[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/96\/87\/89\/1200x675_cmsv2_13bbd927-eb33-5a6d-a369-896525139ec2-9968789.jpg”]<\/p>\n
Modern ski resorts, competitive prices and a growing calendar of international competitions are putting Azerbaijan\u2019s mountains on the winter tourism map.Baku is the lowest-lying capital city in the world. Yet a few hours\u2019 drive from its Caspian Sea waterfront, the Greater Caucasus mountains offer a very different landscape, with modern ski resorts set among the peaks. \u201cVery few people know that Azerbaijan actually has mountains,\u201d says Florian Sengstschmid, CEO of the Azerbaijan Tourism Board. \u201cThis is where the conversation starts.\u201dAt the London Snow Show, where Azerbaijan exhibited for the first time, Sengstschmid says visitors were repeatedly surprised to discover the country had mountains. The challenge now is to turn that surprise into interest in what Azerbaijan offers in winter, both on and off the slopes.A compact country with a wide range of experiencesAzerbaijan\u2019s geography allows visitors to experience strikingly different landscapes within a relatively short journey. Sengstschmid describes it as \u201ca compact and remarkably diverse country where Europe meets Asia\u201d, with terrain ranging from high mountain peaks to subtropical landscapes.\u201cYou can ski in the morning and have lunch in Baku,\u201d Sengstschmid says. \u201cYou crisscross the country from subtropics to the high mountain peaks within a few hours\u2019 driving.\u201dA winter trip can also take in a traditional hammam, a spa visit or dinner in a mountain village, where fresh-caught trout features on the menu. Khinalig, close to Shahdag, is one such village. Further afield, visitors can explore UNESCO World Heritage sites such as the Walled City of Baku, the Gobustan rock art landscape and the historic centre of Shaki, as well as natural fire temples, ice caves and waterfalls. Wine and food routes offer another way to discover the country, alongside its Silk Road heritage.Modern resorts at competitive pricesTwo of Azerbaijan\u2019s resorts, Shahdag and Tufandag have invested in modern ski infrastructure, including Austrian technology. Sengstschmid, himself Austrian, says he is proud to see it in place. Snowmaking at both resorts uses less water than it once did, while accommodation ranges from guesthouses to five-star hotels. Sengstschmid also highlights the apr\u00e8s-ski scene as another attraction.\u201cIt is exciting to see what technology can do,\u201d Sengstschmid says, \u201cbut it\u2019s also our responsibility to ensure future generations can enjoy the mountains as much as we have.\u201dPrice is another draw. A day\u2019s ski pass costs around \u00a325, a two-hour private lesson \u00a350, a beer \u00a33 and lunch \u00a310. For British and European skiers facing rising costs in the Alps, those numbers stand out.Sandra Spitz, Sports and Events Director at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), has visited Shahdag herself. She describes the skiing as \u201cvery nice, smooth\u201d, with \u201creally space on the slopes\u201d. She also praises the resort\u2019s setting and its appeal to families, describing it as \u201cnot too expensive\u201d and \u201cincredible, beautiful\u201d.For Sengstschmid, one of the biggest advantages is the space on the slopes. \u201cYou have no crowds, you have no queues, and you just enjoy the sound of the snow.\u201dBuilding a winter sports cultureAzerbaijan has been affiliated with FIS since the 1990s. Its more recent five-year partnership with the organisation goes beyond hosting competitions, focusing on developing local talent, training coaches and creating pathways into professional winter sports.Skiing and snowboarding are still relatively new sports in Azerbaijan. Sengstschmid wants young people to see a future in them, whether as athletes, coaches or in other roles across the industry.This season, Azerbaijan hosts the FIS Alpine European Cup in February, followed by the FIS Freestyle World Cup finals from 5 to 7 March. The country has also built national teams in ski mountaineering with the International Ski Mountaineering Federation (ISMF), a discipline that made its Olympic debut at Milano Cortina earlier this year.For FIS, the opportunity lies in bringing more people into the sport. \u201cAzerbaijan is very important for us,\u201d Spitz says. \u201cIt\u2019s an emerging market in skiing and snowboarding, and this is the playground where we can actually get new skiers loving skiing and snowboarding.\u201dShahdag also provides equipment free of charge to children in its clubs, a model Spitz holds up as an example of how resorts can encourage participation.Azerbaijan already has experience hosting international sporting events. Baku marked ten years of Formula 1 in September, and Sengstschmid says F1 \u201cput Baku and Azerbaijan on the map of sports\u201d. The FIS partnership aims to do the same for winter sports.A destination beyond the ski seasonSummer accounts for around half of the resorts\u2019 visitors, according to Sengstschmid. Hiking, trail running, multi-day treks, birdwatching in Shahdag National Park, horse riding and mountain coasters attract visitors during the warmer months. A longer season can also help resorts maintain employment and support businesses in nearby communities beyond winter.Sengstschmid makes a wider case for visiting lesser-known places. He points to figures suggesting that 80% of travellers visit just 10% of destinations, arguing that the Caucasus could help spread tourism beyond the busiest hotspots.Spitz says she would not have known four years ago that you could ski in Azerbaijan. \u201cBut now I know it,\u201d she says, \u201cand every single destination is worth a visit.\u201dFor Sengstschmid, Azerbaijan\u2019s appeal extends well beyond the ski season. Wine, food, industrial heritage and the Silk Road offer reasons to explore the country beyond its mountains. But for visitors discovering Azerbaijan for the first time, the slopes may be the starting point.<\/div>\n
[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2026\/10\/27\/from-bakus-waterfront-to-the-greater-caucasus-a-new-winter-destination-within-reach”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/96\/87\/89\/1200x675_cmsv2_13bbd927-eb33-5a6d-a369-896525139ec2-9968789.jpg”] Modern ski resorts, competitive prices and a growing calendar of international competitions are putting Azerbaijan\u2019s mountains on the winter tourism map.Baku is the lowest-lying capital city in the world. Yet a few hours\u2019 drive from its Caspian Sea waterfront, the Greater Caucasus mountains offer a very different landscape, with modern ski resorts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[90],"tags":[226,36],"class_list":["post-2222210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-international","tag-crawlmanager","tag-euronews-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2222210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2222210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2222210\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2222210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2222210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2222210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}