Khinalig (Azerbaijani: Xınalıq) sits at around 2,350 metres above sea level in the Greater Caucasus and is one of the most isolated permanently inhabited settlements in the world. Its roughly 2,000 residents speak Khinalug, a language so distinct from everything around it that linguists classify it as a language isolate — unrelated to Azerbaijani, Russian, or any other language of the region.
The village is ancient — estimates range from 3,000 to 5,000 years of continuous habitation — and looks it. Stone houses step up the mountainside in tight terraces, rooftops of one house becoming the courtyard of the house above. The small ethnographic museum in the village centre displays tools, clothing, and household items from traditional mountain life.
Getting there from Krasnaya Sloboda or Quba takes about two hours on a rough mountain road (a 4WD is strongly advisable, especially outside summer). The road itself is half the spectacle: it climbs through deep gorges and across high meadows with views of snow-capped peaks. A day trip is feasible from Quba but allows very little time in the village — consider staying overnight if you can arrange it.