Arrival to Baku, transfer from the Airport to your Hotel. Accommodation in Altstadt hotel. Breakfast, lunch or dinner depending on the time of arrival. Free time.

Start of excursion in Old Town - "Icheri Sheher". See the highlights of Icheri Sheher including the Palace of the Shirvans (the most striking example of the Medieval palace structures in Azerbaijan, dating to the middle of 15th century); Maiden's Tower which is according to the latest researches is the largest Zoroastrian temple in the world; visit Juma Mosque, antiques and carpets shops. Lunch at national restaurant.

After the lunch proceed with sightseeing tour in the modern Baku: Martyr's Cemetery, located on the higher slopes of the city's west-end, this is the best place for viewing the city and the Bay of Baku. You will have a walk in Naberezhny park and along Baku Boulevard, the second largest one in the Europe. On Boulevard you can get a boat to make trip along Baku Bay. You will be introduced with the interesting facts and legends of the largest lake in the world better known as Caspian Sea. Returning to the hotel. Dinner

Breakfast. Leaving for a tour in Absheron peninsula. The third day will be spent primarily within the Greater Baku, where you will be taken to main sites on the Absheron Peninsula.

Ateshgah, the Fire Worshippers' Temple is located in the village of Surakhany. It was built on land where natural gas burned eternally and worshipped by Zoroastrian believers who travelled from the province of Multan in India to visit this sacred place. These ancient fires are believed to have given Azerbaijan its name, which is thought by some researchers to mean the 'Land of Fires'.  Lunch

Also you will visit today well preserved ancient castles of Apsheron Peninsula dated XII-XIII AD and located farther out on the Apsheron Peninsula. There are several fine medieval castles - one each at Amirajan and Nardaran and two at Mardakyany - apparently built for defence by the Shirvan shahs in the 14th century.

Dinner in the local restaurant with music program and belly dance; tasting traditional national Azeri dishes.

Those who interested can be transferred to nightclubs and places of interest. At summer time we will ensure you have the opportunity and time to visit beaches and enjoy the warm waters of Caspian Sea. Back to the hotel, free time.

Day 4 (Baku-Shemakha-Lagij)

Ancient city Shamaha is situated in 180 km from Baku and located at the foothills of the Big Caucasus Mountains Chain. The general elevation of Shemakha is 800 meters over the sea level. One of the most ancient oriental trading cities, it claims to be the city of Kmakhia mentioned by the ancient Greek geographer Ptolomy in his book 'Geography'.  

High in the Pirgulu mountains, 13 km from Shemakha, 1.400m above seal level, is located the Tusi astronomic observatory, built in the 1960s named after the 13-th century Azeri astronomer, it has the biggest mirror telescope in the CIS. You will have an excursion to the observatory.

Pirgulu mountains can be recommended as a good skiing spot, but there are no lifts, so all you can do is cross-country skiing - scandinavian style! Mild climate of this temperate zone, rich soil, abundant forests, alpine meadows are distinctive features of this part of Azerbaijan.

The wine tradition is quite old and the area even has its own grape variety, Matrassa used for excellent dry red wines. Local legend claims that the first French vines came from Shemakha! In fact the wine produced along the western Caucasus came a long way. As early as the late 15th century wines from this area were bought by some of the more demanding wine connoisseurs in western Europe: the Portuguese. Scores of traders, soldiers, priests and adventurers followed Portuguese expansion in Asia, creating a local market for the Caucasian wines. A few bottles even reached the Shores of Portugal itself.

In Shamakha you will visit two-storied Deri Baba mausoleum (15th century), survey Juma mosque, Seven Domes mausoleum, Pir Imam Zade, Gulustan fortress, ruins of ancient city "Sheher Gah", have a brief tour to Shamakha itself, visit historic-architectural monumental resort of Lahij, built in the 5th century.

In Lahij you will have an opportunity to admire ancient mosques and bath-houses, medieval water-supply and sewage systems. The program includes attendance of number of workshops where you can purchase different kinds of artifacts which will always remind you of an ancient area named Shamakha.

And the last point of Shamakha tour is Pirkuli resort where you will be provided with an opportunity to taste a local wine and cognac well known as the best in Azerbaijan.  Transfer to Lahij and accommodation in one of private houses in that settlement.

Lahij is a small village in the Ismailly Rayon, buried deep in the mountains. The dirt road to Lahij winds up the Girdimanchai river gorge from the vineyards outside Shemakha, crossing the torrent on a flimsy bridge and skirting the sheer walls on narrow, roughly hewn ledges. Ice and snow cut Lahij off from the valley for weeks at a time in winter. 

The drive up to Lahij is as stunning as dangerous, animals appear out of nowhere in winding roads that hug the cliff face that plunges down into the valley below. You will ll remember forever the forests of this land, its rivers and springs, curative air of the mountains.

