North View on map
Khizi district is located in so called Guba-Khachmaz region.
Here, in Khizi district, is located one of the most beautiful reserves in the country - "Alti Agac".
Also located in Khizi district (not far from Sumgait) is Yashma game reserve covering an area of 4 hectares. Water birds hunt and fishing are available in Yashma.
Khizi town is the administrative center of the district. It is located 104 km from Baku. Not far from the town there is a fine resort for travelers, tourists and local residents named "Jannet Baghi". It is situated in a mountain forest, on the bank of Atachai River, very close to "Alti Agach" reserve. Eight kilometers away from Khizi there is another resort named "Gizilgazma".
Siyazan district is located to the north of the capital and extends along the Caspian coast.
Located here in the Early Middles Ages was the second line of the Caspian defense zone. It has been included in the list of historical and cultural monuments of Azerbaijan under the name of Gilgilchai Defensive Structures and is protected by the state. As a part of "Caspian Defensive Structures" it has been nominated by UNESCO for the inclusion in the list of World Legacy Monuments. Archeologists revealed that Gilgilchai Defensive Construction was built in ancient times, before our era, and that it was constantly rein forced and fortified.
The wall originates in the very sea (level of the Caspian Sea varies from year to year) and extends many kilometers, rising to mountains where it terminates with the grand watch tower of Chirag Gala (5th century) .
Not far from the tower of Chirag Gala there is a resort complex Gala Alti ("Underthe Tower") with a health center named "Chirag Gala", known for its mineral springs with medicinal sulfurated water, especially beneficial for patients with urolithiasis and cholelithiasis. On the road to the health resort there is a number of shashlikhouses, cafes and small camps a majority of which operate only in summer.
Fragments of another defensive line, Beshbarmak, remained near the village of Zarat. Residents call these ruins Khizirzinda Baba . Not far from another village - Sedan, there are remainders of Dindar fortress.
The region is known for carpet weaving, inlaid wood engraving and production of folk musical instruments. Siyazan town is located 103 km from Baku.
There is no hotel in Siyazan so one can stay at a private house or the health resort. Meals are provided at restaurants "Gerush", "Zafarran" and "Chiraggala" . The town's proximity to the Caspian Sea determines a broad assortment of fish meals, a side of meat and vegetable ones, in local menus. Shabran district is located to the north of Baku and its eastern border extends along the Caspian coast. On the territory of Shabran district, 12 km away from the coast, is located a hunting estate AgziBir.
Shabran district is located to the north of Baku and its eastern border extends along the Caspian coast.
On the territory of Shabran district, 12 km away from the coast, is located a hunting estate Agzi Bir.
Historical and archeological monuments of the region include ruins of the famous settlement Shabran (5th-18th centuries) near the village of Shakhnazarli.
The settlement Gulistani Irem (18th-19th centuries) is located in the village of Gandob. Numerous archeological objects dated to the 3rd-2nd millennia BC have alsobeen found in the district of Shabran. One can survey the materials found during the excavation at the Shabran Museum of Regional History.
Shabran town is the administrative center of the district. It is located 122 km from Baku.
Local types of carpets - Pirabedil and Kherat Pirabedil that, according to the professional classification belong to the so called "Guba Carpet School", are original, distinctive and are popular among fanciers of hand-woven carpets.
Guba district is one of the most advanced agricultural districts in Azerbaijan.
The most popular and frequently visited places in the vicinity of Guba are such charming nature spots as Geshresh, Balbulag, and the canyon of Tenggealti, 400 m.to 600 m. deep.
The famous Afurdzhi waterfall on Velvelichai River is included in the list of "Monuments of Azerbaijani Nature" and is protected by the state. There are other waterfalls too, attracting tourists and travelers with their uniqueness and originality. Taking tourist paths over these picturesque nature spots and climbing higher to the mountains, one can observe tall trees being alternated with bushes and even higher, by the river of Khashichai, there are thermal springs with water jetting out the rocks of a mountain canyon. Long time ago local craftsmen carved three large hollows in the very rock here- some kind of baths coated by stone walls. In the bath one could revel in warm medicinal water from sulfurated springs. Experts maintain that the natural stone bed enhances the medicinal effect of the spring water.
These places were once visited by French writer Alexander Dumas. While taking a break at the camp near the road he was invited to the fireplace by Guba residents that had also decided to take some rest and refresh themselves. He was very impressed by the skill Gubans cut the ram with and by the taste of kebab (shashlik) which they served him. The greatest modern traveler, Norwegian scientist Thor Heyerdahl also stopped in Guba during his visit to Azerbaijan as he had been speculating that "aces" mentioned in the "Edda" epic were the most ancient ascendants of Azerbaijanis that moved to the north of Europe during the Great Migration of Nations. Here, in Guba district, 65 km from Guba is located a mountainous (2500 m above sea level) settlement Khinalig whose population constitutes a unique, separate ethnographic group. Residents of Hinalig speak an archaic language unrelated to any modern language of the world.
The language is highly preserved although the locals also speak Azerbaijani. The phenomenon of Hinalig is a major enigma in not only in the history of Azerbaijan but in the world history, too.
Near Khinalig there is a sanctuary (9th century) where natural emergence of fire to the surface of earth can be observed. Due to this phenomenon the place was called Ateshgah by local residents, the name meaning "The Temple of Fire".
Mosque: Abu Muslim mosque
Guba town is located on the bank of Kudial-chai River and on the northwest slopes of Shakhdag Mountain of the Greater Caucasus.
