Day 1. Airport Pick up – Baku City Tour – Absheron Peninsula Tour.

Arrival in the airport. Transfer to the hotel. Check-in at the Hotel and after having 30 minute rest at the hotel. Your private car and guide will pick you up from your hotel for starting Baku City Tour – the first destination of the tour will be the Highland Park which is the highest spot of the Baku City during your Baku City Tour. From the park, you will see the panorama of the city which you will be able to see major buildings like, Flame Towers, Parliament Building, State TV Channel Building and Broadcast Tower, Martyrs’ Lane, Chrystal Hall, National Flag Square and many more. You will be walking through the Martyrs’ Lane to the stairs called “40 Stairs” where your driver will pick you up.

Lunch at the nice traditional Restaurant. 

After your nice lunch, you will continue to the Double Gates to start Old City Walking Tour. From Double Gates, starting the tour you will be able to see the Chain, Sailor and Cat Houses, Bukhara & Multani Caravanserais, Juma Mosque, Maiden Tower. After taking pictures in front of the Maiden Tower you will proceed to Visit the Miniature Book Museum (except Monday & Thursday. Next Destination in the Old City will be the Shirvanshahs’ Museum Palace Complex. It will definitely be up to you to choose to enter to Palace or not, depending on your interest. From the Palace you will be ending up in the Double Gates again. The last destination in the Baku city tour will be the Nizami Street. You will have 20 minutes to walk to see the beauty of the most central street of the Baku with full of shops and nice restaurants. You will also be able to see the Fountain Square full of magical fountains. After your Baku City Tour you will drive to Surakhani village for starting the Absheron Peninsula Tour, Fire Temple – Ateshgah.

Fire Temple – Absheron Peninsula Tour

Your professional guide will explain the mysterious history behind the Baku Boulevard and its connection to the Oil Barons alongside the Boulevard. The Fire Temple is located in the south-eastern part of the Surakhani settlement of the Absheron Peninsula, 30 km away from Baku. Then you will drive to Fire Mountain – Yanardag. Fire Mountain – this natural burning flame became as a result of the emergence of natural gas at the foot of the hill. A hill that burning approximately 4 millenniums nonstop even in times of raining and snowing.

Transfer to the hotel. Overnight at the Hotel in Baku.

Day 2. Shamakhi-Lahij-Sheki

Starting your tour program after having a nice breakfast at the hotel. You will visit north-west regions of Azerbaijan. 20~30 minute stop on Diri Baba Mousoleum in Maraza village – Gobustan district. Acient Diri Baba Mausoleum which had been built in year 1402. Visiting Shamakhi Juma Mosque. After the mausoleum you will have a stop in the Shamakhi City, Juma Mosque- a mosque that has been built in year 743 and is the one of the first mosques built in the territory of Azerbaijan. Visiting Yeddi Gumbaz (Seven Domes) in Shamakhi City. In fact only three of these desecrated octagonal royal tombs remain reasonably complete. They are the 18th-/early 19th-century mausoleum of the khans of Shamakhi. Some of the surrounding gravestones are much more ancient – as much as a millennium old.

Drive to the Restaurant on the way Shamakha / Lahij

Arrive in Lahij, Ismayilli – Lahij is a notable place in Azerbaijan, with its authentic handicrafts traditions, particularly related to copper. The village’s carpet and rug crafts are also well known in Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus. Lahij has an old sewage system (some experts claim that it was built 1000 – 1500 years ago). Leave Ismayilli, Lahij and drive to Sheki. Sheki is one of the most ancient cities that habituated by people more than 2700 years in the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasian Mountains. Majority of architectural buildings that built between 16th -19th centuries were well preserved. For centuries Sheki was the center of silkworm breeding and silk production center and located on the silk road.

Visiting Sheki Khans Palace – The Palace itself built in 1762 as a summer residence for the Khan(King) of Sheki. During the construction of the building, no single nails and glues were used. From inside, all the walls of the Palace are full of paintings which each painting has its own philosophical meaning. Visiting Caravanserais (ancient hotels) – Sheki has 2 caravanserais that are called Upper & Lower Caravanserais both dating back to 18th centuries. Due to city’s location on the main trade road from the East to the West, Caravanserais were main resting and trading places of merchants who are passing from the city.

Transfer to hotel. Overnight at the Hotel in Sheki.

Day 3. Sheki + Lagodekhi +Signagi + Tbilisi.

Breakfast in the hotel, Check-out from the hotel. Visiting Albanin Church-Kish. Drive to Kish Village. In the Kish Village of Sheki, you will visit an Albanian church that dates back to the 1st century AD. Drive to Balakan, Lagodekhi Georgian Border. Arrival in Border. Meet at the Lagodekhi Border. Drive to Kakheti-the region of Georgia known as a birthplace of viticulture and winemaking. Arrive in Signagi-an ancient town also called “City of Love”, encircled by beautiful 18th c. wall with 23 defensive fortifications. Signagi surroundings are home for numerous cultural and architectural monuments. Visit local small and lovely museum with archaeological, ethnographic, numismatic, photographic and paintings’ collections. Visit Bodbe – a monastic complex located near the Signagi town. Bodbe monastery was built in 9th c. and was significantly renovated in 17th c. The monastery now functions as one of the major pilgrimage sites in Georgia.

Transfer to hotel. Overnight at the Hotel in Tbilisi.

Day 4. Tbilisi + Ananuri + Gudauri+ Kazbegi + Gergeti – Tbilisi

Breakfast at the hotel. Today we will explore Caucasus Mountains. Drive North to Gudauri ski resort via Georgian Military Highway. The way to Gudauri is quite picturesque with attractive views of Great Caucasus Range, serpentine roads and waterfalls. On the way, Visit Ananuri fortress which was the residence of Aragvi Eristavis’ (Dukes) during 16th-17th cc. Continue to Kazbegi (Stepantsminda) – administrative center of Khevi province – via Jvari Pass (Cross Pass; 2395 m. above sea level). During the trip we will make few stops to local taste mineral waters. Arrive in Kazbegi and drive on 4 x 4 WD Jeep to Gergeti Mountain, where Gergeti Holy Trinity Church of 14th c. stands.

Evening drive back to Tbilisi for overnight.

Day 5. Tbilisi Half Day City Tour

Breakfast at the hotel. Start Tbilisi Sightseeing: ride up to Narikala Fortress by aerial cable car. Narikala fortress dates back to 4th century AD, it has a superb location with magnificent panoramic views over the Tbilisi city. Stroll down to Legvtakhevi (translated literally as “Fig Ravine”) – a beautiful place with a waterfall and a small river. Take a walk in the park near Sulfur bathhouses, well-known for their healing powers, Shardeni street, its neighborhood and Meidan square with its outdoor cafes, galleries and souvenir shops.

Transfer to Tbilisi Airport. Departure.