Skip to content
Tours From Baku.
+994 10 526 77 13

Ganja and Lake Goygol — Two Days from Baku

Azerbaijan's second city and the lake a mountain made when it fell into a river in 1139 — far enough from Baku that anyone selling it as a day trip is leaving at two in the morning.

  • 2 days / 1 night
  • Max 6
  • English, Russian
  • Duration2 days / 1 night
  • Live tour guideEnglish, Russian
  • GroupPrivate tour

Highlights

  • Day 1 — out of Baku
  • Day 1 — Nizami's mausoleum
  • Day 1 — the centre on foot
  • Day 1 — the Bottle House
  • Day 1 — Imamzadeh, then the hotel
  • Day 2 — Helenendorf, Göygöl, Maralgöl
  • Day 2 — back to Baku

Overview

Ganja is 370 km from Baku and four and a half hours of driving, each way. That number decides everything else about this trip. Nine hours behind glass is not a day out — which is why the one-day versions sold on the local market leave Baku at two in the morning, get back near midnight, and never stop in Ganja at all. We take two days, sleep in the city, and drive it as a private trip for your party alone.

One earthquake, two days

In 1139 the ground moved here and did two things at once. It flattened Ganja, then one of the richest cities in the region, and it brought part of Mount Kapaz down into the Aghsu river, where the rubble dammed the water and left a lake behind it. The city you walk through on the first day and the lake you stand beside on the second are the same event, eight hundred and eighty-odd years apart. In the confusion afterwards the Georgian king Demetrius I carried off Ganja's iron gates; they still hang at Gelati monastery, and what stands in the city today is a copy.

Ganja

The second city, and the older one. Nizami Ganjavi was born here and is buried here; his mausoleum stands beside the Baku road seven kilometres out, so it is the first thing you see rather than a detour. The centre is walkable in an afternoon: Javad Khan street, the Shah Abbas mosque of 1606 with its pair of brick minarets, the Chokak bathhouse beside it, the caravanserai, and the Khan's Garden, one of the oldest parks in the country. Five kilometres beyond the town the Imamzadeh complex sits under blue tilework that is at its best in the last hour of light, which is where we put it.

The Bottle House

A house faced in some fifty thousand glass bottles, laid up over years by Ibrahim Jafarov as a memorial to a brother who did not come back from the war. It is a private house on an ordinary street, not a museum. We look from the pavement, because somebody lives there.

Helenendorf

Ten kilometres out, on the road to the lake, is a town of Swabian farmhouses. German colonists founded it in 1819, called it Helenendorf, planted vines and started what became the Azerbaijani wine industry; the Lutheran church of 1854 is still standing and the street plan is still theirs. The town is called Göygöl now, like the lake above it, and it costs no driving at all because it is on the way.

Lake Göygöl

The lake the earthquake left, at about 1,550 metres, in forest that turns gold through October. It is the blue one in every photograph of the country. Higher again, and reached on foot, is Maralgöl — smaller, colder and far quieter. Entry to the national park is a ticket bought at the gate rather than a permit arranged in advance.

What the trip is like

Two days, one night, private. The night is in a hotel in Ganja, which you book yourself or we book for you on request; it is not part of the tour price. Around ten hours of driving across the two days, weighted heavily towards the first. Walking in the city is easy and flat; at the lake the path is level unless you go up to Maralgöl, which is a climb rather than a stroll. The price is for your whole party and steps up with its size, from ₼420 for one to ₼770 for six, so the cost per head still falls as more of you come.

Where else this road goes: Sheki from Baku: The Khan's Palace, the Caravanserai and the Silk Road, or Gabala and Shamakhi in One Day from Baku. Everything we run is on the multi-day tours page.

Getting there on your own: 330 km from Baku by road. How to Get from Baku to Ganja compares a car with a driver, the intercity bus and a guided day.

Duration
2 days / 1 night
Max Group Size
Private — your party only (1-6)
Language
English, Russian
Pickup
Azerbaijan Avenue 1, Baku (parking)

More on this area: Ganja & Lake Göygöl Tour from Baku · Multi-Day Tours from Baku · Nature & Photography Tours from Baku

Itinerary

  1. 08:00

    Day 1 — out of Baku

    From Azerbaijan Avenue onto the motorway west, with a lunch stop around Yevlakh. Four and a half hours of road, and the flattest part of the country goes past the window.

  2. Day 1 — Nizami's mausoleum

    Seven kilometres before the city, standing beside the road you are already on. Twenty minutes for the poet Ganja is named after as often as the other way round.

