One of the most famous mountain villages of Azerbaijan, Khinalig, is situated 215 kilo-
metres from the capital and 65 kilometres from the regional centre of Guba.
This area is called a museum in the open air. Khinalig village located on one of the peaks
of the Caucasus is called the Island among the Mountains and resembles an amphitheatre. The
village is located in the north-west of the country, at an altitude of 2300 meters above sea level.
Houses here are located one above the other, where the roof of one house can serve as a court-
yard for a higher building. They are all very ancient and built of cobblestones.
The age of Khinalig is more than 5 thousand years. For centuries this village has been cut
off from civilization by hard-to-reach mountains with dangerous rocky cliffs. Because of this
isolation, its inhabitants have managed to preserve to this day a unique language that does not
belong to any language group, as well as traditions and customs which you will not find any-
where else.
On the territory of Khinalig, one can see ancient Albanian cemeteries, ancient mosques
and even a snow cave, where, according to eyewitnesses, they saw a snowman! But the oldest
legend connects this area with Noah and biblical events. According to legend, after a strong
earthquake that destroyed the village on the slope of Ketsh Mountain, the survivors settled on
the slopes of Dam-Dam Mountain and began to plant henna. Since that time the village began
to be called Khinalig.
The excursion program includes a visit to the town of Guba and a stop for lunch at one of
the national restaurants. The group will also visit the village of Krasnaya Sloboda – the only set-
tlement of Mountain Jews in the entire post-Soviet pace. Then the excursion program ends and
the group returns to Baku.