Famous Tourist Places to Visit in Gadabay, Azerbaijan
Gadabay is Rayon in Ganja-Gazakh region of Azerbaijan. It is located in the lesser Caucasus Mountain Range and touches international border between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Among places to visit in Gadabay are a few ruined castles, a bridge and a monastery. The name Gadabay has two possible origins. The first is that it is derived from Turkish words “Gedik” and “Bek” which mean hill and guardian respectively. So the region would mean Hill Gaurdian. It makes sense as the district is a mountainous region with several hills among Gadabay tourist attractions. The other organ story says that there was a man named Atabey. He distributed his lands among his children Shekerbey, and Gedebey. The region which Gedebey received came to be known as Gadabay. This story also holds water as there are nearby regions by the name Shekerbey and Atabey in Azerbaijan. Though there are no historical sightseeing places in Gadabay pertaining to any of these individuals.
The Rayon consists of many small towns and villages among places to visit in Gadabay. This is only interesting if you are keen on seeing the pastoral life in Azerbaijan. Otherwise most of the villages are entirely skippable.
Among things to see in Gadabay is the Beyukgala Fortress, Towers of Galakend, Koroglu Castle and Geghard Monastery. However, the most well known tourist attraction in Gadabay are the Maiden Towers located above the village of Slavyanka. The hike to this attraction is also popular among things to do in Gadabay. The hike goes through dense forest and up the mountain. The village of Slavyanka is also known for its natural water sources Narzan, Mor-Mor, and Chaldash.
Another popular hiking trail among things to do in Gadabay runs along the banks of Shamkir, Akhinja, and Zayam rivers. The Shamkir river is also popular place to visit in Gadabay for fishing.
Being a part of the Lesser Caucasus, it is great place for mountain climbing and mountain hikes. Though there are but few designated hike trails, you can create a path of you own among the mountains. At the same time, the region is close to Armenia-Azerbaijan border. So you should be careful not to venture to far in that direction while sightseeing amidst the mountains.
It won’t take you more than a day to explore various things to see in Gadabay. However, if you choose to explore the mountains, you can count another day for Gadabay travel. If you visit in winter, the options of hiking trails in the mountain become very limited. As far as historical tourist attractions are concerned, you can cover most of them in a day trip when you visit Gadabay.
Table of Contents
Things to do in Gadabay, Azerbaijan
Monuments, Museums & Historical Places to Visit in Gadabay, Azerbaijan
- Beyukgala Fortress
- Towers of Galakend-Galasi
- Koroglu Castle
- Maiden Towers of Slavyanka
- Arched Bridge
- Geghard Monastery
Nature & Wildlife Tourist Places to Visit in Gadabay, Azerbaijan
- Azat Valley
- Shamkir Mountain
- Bashkand-Dastafur Basin
- Shahdagh Ridge
- Akhinja River
- Zayam River
- Shamkir River
How to Reach Gadabay, Azerbaijan?
By Air
The closest airport for Gadabay travel is the Ganja International Airport in the adjacent Rayon of Ganja. It will take you about 2 hours to travel from Ganja to Gadabay by road. Though you don’t get any direct transport options to visit Gadabay from the airport. Most people visiting Azerbaijan would be landing at the International Airport in Baku. If you want to reach the places to visit in Gadabay, you will first have to get to Ganja from Baku and then continue your journey by road. Ganja has daily flights coming in from Baku. Once you reach Ganja, all your travel options are by road. You will have to look for bus transport or train transport form the city of Ganja.
By Road
The nearest train station of Gadabay travel is also located in Ganja. There are two options to visit Gadabay from Ganja. The first is to get on a bus and reach Gadaby town bus stop. Even after you reach the town, you will need to get cab or car to reach rest of tourist attractions in Gadabay.
The second option is a more expensive than a bus, but is far more convenient. You can either hire a cab to tour with your or rent a car to drive by yourself to places to visit in Gadabay. Of course, you need to have a license valid in Azerbaijan to rent a car. But you can always get a cab.
If you are traveling by road, then take Route E60 from Ganja and turn at Route R22, which will take you straight to Gadabay town. On they to the town you will come across a few tourist attractions in Gadabay as well, where you can stop at your leisure.
The third option is to join a tour from Ganja for Gadabay sightseeing. There are tour buses which take you around for things to see in Gadabay as a day trip. These tours cover most of the important places to visit in Gadabay in one convenient trip.
By Water
As Gadabay is has land on all sides, you don’t have a water route for Gadabay travel.
