Gabala & Sheki: 2-Day Tour with Sheki Palace Hotel Stay

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/21

Duration2d

GroupUp to 15

LanguagesEN · RU

Mobile ticketAccepted

From Baku to Sheki—mosques, waterfalls, mountain air & palace windows

You’ll cross from Baku into mountain villages where mosques echo and waterfalls hide behind forested slopes. Taste plov and piti with locals, ride a cable car above Gabala’s peaks, sleep at Sheki Palace Hotel, and wander palaces built centuries ago. If you want a tour that feels like a story unfolding—with real food, laughter, and a few surprises—you’ll find it here.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Baku to Gabala via Shamakhi

Visit Juma Mosque in Shamakhi
Drive to Ismayilli for lunch
Stop at Nohur Lake
Ascend Tufandag ski resort by cable car
Visit Seven Beauties Waterfall near Vandam
Overnight at Sheki Palace Hotel

Day 2 — Sheki sightseeing and return

Tour Sheki Khans Palace
Visit Kish village church museum
Explore Sheki Karavansaray monument
Enjoy Sheki panoramic view
Lunch with national Sheki dishes
Transfer from Sheki to Gabala and back to Baku

The Experience

I didn’t expect the drive out of Baku to feel like such a shift—one minute there’s city noise, then suddenly we’re winding through Shamakhi and our guide (I think his name was Rauf?) is pointing out the Juma Mosque. The call to prayer echoed a bit as we stepped inside. I remember the cool stone under my hands and that dusty-sweet smell you get in old places. Someone’s uncle waved at us from the courtyard. I tried not to stare but honestly, everything felt different than what I’d imagined.

Lunch in Ismayilli was this blur of flavors—plov that tasted faintly of saffron, kebabs still sizzling on metal skewers, and tea so strong it made me blink twice. The main keyword here is Gabala-Sheki tour but honestly it just felt like eating with distant cousins. Rauf told us about Nohur Lake’s legends while we watched the water catch bits of sky. At Tufandag, I nearly lost my hat on the cable car (windy up there!) and Li laughed when I tried to say “Yeddi Gözəl” for Seven Beauties Waterfall—probably butchered it. The climb up those wooden stairs left my legs shaky but the hush near the top was worth it.

Sheki Palace Hotel looked fancier than I’m used to—soft beds and big windows facing hills that glowed gold at sunset. In the morning, we wandered through Sheki Khans Palace with its wild colored glasswork; I kept touching the walls because they felt almost alive somehow. The church in Kish village was quiet except for birds outside—felt strange thinking how old those stones are. Our last stop was Karavansaray; Rauf joked about getting lost in its maze of rooms (I believed him). Lunch in Sheki meant piti stew bubbling in little pots—I can still taste that smoky broth if I close my eyes.

The drive back blurred into naps and stray sheep by the roadside. Not everything went smoothly (I forgot my phone charger at the hotel), but that view from uphill park over Sheki? It sticks with me more than any photo could.

What’s included

Your trip includes pickup from Baku by air-conditioned vehicle with fuel and parking covered.
overnight stay at Sheki Palace Hotel with breakfast.
all museum entry tickets plus Tufandag cable car rides.
lunch both days featuring national dishes like plov or piti.
tea breaks along the way before returning comfortably to Baku after exploring Gabala & Sheki’s highlights.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by ATI