Gabala
A forested valley under the Greater Caucasus where an ancient Albanian capital lies in excavation, with ski slopes above, a lake below, and a 3,600-metre runway twenty kilometres away.
- Arrival
- Gabala International · GBB
- To the town
- About 20 km to the centre
- Private jets
- GBB, 3,600 m runway, open 24 hours
- Best time
- July to September
The city
An old capital in the foothills.
Gabala stands at nearly eight hundred metres on the southern flank of the Caucasus. It was a capital of Caucasian Albania, perhaps as early as the fourth century BC. The excavated city at Chukhur Gabala, about fifteen kilometres from today's centre between the Garachay and Jourluchay rivers, has been a state reserve since 1985.
Since 2009 the town has hosted an international music festival of classical and jazz, and its hotels and resorts make it the country's main countryside escape. July to September is the season for walking and the lakes; from December to the end of March the slopes of Tufandağ are open for skiing.
- Chukhur Gabala The ruins of the ancient capital, dug in layers from the fourth century BC to the eighteenth century.
- Tufandağ The mountain resort above the town, opened in 2016, with skiing from December to late March.
- Nohur Lake A lake at the foot of the forest, where the Chenot Palace stands on the shore.
Arriving
A long runway in the valley.
Gabala International opened in 2011, about twenty kilometres south of the town. Its single runway is 3,600 metres long and was built for aircraft of up to 400 tonnes.
- Kuwait City 2 h 00
- Beirut 2 h 05
- Tashkent 2 h 40
- Geneva 4 h 40
- Shanghai 8 h 45 long-range jet
When to go
July to September.
Mild, for the Caucasus, though late spring is the wettest time, with about a hundred millimetres in May and June; July to September are warm and drier, with highs of twenty-five to thirty degrees. October brings rain again, and winter highs fall to four or five degrees.
- 4° J 43
- 5° F 50
- 9° M 72
- 17° A 73
- 21° M 101
- 26° J 97
- 30° J 53
- 29° A 55
- 25° S 51
- 17° O 102
- 11° N 57
- 7° D 41
Where to stay
By the lake and along the river.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
Elsewhere in Azerbaijan
More reasons to come.
Flying to Gabala?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.