Day 5 Gabala

 After breakfast is transfer to Gabala and accommodation in one of the hotels in Gabala. Two-thousand-year old Gabala - the most ancient city of Azerbaijan, was for 600 years the capital of ancient Caucasian Albania mentioned in the works of antique historians of the 1st century. Later in the Arabian sources it was mentioned as Khazar. At first Gabala was a part of Shirvanshahs state and later Sheki khanate. The city was repeatedly exposed to devastating invasions. But, despite of this Gabala has preserved material evidence of its civilized past. The ruins of ancient Gabala are 5 km from the present day city.

The excavation finds from the ancient settlement can be seen in the city museum. Gabala vicinities have numerous historical and architectural monuments. The modern Gabala is located on the territory of Sheki - Zakatala area practically on the border of Dagestan and Georgia . There are the ruins of the ancient city whose age is about 2,000 years in the vicinities of Gabala.

The area is rich in 500-year-old nut and chestnut forests. Blooming chestnuts are a unique sight in the spring time.

Udin Temple

The village of Nidzh , not far from Gabala, is known for a unique architectural monument of the Caucasian Albania - Udin Temple . The udins are absolutely special ethnic group who are considered descendants of Alabanians (only 10,000 of them left). They have managed to preserve their traditions, language, material and spiritual culture up to now. Just recently the temple has been restored and today it is open for church-goers of udin Christian community and tourists wishing to witness the most ancient landmark of Azerbaijan. The restored temple was constructed in the17th - 18th centuries on the site of an ancient Albanian church which had been built at the will of Saint Eliseus - the Christian ecclesiast and educator honored in the Caucasian Albania. The present day temple has been named after him.

More information about Gabala you can find following the link:  

http://www.Azerbaijan24.com/cities/city/13.html

Day 6  Sheki.

 After breakfast transfer to Sheki and accommodation in "Yuhari Karavansaray", the hotel which was used by Great Silk Route travelers on their way to Europe.

 Sheki is one of the most famous and ancient places of Azerbaijan. Situated 700m above sea level like an amphitheatre surrounded by mountains and forests of oak trees this ancient city was long famed as a silk centre and an important stop on the Great Silk Route. There is an assumption that the name of the town goes back to the ethnonim of the Saks, who reached the territory of Azerbaijan in the 7th century BC. Sheki is long famed as a silk centre and an important stop on the Silk Road. Sheki still has the site of a huge factory that was once the Soviet Union's largest silk plant (such a big factory was naturally named after Lenin...). Unfortunately this factory is closed now.

After breakfast in the hotel you will start your Sheki tour from visiting 18th century Khan's summer palace with magnificent frescos (one 24 m long) and exquisite stained glass work (northern part of the city). You can also visit Sheki History museum with artifacts from several periods, but notorious for pieces relating to silk manufacturing and trade.

Also you will visit the Albanian church located in Kish village. Legend say that church was built in 78 AD, but the researchers place it a few centuries later. Return to the Hotel. Upon your return to the hotel and having a local style dinner you will have a free time with an opportunity to enjoy a scenic view of Caucasus Mountains. Overnight.

Day 7 Gah

 After breakfast transfer to Gah. Arrival and accommodation in one of the hotels in Gah. Gah is a pleasant and tranquil provincial town, northwest of Sheki, at the base of an appendix of Azeri territory that penetrates into Georgia and Dagestan.

Visit  the village of Ilisu which was once the capital of an independent sultanate. There is only one street but two castle towers,  a mosque and a bridge dating from the 18th century remain. Near Kakhi, in the forests of the village of Termechi,  you'll find the tomb of Haji Murat, a naib (commander) of Sheikh Shamil - he was a fighter against Russian occupation, made famous by Tolstoy's story 'Haji Murat'. On his grave there is a mounted stone plate with an inscription in Arabic reading "A great martyr, Avar Hadzhi Murat Hunzah is buried here".  

In the village of Kum / Qum there are several monuments dated to the period of Caucasian Albania, though Georgian also claim them as theirs: fortress Sirtgala of 18th century, Kum Basilica, ruins dated to the 5th century, The Round Temple (7th century). The Basilica in Kum was constructed in the 4th century and is one of the earliest examples of a three-nave Basilica in the region. During the time of construction, ancient Christian Albanians occupied modern Muslim Azerbaijan. In the village of Lekit there are the ruins of a 12th century monastery complex.

Day 8.

 Return to Baku.  You will finish your Azeri tour by visiting the Gobustan reserve. Gobustan is an open-air museum littered with neolithic rock drawings. Just 65km (40mi) south of Baku, Gobustan has some 4000 inscriptions that go back 12,000 years (with some 2000 year old Latin graffiti to boot). Stone Age folks sporting loin cloths pose hunt and boogie down. Their dances are thought to have been accompanied by the melodious strains of the Gaval-Dashy (Tambourine Stone) - a rock that has a deep, resonating tone when struck. Dinner in one of the national restaurants

Free day

Breakfast. Check-out from the hotel. Transfer to the airport. 

Package includes: 

accommodation in Baku 3 star Altstadt hotel (double/twin occupancy for groups)
Breakfasts
Private vehicle accompanied by an experienced English speaking local guide
Your guide will look after you exclusively
Local driver for your vehicle, exclusively for your tour
Sightseeing program including all entrance fees
Private guided transfers to and from airport
Guide's and driver's expenses