Explore the dramatic mountain setting around Khinalig

If you’re looking for a place to really get away from it all this could be it, with breathtaking scenery all around Khinalig and the chance to do some serious hiking.

Surrounded by majestic mountains, the village of Khinalug offers one of the most dramatic natural landscapes in Azerbaijan. It is worthwhile to spend a day hiking the hills around the village where you will get ample opportunities for panoramic views and postcard-perfect photos of Khinalug set against the mountains. When you are done with all the walking, rest and spend the night in the village at one of its many rustic homestays. Live as the villagers do in one of their homes, and listen to them speak ketsch, a unique language that is native to nowhere else. 

Khinaliq is to the north of Quba and 2,200m high in the Caucasus Mountains, which divide Russia and the South Caucasus. The village is also one of the highest, most remote and isolated in Europe. The weather here is very changeable: in summer the temperature can reach 18°C whilst in winter it might drop to −20°C. The population of the village is about 2,000 people and this small group speaks the Khinaliq language, which is unique to the village and belongs to the North Caucasus language group. But they also speak Azerbaijani too.