  3. Day 1 — the centre on foot

    Javad Khan street, the Shah Abbas mosque of 1606 and the Chokak bathhouse next to it, the caravanserai, the copy of the gates Georgia took in 1139, and the Khan's Garden. An hour and a half, all of it level.

  4. Day 1 — the Bottle House

    Fifty thousand bottles set into the facade of somebody's home. Fifteen minutes from the pavement.

  5. Day 1 — Imamzadeh, then the hotel

    Blue domes five kilometres north, timed for the last hour of light. Then the hotel in Ganja; the evening and dinner are your own.

  6. 09:00

    Day 2 — Helenendorf, Göygöl, Maralgöl

    The German town first — the 1854 Lutheran church and the colonists' street — then up through Hajikend to the lake by about half past ten. Time at the water, and the walk up to Maralgöl for anyone who wants it. Park tickets are a couple of manat at the gate.

  7. Day 2 — back to Baku

    Away from the lake around one, past Ganja and onto the motorway. In the city by about half past seven.

Meeting point

Azerbaijan Avenue 1, Baku (parking)

Frequently asked questions

Is this a private trip?
Yes — it runs for your party alone, with your own vehicle and guide, and nobody else is added to it. That is also why it is priced for your party, in steps by its size, rather than per seat: four people pay less each than two do (₼157.50 against ₼245).
What does the price cover?
The vehicle and the driver-guide for both days. The hotel is not part of the price: you book it, or we book it for you on request, and its terms are the hotel's own. Also outside the price: meals, the national park tickets, and anything you buy.
What is Helenendorf?
A town of Swabian farmhouses ten kilometres from Ganja, founded by German colonists in 1819 and now called Göygöl. The Lutheran church of 1854 is still there and the vines they planted started the country's wine industry. It is on the road to the lake, so it costs no extra driving.
Can Ganja be done as a day trip from Baku?
Not honestly. It is 4 hours 35 minutes each way on the motorway, so a single day means nine hours of driving before you have seen anything. The one-day versions on the local market leave Baku at two in the morning, return near midnight, and go to the lake without ever stopping in Ganja. We would rather sell you the night in the city.
How much of the trip is spent driving?
Around ten hours across the two days, and most of it falls on the first. Day one is the long haul out; day two is eighty minutes up to the lake and then the road home.
Where do we sleep?
In Ganja, one night. Book a hotel there yourself, or ask us to book one for you — either way it is paid separately and on the hotel's terms.
What is Göygöl, and why is it that colour?
A lake made by an earthquake in 1139, when part of Mount Kapaz slid into the Aghsu and dammed it. The colour is a matter of depth and of how little sediment reaches the water.
Is Maralgöl part of the trip?
We go if the group wants it and the weather allows. It sits above Göygöl and is reached on foot, so it is a walk rather than a viewpoint you drive to. The ticket is a couple of manat at the gate.
Do we need a permit for the national park?
No permit — a ticket, bought at the entrance, roughly two manat a head, and the same again for Maralgöl. Bring cash; the gate is not the place to depend on a card.
What is the Bottle House?
A private house in Ganja faced with about fifty thousand glass bottles, built up over years by one man in memory of his brother. There is no ticket and no opening time, because somebody lives there — we look from the street.
When is the best time to go?
May to October. The forest around the lake is at its best in late September and October, and the way up to Maralgöl is unreliable once the snow arrives.
What is not included?
The hotel, meals, the park tickets, and anything you buy for yourself. We will tell you what each of those costs before you book, not on the day.
How long does the Ganja tour take?
The tour takes approximately 2 days / 1 night.
Where does the tour depart from?
The tour departs from Azerbaijan Avenue 1, Baku (parking).
What languages is the tour available in?
The tour is available in English, Russian.
How much does the tour cost?
Prices start at ₼ 420 for the whole party, not per person. The final price depends on how many of you travel and the date you choose.
How do I book this tour?
You can book directly on this page — choose your date and number of travellers and confirm. Our team will then reach out to confirm the details.

You Might Also Like

Tours

Reviews

Write a review
Reviews are checked before they appear.

No reviews yet for this tour.

Be the first to share your experience.

Ganja and Lake Goygol — Two Days from Baku — 1
Ganja and Lake Goygol — Two Days from Baku — 2
Ganja and Lake Goygol — Two Days from Baku — 3
Ganja and Lake Goygol — Two Days from Baku — 4
Ganja and Lake Goygol — Two Days from Baku — 5
Ganja and Lake Goygol — Two Days from Baku — 6
Ganja and Lake Goygol — Two Days from Baku — 7
Ganja and Lake Goygol — Two Days from Baku — 8