Days before the annual vacation….It was a dream since I came to Dubai to visit some European country on a budget and Georgia was on my mind since I came… It was then that I happened to see a video about Azerbaijan on Instagram so I learned more about Azerbaijan and anyway looked for travel packages to this country. done…
The travel company said the package was AED 2000 (₹41000) for 3 days. but DXB-Baku-Baku-DXB Azerbaijan Airlines was 1400dhs (29000) per person using Skyscanner the cheapest flight from UAE was Wizz Air il up to 250AED (₹5000). Seeing that there is a ticket and down, my heart burst… ! Then I didn’t look at anything. So I booked a ticket to Azerbaijan, which is considered only after Georgia and Armenia on my list, and thus started the first chapter of my travel book, Azerbaijan.
UAE residence visa holders can get Visa on Arrival and Indian passport holders can get Evisa at www.evisa.gov.az. It can be applied online very easily. Visa is available for 26 USD or 2000 rupees, within 3 days. There is also an Urgent Visa option which can be obtained within 3 hours. Personal details, the address of the hotel where you are going to stay in Azerbaijan, and a copy of the passport page are enough.
So on June 14 at 6:00 AM, Wizz Air departed from Abu Dhabi to Baku. Flying over Iran and over the Caspian Sea for a 3-hour journey, the plane landed at Baku’s very modern Heyder Aliyev Airport at exactly 0900. 90% of the people on the flight with me were Arab tourists from countries like Egypt, Jordan, and Oman. I didn’t see anyone else with this visa and I was the only one at immigration. All the other people who were with him were in the queue to get their visas. After checking passports at immigration and asking for return flight tickets and hotel bookings, Azerbaijan entry passports were stamped.
If we talk about Azerbaijan, it is a country spread across Europe and Northwest Asia. Formerly a part of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan is now an independent country. Located on the west side of the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan’s neighbors are Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Iran, and Turkey.
Baku surpasses even the capitals of rich European countries, with beautiful European-style buildings, world-famous architectural marvels, wide roads, London taxis, cable cars, snow and rain burning miracle mountain, mud-spitting mountain, snow mountains, European-Caucasian-Soviet three cultures landscapes together. Enjoyable
Azerbaijan is a country that can be visited at a very low cost and that is the main factor that attracts tourists here.
Tourism has been an important sector of the Azerbaijani economy since the 1990s. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council report, Azerbaijan is among the top ten countries with the largest increase in visitor exports from 2010 to 2016.
A major sight in Azerbaijan is Baku, the country’s first UNESCO heritage site and capital city. There are many forts and palaces in this city which are historical and ooze architectural beauty. Gubustan National Park, southwest of Baku, contains more than 6,000 rock carvings dating from 5,000 to 40,000 years old.
Rural areas like Ganja, Nakhchivan, Gabala, and Shaki are known for their pleasant climate and natural beauty. Mountain tourism is also popular in Azerbaijan, offering adventure activities such as trekking and skiing, and snowboarding in the winter.
So, on the first day of my arrival in Azerbaijan, I went out at five o’clock in the evening… I went to Nizami State, which is quiet. It is a wonder of architecture that I could see in Nizami. The buildings remind me of Paris. So I walked about a kilometer and reached Baku boulevard on the shore of the Caspian Sea. It is a city walk that stretches for about three and a half kilometers. A lot of Western Arabic local tourists can be seen on this one city walk… The city walk ends in an area known as mini Venice… The attraction here is the boat ride between the buildings and restaurants reminiscent of Benif. By then it was almost 8 30 but it was not getting dark yet.
I spent there till about ten o’clock and then went back to my room and started planning for the next day’s trip.
The next morning I went to the international bus terminal there and decided to go to Gabala.. but before entering the best terminal, the rude drivers stopped me and told me that it would be more convenient to take a taxi instead of going by bus…. But they bargained from the said amount to an amount that I am comfortable with ( 40 AED/ ₹800 for 300KM) even when it arrived I thought that I should stay in the car anyway…. It was a Benz of this class that is not too old… Another feature is that these Benz cars are dominant, about 80% of the cars I saw there were Benz. It was only… So the car drove towards Gabala with four passengers including me… On the way Shamakhi Juma Masjid which is a thousand years old… Gubustan with traces of stone age culture which is 5000 years old and Ismaili with a landscape that even beats Switzerland, reached Gabala. Gawala is famous for its famous cable car and many activities in Manjmala. I went in summer because there was no snow and I didn’t stop at Gopala and went straight back to Sheki…Sheki is a beautiful village that shares the border with Russia.
I have more to say but I know none of you will read this far. So I will cut it short….I returned from Gabala at night and the next day I reached Baku… then I went to the main attraction Quba, a town called Qusar, and then I spent the next two days in words seeing other major attractions, the burning mountain, and other amazing mountains and wonders. ..
Travel costs are relatively low Transportation in Azerbaijan is much cheaper than in India. The petrol price is only 45. You can get a bus if you book in advance to all parts, however, shared taxis are more commonly used… Moreover, there are more than five metro lines in Baki city itself. The underground metro lines are the underground metro lines built in the Soviet Union. You can travel as far as you want. Even if it is an online taxi, you can get it at a very low cost. Not even the cost of a local autorickshaw
Stay
From hostels starting at Rs 400 to Rs 1000, you can get a hotel room including breakfast which is essential.
The Food
Foods containing meat are mostly available, such as bread and roti.
Cost
35000 from India (900AED from UAE) for 4 days can be spent if planned in advance. I have described in detail only the experience of the first day in Azerbaijan.
