Welcome to Azerbaijan! This is the Land of Fire and the Pearl of the Caucasus, a land where eastern colours combine magnificently with western progress. Azerbaijan is a country of unique nature, unmatched culture, centuries of history with its customs and traditions and fine cuisine; a place which will satisfy the expectations of the most sophisticated gastronomists, and finally, it is the country of Caucasian hospitality and friendliness.

Azerbaijan’s capital Baku (or Bakı in Azeri) is the architectural love child of Paris and Dubai…albeit with plenty of Soviet genes floating half-hidden in the background. 

Snoozing amid green pillows of beautifully forested mountains, Şəki (Sheki) is Azerbaijan’s loveliest town, dappled with tiled-roof old houses and topped off with a glittering little khan’s palace. In 2019 its old core was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site.

For those prepared to climb over 1500 steps up a mountain crag, one of Naxçivan’s great highlights is the magnificent view from the sparse medieval ruins of Alinja Castle, sometimes nicknamed ‘Azerbaijan’s Machu Picchu’.