The Road to Xinaliq

Baku to Xinaliq

Summary: We visited Azerbaijan in April 2013, and had expected sunshine and warmth. Instead, the clouds did rareely lift in Baku and elsewhere. It was snowing in Xinaliq and temperatures dropped below zero during the night.

The Drive: The trail starts in Quba and ends in the village of Xinaliq, almost 2200 Meter in altitude. The road is asphalt, with a few broken stretches that are more comfortably negotiated with a 4WD vehicle. We had hired a Lada Niva, which was perfect for the road in near winter conditions.

Maximum altitude:	2166 meter
Minimum altitude:	578 meter
Cumulative height:	2099 meter
Cumulative length:	50 kilometer
Difficulty	easy
Time:	2 hours from Quba to Xinaliq
Date of this record	April 2013
Download GPS info:	The Road to Xinaliq

The Walk: We were mentally prepared for some high-summit mountain hike, but not for the bad weather that engulfed Azerbaijan in mid-April. So we were left to exploring the village of Xinaliq - which at 2200 meter elevation requires a day of acclimatization anyway - and some easy hiking to some nearby sights.

The village in itself is worth the trip, and becomes the more fascinating the more one learns about its history and present lifestyle. The shepherds of Xinaliq move to "greener pastures" in the south of Azerbaijan during the winter months, taking the girls but not the boys with them. So the boys go to school, while the girls return in spring or summer when the school is closed for the holidays.

The hike starts at the guesthouse of Xinaliq (see "the road to Xinaliq" on wikiloc), leads through some streets of Xinaliq and on to some cave-like monument with some religious significance, and back.

Maximum altitude:	2358 meter
Minimum altitude:	2059 meter
Cumulative height:	389 meter
Cumulative length:	5.5 kilometer
Difficulty	easy
Time:	2 hours
Date of this record	April 2013
Download GPS info:	Xinaliq Walk

General location and approach: Go from Baku north to Quba on the Autobahn. From there a 4WD is advisable for Xinaliq.

Other Information: A good guidebook is the one by Mark Elliott.

The flame towers - the new trademark of Baku

Baku has many impressive old buildings - and many new or more recent buildings get a facade to look similar

Bust of Vahid in Baku - food for thought

On the road to Xinaliq. We liked the Lada Niva.

We had expected blue skies and spring flowers, but the winter and snow had returned for a few days

Xinaliq village, said to be 5000 years old

View from Xinaliq. The opening at the bottom is the chimney hole for the kitchen below

Xinaliq is way above the treeline. Cow and sheep dung is used for firewood and cooking. The dung is dried, pressed into bricks and stored around the houses. An old tire has been used to fabricate a watering place for animals

The (boarding) school of Xinaliq. Girls leave Xinaliq during the winter months when the animals are taken to warmer pastures. When the girls return in summer, school is closed...

Negotiating muddy paths to the cave and prayer flags

GPS and trailmaps: The map and trailinformation is generated by

, based on GPS information collected from the actual hike. Waypoints can be downloaded to a GPS device from Wikiloc. If necessary, use GPSBabel to convert GPS data to different formats. For more hike descriptions by Palmtreetreeproduction, browse this website or visit Wikiloc and search for "Palmtreeproduction". You may also find nearby trails from other authors.

Google Earth: You may also view the trail in 3D when viewing it in Google Earth, which you need to have installed on your computer. The 3D perspective allows a good preview of gradients, steepness, possible views and is generally helpful when planning a trip.