From Ancient Palace to Mountain Temples: Sheki and Gakh Tour

From there, the road goes through Ismailli Forest, where big old oak and maple trees give thick shade even in the heat of the day. A short tea stop among the trees helps everyone relax before the busy afternoon in Sheki.

The group arrives in Sheki, and this is where the real highlight of a Sheki Gakh tour begins — the Sheki Khans' Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The shebeke windows, made from small pieces of glass and wood with no nails at all, and the hand-painted walls take you back to the time when this palace ruled the whole region for more than 200 years.

Next to the palace stands an old caravanserai, once a resting place for merchants on the Silk Road. Its thick stone walls and courtyard still hold the feel of that time, and — surprisingly — the building still works as a hotel today. Nearby, shops that have traded since the 18th century sell Sheki silk, ceramics, and famous sweets made using family recipes passed down for generations.

A park on top of a hill offers a wide view over the whole city and the mountains around it, along with a memorial for soldiers who died in World War II. This is where you get some of the best photos of the whole trip — red rooftops of the old town against green mountains.

Before visiting the ancient temple, the group stops for lunch at a restaurant next to a local museum that has welcomed guests for more than twenty years. Here you'll try the famous Sheki piti — a rich lamb soup slow-cooked in a clay pot. Meals like this show why a good 2 Days, 1 Night tour in Azerbaijan is about more than sightseeing — it's about tasting the country too.

Kish is one of the oldest villages in modern Azerbaijan, and its temple from the time of Caucasian Albania is a rare piece of architecture from before Christianity arrived in the region. Its simple stone shapes carry a history older than many European civilizations.

In the evening, the group checks in at Sheki Palace hotel, and the rest of the night is free — a walk through the old streets, tea at a local teahouse, or just some rest after a full day. A good multi-day tour Azerbaijan travelers choose gives them exactly this: not just a look at a place, but a chance to feel it in the evening and morning too.

The next morning starts with breakfast at the hotel, and then the group heads out with the guide toward the neighboring Gakh region — crossing the Shin River on a bridge over a kilometer long, the longest in Azerbaijan. This Gakh tour takes travelers somewhere standard one-day trips rarely reach.

The first stop is Mamirli Waterfall, hidden in a subtropical forest near Lekit village. This popular Mamirli Waterfall tour stop gets its name from the moss that has covered the rocks for centuries — "mamir" means "moss" in Azerbaijani.

The road continues into Gakh town, to the active Church of St. George — built in the mid-19th century, though it stood closed for decades under Soviet rule. Religious life here only started again in 1997.

By the Kurmuk River, the group stops for lunch at "Yeni Baki" restaurant. The main dish is surkhullu, a thick soup with dumplings and dried lamb, and girz — a meat dish similar to dumplings. A version with red lentils and cheese is available for vegetarians.

After lunch, the road leads to Ilisu village, in the Ulu Dagh mountain gorge, where three historic sights stand close together. The 18th-century Ulu Bridge, surrounded by thick forest, is one of the most photogenic spots on the trip. Nearby is the Juma Mosque, from the 17th–18th centuries, standing not in central Gakh but here in Ilisu, a tidy Caucasus village. A little further stands Sumug Gala tower, built as a watchtower — fans of Soviet cinema may recognize it from the film "Don't Be Afraid, I'm With You," which shot key scenes here.

On the way back toward Sheki, the group stops at a 4th-century Caucasian Albania temple on a high cliff, known as the Kurmukh Church of St. George. A path through a natural forest tunnel leads up to it, and from the cliff, you get a striking view of the Alazani Valley — a place local Christians have long considered sacred.

The road back is calm — two full days leave you not tired, but satisfied. Sheki and Gakh stay in memory not as a set of photos, but as a full story told by mountains and centuries. This is exactly why more travelers now search for a 2 Day Tour Azerbaijan experience that goes beyond the capital.