By Need to See IT News Team 
Written by Martin Banks
Awareness of oil-rich Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, has rocketed in recent years: the city is now on the F1 grand prix circuit and even hosted the Eurovision song contest back in 2012.
It puts on major sporting events and is increasingly playing a role on the world stage, both in politics, culture and sport.
But Nakhchivan? Hands up anyone who’s heard of that.
You are not likely to find any mention of it in most tour guides and it is certainly not on the conventional tourist trail.
That is not surprising: it is a little known enclave of Azerbaijan, quite isolated and few European visitors ever venture there. You will not find any unwanted mass tourism here and no need for a tourist tax to keep visitor numbers down.
But the same might be said of other places that are now on the tourist map – think Vietnam 40 years ago, maybe – so who’s to say the same won’t happen, albeit in the future, with Nakhchivan?
On the face of it, this will be no easy task though.
According to the “Statistics Committee of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic”, the princely sum total of 32,782 foreign visitors, excluding those from neighbouring Iran and Turkey, ventured there in the whole of 2024 (no figures are available yet for 2025).
Given that there is, in fact, no real direct access to the place for people travelling from Europe other than flying to Baku, the capital, and then taking another, albeit short, one-hour domestic flight to Nakhchivan, that modest visitor figure should not really come as much of a shock though.
But what may come as a – pleasant – surprise for those intrepid travellers who do manage to find their way here is the sheer warmth, generosity and kindness they will be greeted with from many of the locals, something that cannot always be said about many traditional tourist destinations these days.
Ancient city
For those (and there will be many) who are unfamiliar with it Nakhchivan, you should know that it is the administrative centre of the region and said to be the most ancient city of Azerbaijanis in the world.
It is located between Armenia, Iran and Turkey on the Transcaucasian plateau and is what is called an autonomous republic of Azerbaijan. It is one of the most isolated outposts of the former Soviet Union and a place few travellers ever visit.
It was, for many years, largely closed off even to most Soviet citizens back in the days when Azerbaijan was part of the USSR.
But, even today, it remains relatively unknown to many, not just in the Russian-speaking world but beyond, not least in Europe.
However, anyone with an Azerbaijani visa can enter the region and it is also worth noting that direct flights are possible from Istanbul (and Moscow), albeit being less frequent than those from Baku, 560km away and serviced by Azerbaijan Airlines, the national carrier.
Currently, about 90per cent of visitors to the region, wedged between the Black and Caspian seas, come from just a couple of countries: Turkey and Iran. Spain and Italy make up the remainder, along with Korea and the U.S.
There are relatively few hotels, English is rarely spoken and public transport is extremely limited (to a few local buses).
The sight of international tourists here is still such a relative novelty that you are likely to be greeted with slightly embarrassed fits of giggles when you introduce yourself to a local. It is all rather quaint and innocent but an indication of how unusual if must be for ordinary people here to encounter someone from, say, Belgium or the UK.
But what it may lack, at present anway, in Western-standard tourist infrastructure it more than makes up for with an array of natural wonders, endless historical monuments, glorious mosques … and that aforementioned genuine warmth of its inhabitants.
From Noah to independence
First, a couple of significant historical points that might be of interest: one is factual while the other is – probably – a myth.
The province, which has the Araz river flowing along the border with Iran and Turkey, happened to be the first part of the disintegrating Soviet Union to declare its independence – a couple of months before Lithuania. Geographically severed from its nation (Azerbaijan) by an 80-130km strip of Armenia, this 450,000-strong region is said to be the world’s largest landlocked exclave.
Its second historical “claim to fame” is based largely on local legend but a story all of us will be familiar with.
When the great flood receded, Noah’s ark is said to have landed atop nearby Mount Ilandag, carving out the defined cleft that can still be seen on the peak today.
This, as local tourist guides will readily point out, is almost certainly mere myth and it is worth noting there are a handful of other places around the globe making similar claims about Noah.
No matter. It naturally all adds to the allure of the place and some Nakhchivanis insist this really is where Noah came from and that they are his descendants.
UNESCO landmarks
You may well pass the spot where Old Man Noah is said to have gone ashore as you wind your way on semi-deserted roads to what is most certainly a landmark that has nothing at all to do with “legend” but is the region’s newest proud boast… UNESCO listing status (provisional at this stage) for Lake Goygol, one of the most beautiful places in the country.
The journey to it from Nakhchivan City, via rust-red mountains and a particularly bumpy and dusty 4×4 road journey, is a sometimes white-knuckle experience in itself.
But once there you cannot help but be struck by the majestic setting of the place, reminding yourself that Armenia, a country Azerbaijan has found itself in bitter conflict with over the years and is described as one of Europe’s last “frozen conflicts”, is just over the horizon. More than 30% of the territory in the region is located at a height of 600-1,000m above sea level and the fact that the whole area around the lake was under snow as recently as June is indicative of sometimes dramatic seasonal shifts in weather locally.
