My Trip to Azerbaijan
I just got back from Azerbaijan - but honestly, it still feels like I’m there.
You know that kind of trip that sneaks up on you? Where you expect it to be nice, but instead it turns out to be something else entirely? That was Azerbaijan for me.
This was country #56, but somehow, it felt like the first time I was really quiet enough to listen to a place.
Let’s dig in.
✈️ Destinations Visited (March 27 to 31, 2025)
📌 Getting the Visa
No e-visa magic this time - I applied for the Azerbaijan visa in person.
The embassy process was pretty straightforward, but it did involve the usual steps: paperwork, waiting, and making sure I didn't wear flip-flops to the consular window (yes, that happened once... in another country). I brought my documents, paid the fee, waited a few days, and voilà - visa granted!
Moral of the story: Check if you're eligible for an e-visa first. If not, bring patience and snacks.
Click HERE for the Visa Application Steps
🚕 Getting Around
One word: Bolt.
Taxis were ridiculously cheap and super convenient - I honestly felt like I was robbing them (ethically, of course).
Just a couple of clicks on the app and I was off to the Flame Towers or down some cobbled street I couldn’t pronounce. Highly recommend it over figuring out the bus schedule unless you're craving an accidental hike.
You know that kind of trip that sneaks up on you? Where you expect it to be nice, but instead it turns out to be something else entirely? That was Azerbaijan for me.
This was country #56, but somehow, it felt like the first time I was really quiet enough to listen to a place.
Let’s dig in.
✈️ Destinations Visited (March 27 to 31, 2025)
- Baku – stylish, peaceful, and surprisingly warm for late March
- Quba – where I had a quiet forest walk and found unexpected friendship
- Shahdag – snow, sun, and the most epic hill coaster I’ve ever screamed on
- Candy Cane Mountains – yes, they look as sweet as they sound
📌 Getting the Visa
No e-visa magic this time - I applied for the Azerbaijan visa in person.
The embassy process was pretty straightforward, but it did involve the usual steps: paperwork, waiting, and making sure I didn't wear flip-flops to the consular window (yes, that happened once... in another country). I brought my documents, paid the fee, waited a few days, and voilà - visa granted!
Moral of the story: Check if you're eligible for an e-visa first. If not, bring patience and snacks.
Click HERE for the Visa Application Steps
🚕 Getting Around
One word: Bolt.
Taxis were ridiculously cheap and super convenient - I honestly felt like I was robbing them (ethically, of course).
Just a couple of clicks on the app and I was off to the Flame Towers or down some cobbled street I couldn’t pronounce. Highly recommend it over figuring out the bus schedule unless you're craving an accidental hike.
🌟 Highlights
My spontaneous day trip to Shahdag was the kind of travel magic I live for.
I wasn’t even planning to go, but there I was - riding a coaster down a mountain, yelling like a kid on a sugar high. The view? Snowy hills stretched out like a fairytale. Absolutely surreal.
Before that, we passed the Candy Cane Mountains. I’m not even going to pretend I was cool about it. I gasped. Out loud. They look like someone painted pink frosting swirls on nature itself.
In Quba, I wandered through a quiet forest and ended up having lunch with the sweetest Indian family. We shared stories over lamb and laughter, and for a moment, it felt like the world had no borders at all.
And the food?
Let’s just say Azerbaijan does not play when it comes to flavor.
I ate:
- Piti (a slow-cooked lamb stew that tasted like comfort in a clay pot)
- Baku salad (so simple - tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs - but ridiculously fresh)
- Khinkali (Georgian-style dumplings that burst with juicy goodness the moment you bite in)
- Churckhela (strings of nuts dipped in grape juice that look like colorful candy candles)
- Pakhlava (so many layers, so much love)
- Dolma
- And one glorious eggplant dish I still dream about.
😩 Challenges
Not many, but let’s just say: public transport and Google Maps are not best friends here.
I may have walked 40 minutes in the wrong direction once… okay, twice. Worth it for the fresh air? Maybe. Worth it for my feet? Nope.
Also - language barrier moments. Azeri and Russian signs were everywhere. At one point, I may or may not have asked a storekeeper if he was a goat. (Spoiler: I wasn’t. But I probably sounded like it.)
🐾 Small Moments That Stuck
- The wind brushing past the Flame Towers at sunset - silent, golden, humbling.
- An old man trying to help with directions- not really speaking the same language- Just like that. Action- Just pure kindness.
- The call to prayer echoing faintly through an old alley in Baku - haunting and grounding.
🥰 Final Thoughts
I don’t know if I’ll ever see Azerbaijan again - but it gave me exactly what I didn’t know I needed: stillness, beauty, and a reminder that strangers can feel like home. My tour guides- Riad (for the City Tour), Ashley (for the Old City Tour) and Nur (for the Night Tour) - they were all amazing!
It wasn’t the flashiest trip. No big bucket list item. No viral photos. Just a quiet place that cracked my heart open a little wider.
And honestly? That’s the best kind of travel there is.
