The Nakhchivan Grand City Tour begins gently in the heart of the city. Step by step, you explore historic squares, museums, caravanserais, and the Grand Bazaar, where the ring of copperwork and the scent of spices surround you. In the evening, you ease into local life with tandoor smoke, live music, and the sound of the saz.
The next day follows a route of healing and faith. You take a deep breath in the salt galleries of Duzdağ, feel the memory of stone at Aşhab-ı Kehf, and then dedicate time to your body and mind with hot stone massages, thermal rituals, and spa treatments.
On your “mountain morning,” every step up to Alinja Castle opens a fresh panorama. In the shade of the plane trees at Hanegah, you listen to the quiet echoes of old dervish paths, before arriving in Ordubad in the evening and checking into a traditional mansion with wooden bay windows.
Your day in Ordubad reveals the city in fine detail: silk, copper pieces, and old maps in small museums; walks from bazaar alleys to the cool dome of Buzxana, the old underground ice house. The day reaches its sweetest point at a long table in a stone courtyard, with pomegranate sherbet and local dishes filling the evening.
From Julfa to Gülüstan, you follow the border line with the wind from the Aras River cooling your face, pausing to capture canyon colors and refresh yourself in the mineral-rich waters of the Darıdağ thermal springs. On the plateau day, your steps feel lighter along the paths of Şahbuz and Ağbulaq, where you may meet a shepherd or beekeeper and end with a simple picnic on the grass.
On the farewell day, the journey deepens instead of simply ending. You make final discoveries in the Grand Bazaar, taste Ordubad paklava and Şekerbura at a culinary center, and finish the evening at a traditional dinner accompanied by mugham. Throughout the week, your accommodations balance city comfort with mountain atmosphere, and regional flavors are served with Badamlı mineral water and local sherbets a week of landscapes, stories, and tastes that stay with you long after you return home.
