Azerbaijan is located in the eastern part of the South Caucasus on the coast of the Caspian Sea. The population of the country is more than 10 million people, the territory is 86 600 km². Baku is the capital and the largest city in the country. The national language is Azerbaijani. In everyday life, Russian is also often used, the younger generation, for the most part, speaks English. Azerbaijan borders on Iran (765 km), Russia (390 km), Turkey (15 km), Georgia (480 km). The eastern borders of Azerbaijan are washed by the Caspian Sea.

Visiting Azerbaijan, you will discover the wonderful fusion of the West and the East, where the past and the future are perfectly combined. Azerbaijan is a country with rich surface and underground resources. The main minerals of the country are oil, gas, iron ore, alunite, gold, copper, polymetallic building materials, etc. Most of the oil and gas resources are located in the Caspian sea. The basis of the country’s economy is the oil and gas sector. The main currency of the country is AZN.

Tourism in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan tourism is mainly focused on various historical sites, museums, cities, villages located at the foot of the great and small Caucasus Mountains, and beautiful beaches on the shores of the Caspian Sea. One of the main elements of Azerbaijan tourism is that it reflects the eastern and western cultures of the country and historically plays the role of a bridge between these cultures. For this reason, Azerbaijan is known as a country with ancient historical culture, customs, traditions, and cuisine.

As Azerbaijan tourism develops, the construction of tourism infrastructure in its various cities with tourism potential is also developing rapidly. For example, the Shahdag winter and summer recreation center in Gusar, the first winter resort in Azerbaijan at the eastern foot of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, and the Tufandag winter recreation center in Gabala at the western foot of the Greater Caucasus Mountains. Due to its ancient history, there are various historical monuments in the territory of Azerbaijan, and these monuments are also included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. The list includes Baku Old City, Baku Shirvanshah’s Palace, Baku Maiden Tower, Gobustan Rocks Art Cultural Landscape, and Sheki Khans Palace.

In order to further develop Azerbaijan tourism and increase the number of tourists visiting the country, the Republic of Azerbaijan has also facilitated the process and conditions for issuing visas to foreign citizens. Thus, those who want to visit this country can also get an Azerbaijani visa. At the same time, previously existing visa fees have been reduced and a visa on arrival system has been established at Baku airport for citizens of some countries.

Here is what to do when you visit Azerbaijan

• Rapid mountain rivers with steep rapids are a great venue for rafting and kayaking competitions: Off-roading or otherwise off-road driving is a very popular sport in Azerbaijan. The same can be said about mountaineering and hang gliding. Recently, Azerbaijani diving in beautiful transparent lakes has been developing rapidly.

• The world famous resort Naftalan is known for its healing oil, which has anti-inflammatory, analgesic and vasodilating effects: The amazing properties of this oil, containing sulfur-nitrogen compounds, aromatic hydrocarbons and naphthenic acids, have been known since antiquity. In medicine, baths and application of naftalan to sore spots have been practised since 1896 for the treatment of skin and urological diseases, post-traumatic complications and other pathologies of the musculoskeletal system.

• The new ski resort is located on the territory of the Shahdag National Park, famous for its healing air, diverse vegetation, rich fauna and amazingly beautiful landscapes: The main part of the tourist complex, which, after the completion of all work, will be able to receive up to 10 thousand people daily, was built at an altitude of 1640 meters above sea level. But you can climb even higher by cable car to the mark of 2300 meters, where the beginning of the ski slope is located. The total area of ​​the complex is over 2 thousand hectares.