Azerbaijan concentrates most of its visitors in Baku, where a walled medieval core sits directly below modern towers on the Caspian shore. Beyond the capital the country changes quickly: mountain villages in the north around Quba and Xinaliq, and the mud volcanoes and petroglyphs of Gobustan an hour to the south.
The guides on this page cover Baku and Azerbaijan overall. Summer on the Caspian is hot and humid, and spring and autumn are the more comfortable seasons; mountain roads north can be affected by snow in winter. Visas are arranged in advance for most nationalities, and travel to Nagorno-Karabakh and border areas is subject to restrictions that should be checked before planning.