Domitian. A few kilometres south, the mud volcanoes bubble quietly on a grey moonscape plain — Azerbaijan has roughly 40% of the world's total. Neither site is crowded; both are genuinely strange and compelling.
Sheki Sheki in the foothills of the Greater Caucasus is the destination that most visitors who make it outside Baku are happiest they found. The Khan's Palace (Sheki Xan Sarayi) is covered floor to ceiling in shebeke, a glue-free stained-glass lattice of thousands of coloured fragments, built without a single nail. The caravanserai hotel nearby is one of the most characterful places to stay in the country. The local dish, piti — mutton and chickpeas slow-cooked in a clay pot for nine hours — is reason enough on its own.
Nakhchivan The semi-desert exclave of Nakhchivan, cut off from the rest of Azerbaijan by Armenia, rewards the extra effort required to reach it. The Momine Khatun Mausoleum (1186) is one of the finest examples of Seljuk architecture anywhere. The rugged Zangezur mountains along the Armenian border have almost no tourism infrastructure — that's partly the appeal.
Quba and the northeast highlands The town of Quba is famous for its apple orchards and carpet-making, but the reason to push further is the mountain scenery to the west. Qusar is the gateway to Shahdag National Park and, in winter, the Shahdag ski resort. The village of Khanalygh, high in the mountains, is inhabited by one of the most isolated ethnic communities in the Caucasus — the Khinalugs, who speak a language unrelated to anything else on Earth.
Karabakh The Karabakh region, including the city of Shusha, returned to Azerbaijani control in 2020 after decades of conflict. Infrastructure is being rebuilt rapidly. Access requires advance planning and registration; verify current requirements before travelling. Shusha, perched on a ridge at 1,400m, was historically Azerbaijan's cultural heartland and is now a government priority for restoration and tourism.