Azerbaijan in One to Two Weeks: A Baku-to-Mountains Itinerary

Start inside the walls, where the capital began. The UNESCO-listed Old City is best taken slowly and on foot. Give the first day to the medieval lanes: the 12th-century Maiden Tower, the Palace of the Shirvanshahs, the courtyards you stumble into, the rooftop views you climb for. Then step outside the walls and let the contrast hit you. Suddenly there are the Flame Towers, the swooping Heydar Aliyev Center, the long sweep of the Seaside Boulevard. These two days are for finding your feet, eating far too much plov and kebab, drinking endless tea, and getting a feel for the city before you leave it behind.

An hour south of Baku, Gobustan National Park hides thousands of prehistoric petroglyphs cut into the rock — hunters, dancers, ancient boats, scenes that span millennia. Set aside half a day, or a full one if the landscape grabs you. Then drive on to the mud volcanoes nearby, where cold grey mud burps and bubbles across what looks like the surface of the moon. Go in the morning. The terrain is exposed and the midday heat is no joke. And wear shoes you genuinely do not care about, because you will get muddy.

This is where the "Land of Fire" nickname earns its keep. At Yanar Dag, natural gas keeps a wall of flame burning on a hillside, and it simply never goes out. A short drive away, the Ateshgah Fire Temple sits over another gas vent, once a place of worship for Zoroastrians and Hindus alike. Both are easy trips from the city, and both are at their best toward dusk, when the flames really stand out against a darkening sky. Consider it the last of the Baku-area highlights before the mountains.

Now head northwest, up into the green foothills of the Greater Caucasus. The lowland heat falls away and the air turns cool and clean. Gabala is the country's premier mountain resort, and it knows it. Ride the cable car up to the alpine viewpoints, find a waterfall or a lake, and book a night or two surrounded by forest so you are not rushing through. Summer is made for hiking. Autumn is the quiet stunner, all turning colors. Winter brings snow and a modest ski scene. However you time it, this is your reset on the loop.

Carry on along the old Caucasus route to Sheki, a Silk Road town of cobbled streets and stubborn craft traditions. The one thing you cannot skip is the Palace of the Sheki Khans, with its painted interiors and shebeke stained-glass windows — lattices put together without a single nail or drop of glue. Spend time in the old quarter and the caravanserai, work your way through the local halva and shekerbura, and stay the night. Sheki is at its best in the evening, once the day-trippers have packed up and gone.

On the way back down toward the lowlands, swing through Naftalan. This is the spa town known the world over for its therapeutic crude oil, used in treatments for skin and joints. Whether you actually climb into the famous oil bath is up to you. Either way it is a genuine oddity, and it says a lot about Azerbaijan's long, deep history with petroleum. One night is about right — it works as a stop on the return leg, not a destination you'd build a trip around.

Round things off in Baku with whatever days you have left. Go back to the restaurant you loved, browse Nizami Street, take a slow sunset walk along the Seaside Boulevard, or finally do the day trip you skipped earlier. The capital is good company for a relaxed final stretch, and being back in such a well-connected city makes leaving easy — the international airport is just outside town.