From museums to mosques
Archaeologists have found here many items of the material culture of the II and I millennia BC and the region boasts endless ruins of mausoleums, towers and ancient cities. Another “top” visitor attraction in this off-the-radar destination has to be the medieval Alinja Fortress, known as the Machu Picchu of Nakhchivan. This is a citadel on top of a crag (it takes about 45 minutes to climb the 1,000 steps so don’t forget the sun cream) in the Julfa mountains. It is well worth the physical effort as the views from the top are wondrous.
The region abounds with such natural wonders and yet another one is Lake Batabat, a mountain lake at 1,700 metres above sea level, surrounded by lush green pastures, with floating peat islands. It is located 62km to the northeast of Nakhchivan City.
The area is distinguished by its healthy climate and rich medicinal plants (Nakhchivan is home to 250 springs as well as the famous water brands Sirab and Badamli) and a visit to Duzdag, or salt mountain, and its physiotherapy centre (used for salt therapy), should also be on the bucket list of a “must do” things here. It is well-paved and well-lit and is really just one deep tunnel that you walk down and back again. You may immediately feel the therapeutic effects of the air in the cave even if you don’t have any respiratory issues.
Research and archeological findings have proven that salt was mined in the Nakhchivan area as early as the Eneolithic period and, today, this natural local “gift” is also used for treatment. Diseases such as bronchial asthma and chronic bronchitis are treated in the salt centre’s caves, which extend to a depth of 110 metres. Patients, be they young or old, who spend the night in the old underground salt mines are treated and, very often, cured of their respiratory problems. The air temperature in the centre varies between 18-20℃ and relative humidity is between 24-50% in all seasons of the year.
As you travel around this province you cannot help but be struck by its arid, moon-type landscape, one which is punctuated here and there by swathes of greenery, which is where some of the produce/ingredients for the region’s wonderful cuisine is sourced (more on that later).
You cannot help but notice, also, the endless yellow pipes that traverse the entire mountainous region, including towns and villages. They seem to go on for ever. These carry gas and were, it seems, built above, not underground, in order to make it easier for them to seen and accessed in the event of repair. They even go round entrances to homes and other buildings, making for a strange sight.
Azerbaijan itself is relatively prosperous compared with, say, neighbouring Georgia and Armenia, and that’s due, of course in no small part to its rich reserves of natural gas. One notable reason why the Azerbaijani GDP skyrocketed more than 300% in the last 15 years.
This particular region has, however, no such gas (or oil) reserves to draw on so its energy supplies are imported, via Iran, from Azerbaijan, along with other imports like medicines and pharmaceutical products. This may change soon, though, as the state university in Nakhchivan City specialises in medicine and these days attracts lots of foreign students, especially from Iran and Turkey but other places too such as Bangladesh and Nigeria.
Home to great pioneers
Your travels may also take you to Ordubad, an ancient settlement on the border with Iran. Here you will find some fascinating museums, dedicated to some of the regions’ favourite and most successful sons.
There is one, for instance, in honour of Taghi Sidqui who pioneered local language schools and is seen as a role model for the education sector (at a time also when few girls were educated).
Another local museum, in fact, the first ever in the town, pays tribute to Samil Mustafayev, who composed the national anthem of Azerbaijan. History buffs might also want to check out yet another museum, this time honouring Yusif Mammadaliyev, a prominent locally-born scientist who is credited with pioneering the use of high-octane aviation fuel.
Famous local sons
Back in Nakhchivan City (population: 100,000 – nearly a quarter of the whole republic), with its wide, multi-laned roads, is where most travellers will be based (not least as it’s just a few minutes’ drive to the local airport which makes for a very pleasant surprise after what could be a long journey here). You can discover the city on foot and there’s yet more museums (free to enter), including one, of course, devoted to probably the republic’s best known son, the former leader and doyen of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev. He died, aged 80, in December 2003 but is still very much revered in these parts (you’ll see his features beaming out from huge roadside hoardings everywhere).
The museum has more than 5,000 exhibits which reflect the life and activities of Aliyev. You can learn all about his family, childhood and younger years and see documents related to the period when he worked in leadership positions, his signed letters and orders and even the service phone he used in his office, his pen plus other fascinating objects.
He was so popular they asked him to return to power after he retired in 1986 (which he did).
But Aliyev isn’t the city’s only famous son. So, too, is the world-famous architect, Ajami Nakhchivani.
