Azerbaijan / Shamakhi, Gabala & Sheki / GabalaGabala
Tufandag Cable Cars, Forests and Ski Slopes
A green resort town under the Greater Caucasus, three and a half to four hours from Baku. Tufandag's cable cars climb from the forest to about 1,900 m for views, hiking and, in winter, skiing; Nohur lake, the Yeddi Gozel (Seven Beauties) waterfall and the Albanian-era ruins of old Gabala are close. It is Azerbaijan's family holiday town, with resort hotels, an amusement park and busy weekends. Since January 2026 a daily train runs to Ganja, with a connection at Laki for Baku.
Highlights
- Tufandag cable cars to the ridge
- Skiing at Tufandag in winter
- Nohur Lake
- Yeddi Gozel waterfall
- Forest walks under the Caucasus
- Ruins of old Gabala
Things to do
- Tufandag cable cars & ridge walkMorning · 3h
- Nohur LakeAfternoon · 1h 30m
- Yeddi Gozel waterfall walkMorning · 2h
- Skiing at TufandagDec–MarMorning · 5h
Tours & tickets
Tourisma may earn a small commission if you book — it never changes your price.
When to go
Best time: May – September, December – February
Heads up
Stay Out of the Border Zones and Karabakh
Stay away from the Armenian and Iranian border areas, and do not go to Karabakh and the districts around it without an organised, permitted trip: there are landmines. The places in this plan are far from both.
Heads up
Ski Season: Book Resort Hotels Early
The ski season at Shahdag and Tufandag runs from about December to March, snow permitting. Resort hotels are dearest and fullest over New Year, at weekends and on Novruz; ski passes, rental and lessons are extra. Snow chains or a 4x4 may be needed on the last stretch of road.
Heads up
Novruz Holidays (around 20–21 March)
Novruz, the spring New Year, brings about five days of public holiday: bonfires, sweets and concerts, but offices and some museums close, and buses and hotels out of Baku fill with families heading to the regions. Book transport and hotels early for that week.
Heads up
Ramadan (expected 8 Feb – 9 Mar 2027)
Azerbaijan is secular and restaurants stay open by day; Ramadan changes little for visitors. Dress modestly and keep your voice down at mosques, and expect busy roads around the two-day Ramazan Bayrami holiday at its end.
- Novruz — The spring New Year and the country's biggest holiday, around the equinox, with about five days off. Bonfires that people jump over, painted eggs, samani (sprouted wheat) on every table, shekerbura and pakhlava pastries, and concerts in Baku's Old City and on the Boulevard. Offices and some museums close, and Azerbaijani families head to Gabala, Quba and Shahdag, so book hotels and buses out of Baku early.
- Ramadan — Expected from about 8 February to 9 March 2027. Azerbaijan is secular: restaurants, cafés and bars stay open and most people do not fast, so a visitor notices little beyond iftar menus. Be discreet near mosques.
- Ramazan Bayrami (Eid al-Fitr) — Two days of public holiday at the end of Ramadan (expected about 9-10 March 2027), close to Novruz: some years the holidays run together into a long break, and the roads and resorts out of Baku are busy.
- Qurban Bayrami (Eid al-Adha) — Two days of public holiday (expected about 16 May 2027); families travel to the regions.
- New Year holidays · 31 Dec — New Year's Eve fireworks on the Baku Boulevard, and the busiest week of the ski season at Shahdag and Tufandag (Gabala): resort hotels sell out and cost most from about 28 December to the first days of January.
- Gabala International Music Festival — Classical and jazz concerts in an open-air hall in the forest, held most summers since 2009, usually late July or early August. The dates are announced in the spring; Gabala's hotels fill that week.