Also remained in the town preserved are such historical monuments as the mosque of Sakine Khanum, Juma mosque, mausoleum of the 16th century and ancient eastern-type baths. In the first half of the 18th century territories of the present Guba districtas well as present Shabran, Gusar, Khachmaz, Khizi and Siazan districts were united to form Guba Khanate. Initially the center of the khanate was in Hudat city but soon after Guba khan Gusein Ali made the town of Guba the capital of his khanate and relocated his residence there. The most renowned ruler of Guba Khanate, Fatalikhan always struggled to unite disconnected khanates of Azerbaijan under his reign. He conquered the whole northwest Azerbaijan from Derbent to Lankaran. At that time Jews were invited for settling in Guba, on the left bank of Kudial-Chai River. Initiallythe settlement was called Jewish community; in 1926 it was renamed to Red community.
Guba is a small town but present territory of Guba district, occupying northwest mountain sides of the Greater Caucasus are very picturesque and one can immerse intoits beauty just outside the town. Neither Azerbaijani nor foreign tourists ever pass by this area. Similarly, Baku citizens, especially if they visit Guba to recreate often make car rides from Guba to the coastal resort Yalama located relatively closeto Guba. And vice versa, tourists in Yalama (Nabran) sometimes make trips to Gubato combine the delight of recreation on the Caspian coast with the pleasure to observe forest foothills of Guba, plentiful of springs and beautiful nature spots. Guba district is one of the most beautiful in the country and its proximity to the capital,the vicinity of a forest zone and the Caspian coast as well as numerous tourist facilities and resorts in the area make it an important recreational and balneal zone of the republic.
Mosque: Haji Jafar mosque
Mausoleum: Aghbil mausoleum
The district of Khachmaz occupies a part of Samur-Shabran lowlands and is located on the northwest part of Azerbaijan.
At the beginning of the 18th century one of ancient stronghold cities, Khudat ("TheGift of God") became the capital of Guba Khanate. An aqueduct from local Shollar village to Baku was constructed in 1914.
Traces of settlements dated to the late Stone and Bronze Ages have been found on the territory of the region. Scientists link the toponym "Khachmaz" to the foreign Hun tribes - "Khachmataks or Khachmats" that were later assimilated by local inhabitants. Interestingly, from the territory of Khachmaz these tribes relocated to Oghuz region where they also founded a settlement and (sometime later) a fortress of the same name.
About 60 monuments of history and culture have been found on the territory of the district. However experts believe that their number should be much higher since the region was already densely inhabited in the earliest times. Settlements and mounds of the Bronze Age have been found near the villages of Mollaburkhan, Khulovlu, Garadzhik, Khasangala, and the Middle Age settlements - near the villages of Janakhir and Bostanchi. The Mosque of Sheikh Yusuf (15th century) remained in the village of Shikhlar. It belongs to the early onset of architectural mausoleum complexes, which became widespread later, in the 16th-17th centuries. In the villages of Morug Oba, Tagar Oba and Uzun Oba remained a mosque dated to the 19th century, in Garagurtlu village - a mosque and madrasah dated to the 15th century.
The town of Khachmaz is the administrative center of Khachmaz region. In Khachmaz longing is available at "Khachmaz" hotel. On the territory of the district there is the second (in terms of size and comfort) resort on the Caspian shore, extending along the whole sea coast from the village of Mukhtadir to Nabran village and further. There are plenty of tourist facilities and pensions to stop by.
Nabran is the largest recreational region in the Hachmaz district, situated on the Caspian shore. An interesting feature of the place is that right after the edge of sand the beach directly turns to a forest which hosts various tourist facilities, camps, pensions and resorts. Their conditions vary from comfortable first-rate luxury hotels and cozy cottages for small number of visitors to camp towns.
The district of Gusar borders Dagestan and is located in the northeast part of Azerbaijan 35 km from the Khudat railway station. The name of the district, Gusar, toponimically ascends to the name of the tribe of Khisar which inhabited the region and vanished during historical ethnogeny. The region is predominantly populated by Lezghins.
Landscape of the territory is an alternation of mountains and plains covered with forests. A game reserve named "Gusar" (with an area of over 15000 hectares) has been established with the purpose of preservation and restoration of species of hunting and farm importance and their habitat.
In mountain canyons one may observe beautiful waterfalls, the most popular of which, Laza and Shakhnabat attract a great number of tourists and fanciers of wild nature of the Caucasus. Mountains and peaks of the district attract many climbers while local waterfalls have lately become a center of winter competitions. There is a walking path from the village of Laza to Khinalig village located in Guba district, the route becoming increasingly popular among foot travelers.
If taking an eco tourist route from the town of Gusar in the direction of Laza waterfall on the way one will cross the village of Anig with the remainders of fortress walls (fortrees Anig) dated to the 13th century and an ancient mosque located nearby. By the village of Laza there is a resort named "Suvar".
Taking a route from Gusar to the village of Sudug (75 km) located on the slopes of Shakhdag Mountain, in the village of Khazra one may survey the ancient mausoleum of mausoleum of Sheikh Dzhuneid (16th century).
This land, as the whole land of Azerbaijan, retains traces of ancient culture and life of its inhabitants. Remained in the villages of Khazra, Khil, Balagusar, Anig,Yasab, Keine Khudat and Gunduz Gala are ancient mausoleums, mosques, remainders of antique settlement sites and fortresses.
Gusar town is the administrative center of the district. It is located 183 km of Baku.