Shahdag National Park: the country's largest mountain area

Shahdag is Azerbaijan's largest national park, covering a wide belt of the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus from Qusar towards İsmayıllı. Most of the country's mountain tourism happens inside this area.

What is in it

The park contains the country's highest summits: Bazardüzü (4,466 m), Bazaryurd, Shahdag, Tufandağ (4,191 m) and the Qızılqaya massif. Alongside them are alpine meadows, glacial valleys, summer pastures, and Xınalıq — one of the highest permanently inhabited villages in the country and one of the park's gateways.

The elevation range is very wide, from roughly 600 to 4,400 metres. That means several climate zones stacked into one area: forest below, alpine meadow in the middle, rock and snow above.

Wildlife

The park is home to the East Caucasian tur (mountain goat), the bezoar goat, brown bear, wolf, lynx and rare birds of prey. Spotting a herd of tur at a distance happens often on summit hikes — most often in the first hours of the morning.

Types of route

Summit ascents (2–3 days). A 4x4 ride up to Shahyaylag, a camp, and a summit push starting before dawn. Bazardüzü and Tufandağ follow this format.

Pasture and alpine meadow hikes (1 day). Gentler: Mıxtökən, the area around Laza, the Kuzun valley.

Village and culture routes. Xınalıq, Qrız, Qalaxudat, Buduq, Laza — each with its own language or dialect, architecture and transhumance tradition.

Waterfall and canyon routes. The Laza waterfalls, the Qrız waterfall, the Kuzun valley.

Important: the permit question

The northern part of the park is close to the state border. Bazardüzü, Bazaryurd and some routes above Xınalıq fall inside the border zone and require a permit obtained in advance. The process takes time and is difficult individually — which is why these routes are in practice done with organised groups.

Entry to the park itself is also paid; the entry points are on the Xınalıq and Laza roads.

When to go

• June–September: the only real window for the summits. July and August are the most settled months.
• May and October: good for the lower routes; higher up there is still, or already, snow.
• Winter: only for experienced groups who understand avalanches — more on that here.

Routes on the site

Conquering Bazardüzü, the Tufandağ summit hike, the Heydar Aliyev and Atatürk peaks, Mıxtökən pasture and the Suvar hike, Qusar, Kuzun–Laza, Qalaxudat–Qrız.