Palace of Shaki Khans
A small 18th-century summer palace of the local rulers, known for its brightly coloured stained-glass windows, made without nails or glue, and its painted walls inside.
Sheki
Local sweets like halva, an old caravanserai and the Khan's Palace with its stained glass are the draws of this mountain town.
Attractive locations
Shaki Fortress
The walls and gates of an old fortress above the town, built of local stone. They enclose a quarter of historic houses and give an idea of how Sheki was protected.
Yukhari Bash Historical Reserve
The historic upper quarter of Sheki, with old stone houses, mosques and lanes. It gives a sense of how the town looked in past centuries.
Church of Kish
An old church in the village of Kish, above Sheki, linked to the early Caucasian Albanian Christian tradition. It now houses a small museum, and the hillside setting has good views.
Galarsan-Gorarsan Fortress
The ruins of a medieval hilltop fortress outside Sheki. Its name means come and see, and it commands wide views over the surrounding foothills.
Shaki Caravanserai
A historic merchant inn with a courtyard ringed by arched rooms, built for traders passing through Sheki on the Silk Road. Part of it works as a hotel, but visitors can usually look around the courtyard.
Airports
Gabala International Airport GBB
It is about 63 km in a straight line from Sheki.
Ganja International Airport GNJ
It is about 87 km in a straight line from Sheki.
Scams and safe taxis
Taxi and scam advice for this country is on the Azerbaijan page
Weather by month
Each month shows its average temperature in °C and its mm of rain per month.
- Jan3.7 °C18 mm
- Feb4.7 °C21 mm
- Mar9.0 °C34 mm
- Apr13.4 °C44 mm
- May19.8 °C53 mm
- Jun25.1 °C38 mm
- Jul28.1 °C26 mm
- Aug27.8 °C22 mm
- Sep22.7 °C34 mm
- Oct16.4 °C40 mm
- Nov9.7 °C24 mm
- Dec5.0 °C14 mm
Driest months: Jan, Feb, Dec. Wettest months: Apr, May, Oct.
Costs
Prices here are about 28% of US prices (World Bank, 2025). This compares a country's overall prices, not the cost of a trip.
Who can help
Emergency
112 for all emergencies. Police 102. Ambulance 103. Fire 101.
local government
Police emergency number 102
Helps with: Azerbaijan's police number, listed with 103 for an ambulance and 112 for the Ministry of Emergency Situations on the national tourism site. No tourist police unit is shown there.
Who qualifies: Anyone in Azerbaijan who needs the police, including visitors.
Phone: 102
local government
Azerbaijan Tourism Board
Helps with: The national tourism body. The national tourism site names it as the contact for tourism-related issues and complaints, and gives a Baku phone number.
Who qualifies: Tourists with a tourism-related problem or complaint in Azerbaijan, and anyone planning a trip.
Phone: +994 12 505 8704
Address: Uzeyir Hajibeyli street 134, Baku AZ1010
ngo
Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society
Helps with: Azerbaijan's national Red Crescent society, a member of the international Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Its website has pages on its fields of activity and a contact page.
Who qualifies: People in Azerbaijan seeking humanitarian help; see its website for the programmes it runs.
un agency
International Organization for Migration (IOM) Azerbaijan
Helps with: The UN migration agency, present in Azerbaijan since 1996. Its site lists an office in Baku and one in Mingachevir.
Who qualifies: Migrants and partners working on migration in Azerbaijan. It is not a help service for ordinary tourists.
Address: 31 Ibrahimpasha Dadashov Street, Baku AZ1069
embassy
Foreign diplomatic missions in Azerbaijan (foreign ministry list)
Helps with: For a lost passport or serious trouble, contact your own country's embassy. The Azerbaijani foreign ministry's protocol section publishes a diplomatic list of foreign missions and consulates in the country (July 2026).
Who qualifies: Citizens of each country, through their own embassy or consulate.
local government
Ministry of Emergency Situations (hotline 112)
Helps with: Azerbaijan's emergency situations ministry. Its site names 112 as its telephone service and gives an administration phone and email.
Who qualifies: Anyone in Azerbaijan facing an emergency or disaster.
Phone: 112
Email: info@fhn.gov.az