The 800-year-old Momine Khatin Mausoleum is one of the oldest monuments built in honour of a woman in the East and is more than 800 years old. It was erected for Momine Khatin, the wife of Atabeg Shamseddin Eldeniz, the head of the state of the Eldiguzids. Her tomb, a magnificent example of Azerbaijan’s national architecture that has survived to this day, is one of the most beautiful works by Ajami Nakhchivani who was also responsible for another historically important local monument, the tomb of Yusif Kuseyir Oghlu, an architectural pearl and known among locals as the “ancestral tomb”.
Nakhchivan City, which is at an altitude of 1,000m above sea level, was designated the Islamic Culture Capital for 2018 and you should not leave without admiring the wonderful Haydar Mosque (three mosques, in fact, and huge, able to accommodate no less than 6,500 people in total).
Land-to-table ethos
After so much traipsing around you will have most certainly worked up quite an appetite and the good news is that you’ve come to the right place to sate any hunger.
There is an admirable sense of self-sufficiency here, one which has been born from scarcity and necessity in decades gone by and the locals spare no effort in ensuring that just about all edible parts of an animal’s carcass is used, including the legs and head (and even the fat it all produces) and the result is some absolutely mouth-watering dishes that will live with you long after you’ve returned home.
The local cuisine, which can be quite distinct from the rest of Azerbaijan, is an integral part of the region’s unique culture and you should also try some things that are specific to this area such as the “balgaganganag”, which is a kind of very buttery omelette with honey (lots of it) added which is typical of the kitchens (though not restaurants) in this area. Another tasty offering is the “Alana”, which is prepared by filling the dried peach with ground nuts and sugar powder.
They eat a lot of meat (and bread) here and lamb (lula) features heavily. It’s as mouth-watering as you’ll ever experience. The same can be said of a couple of other national dishes: beef and cherry and a smoky-flavoured aubergine egg plant – both being delicious.
The local economy has, to its credit, an organic and ecologically progressive policy and it there is great pride locally that Nakhchivan is pretty much self-sufficient when it comes to feeding its population. They really do grow their own here. Its health-conscious leaders have introduced and implemented an effective no-pesticide, all-organic food policy and this pretty much guarantees that things like the beef and lamb comes from local farms, the herbs and vegetables are sourced from local foothills and the salt from underground caves.
Very often all this is consumed in what is called a “kupe” – quaint, small private rooms where people can dine together on their own – ideal for a family/group together over a delicious meal, washed down by a local fruit drink.
This admirable “land-to-table” ethos is something some in the West could, maybe, learn from as ins the sense of civic responsibility and duty that seems to exist among most of the region’s 479,000 population. As well as being one of the most ancient centres of the world, Nakhchivan is, it seems, considered the cleanest city in Azerbaijan, if not the whole of the Caucasus and this admirable characteristic manifests itself in clean, tidy and neat streets (no ugly graffiti everywhere here). You will also feel completely safe here, including on the, refreshingly, uncrowded roads.
Plenty to see and do
OK, so it is well off the tourist trail and, obviously, you’ll need to hire a car or a driver to get around the republic’s seven regions. The lack of spoken English may also frustrate some.
But, from lemon plantations to salt caves, from mosques to fortresses, there’s much to keep you occupied, busy and entertained in this remarkable region. In case you do visit, good to know that June to September is when you are most likely to have good (probably very hot) weather (snowfall is from May to October).
There are some reminders of the old Soviet past such as the dear old Lada cars that are clearly still popular (along with much newer brands from China). But this is a region that has, despite past adversity, managed to survive and flourish and is, now, very keen to raise its visibility in the West in order to attract more tourists from Europe and the rest of the world.
Friendly people
There’s great heritage and history here but, arguably, the best thing about any visit to this remote enclave is the sheer friendliness of the locals, such as Gulchin Agayeva, who was born locally, studied in Baku and returned to the enclave to be with her family and now works in the republic for a government ministry. Her love and passion for her homeland shines through and is particularly touching.
As the very welcoming Gulchin says, some may think Nakhchivan is a questionable place to visit due to its geographical location but, she adds, “this perception is something we are trying to change.”
Her parting shot after a recent trip to the region sums it up: “Seeing the smiles on your faces means everything to me and to us.”
You can only wish the enclave of Nakhchivan (which means “Nakshi-Jahan” – decoration of the world) the best of luck in this laudable, though not easy, endeavour.
This corner of Azerbaijan is relatively prosperous but, yes, it is true that the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (NAR) really does not get many foreign tourists and any visit is likely to be geared towards the more adventurous and intrepid traveller who has an interest in discovering off-the-beaten-track places.
But the nature and diversity in landscapes is stunning, the people are great and it is a destination that well deserves to be discovered if only the once.
Like its former, revered leader who returned to power, once you have discovered it you may well want to return.
About the author
Martin Banks is our international correspondent and lives in Belgium. A very experienced journalist covering UK and international news, sport and politics for more than 44 years, Martin gives a unique perspective to our sites.