Tiered houses
Roofs as yards above.
Cekli829 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Gilad.rom — CC BY 3.0 · Adam Jones from Kelowna, BC, Canada — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Tərxan Paşazadə — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gulustan — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Gulustan — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Naturefriends — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gilad.rom — CC BY 3.0
An ancient village on a high mountain ridge in the Greater Caucasus, south-west of Quba, and the highest, most remote and most isolated village in Azerbaijan, as well as one of the highest inhabited villages in the whole Caucasus. About two thousand people live here and speak Khinalug, a language that stands alone within the Northeast Caucasian family. Its stone houses climb the hillside in tiers, so that one house's roof becomes the yard of the house above, surrounded by high peaks under snow for much of the year and, in summer, green pastures where flocks of sheep graze. In 2023 the village was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List as part of the Cultural Landscape of the Khinalug People and the «Köç Yolu» transhumance route, which shepherds have followed between summer and winter pastures for centuries. The village has a small museum and an old mosque. Wandering is free. The road from Quba is long and winding, taking about an hour and a half to two hours, and may close in winter. It is cool even in summer, so bring warm clothes, and respect residents' privacy when taking photos.
Roofs as yards above.
One of a kind.
Grazing flocks.
Greater Caucasus, south-west of Quba
June to September, when the road is open and the pastures green; winter is harsh and snow may close the road.