Centre
First-timersAround Javad Khan Street.
Ganja city guide
Things To Do In Ganja
Azerbaijan's second city: the mausoleum of the poet Nizami, a mosque built in 1606, a house made of thousands of bottles, and a mountain lake an hour away.
1
Hostels in the city
9.4
Average, from 20 reviews
1606
The Shah Abbas Mosque
12th c.
Nizami, the poet
1139
The earthquake that made Göygöl
The city of Nizami
Ganja is one of the oldest cities in the Caucasus and Azerbaijan's second city. It was the home of Nizami Ganjavi, the great twelfth-century Persian poet, whose mausoleum stands on the edge of town.
The centre mixes Soviet-era buildings with older landmarks: the Shah Abbas Mosque, built in 1606, and the Bottle House, a home decorated with tens of thousands of glass bottles.
Ganja is also the base for Göygöl National Park and its lake in the mountains. Two days is right.
Where to stay
Stay in the centre, around Javad Khan Street and Heydar Aliyev Square, where the hotels, restaurants and main sights are walkable.
Orange labels are neighbourhoods, dots are the 1 top-rated hostels. Map data from OpenStreetMap contributors.
Things to do
Things to do in Ganja
Ganja, Azerbaijan's second city, is an old Silk Road city and the birthplace of Nizami Ganjavi, the twelfth-century poet celebrated across the Persian-speaking world.
Visit the Mausoleum of Nizami Ganjavi, a modern monument on the edge of the city, and the Nizami statues and murals around the centre. See the Shah Abbas (Juma) Mosque, built in 1606, and the Javad Khan tomb beside it.
The Bottle House, a private house covered in tens of thousands of coloured glass bottles in the 1960s, is the city's quirky landmark. Walk Javad Khan Street, the pedestrian heart of the city, with restored nineteenth-century buildings, and the Khan's Garden.
Göygöl, a deep blue lake in the mountains formed by an earthquake in 1139, is about an hour away in a national park; its waters are clear and its forests good for walks. Naftalan, about an hour away, is a spa town known for bathing in its unique crude oil.
Sheki is about three hours north.
Free things
Free things to do in Ganja
Walking Javad Khan Street, the Khan's Garden and the city's parks is free, and so is seeing the Bottle House from outside.
The Shah Abbas Mosque is free to visit, dressed modestly. The Nizami Mausoleum's grounds are free.
Food and drink
Eating and drinking in Ganja
Ganja's food is Azerbaijani: plov, dolma, kebabs and qutab. Ganja is known for its sweets, including pakhlava and shekerbura, crescent pastries filled with nuts.
Tea with jam is served everywhere. A meal is €4 to €10.
Nightlife
Going out in Ganja
Ganja is quiet at night. Javad Khan Street fills with families in the evening, and a few restaurants and cafés serve drinks.
A beer is €1.50 to €3.
Getting around
Getting around Ganja
The centre is walkable. Trains reach Baku in about four to five hours, and buses are similar. Ganja has an airport with flights to Baku.
Göygöl and Naftalan need a taxi or driver.
Costs
What Ganja costs
Ganja is cheap. A careful day is €20 to €30.
A taxi to Göygöl and back is around €20 to €30, and Göygöl National Park charges a small entry fee.
The currency is the manat (AZN), at roughly 1.9 manat to the euro; prices here are euro equivalents. Cards work widely in Baku; carry cash in the regions, where small guesthouses and taxis are cash only.
Safety
Staying safe in Ganja
Ganja is safe.
Dress modestly in mosques. Avoid discussing politics or the Armenia conflict in public.
Emergency number is 112, or 102 police and 103 ambulance.
Day trips from Ganja
A mountain lake, an oil spa and the Silk Road town.
Göygöl
A blue lake in a national park, formed by an earthquake in 1139.
Sheki
The Silk Road town.
What's on
What is on while you are there
The spring festival is the big one.
Around 21 March
Novruz
Ganja
The spring new year.
June to September
Summer in Göygöl
Göygöl
The best months for the lake.
Hostels
Where to stay in Ganja
The top-rated places to stay in Ganja right now, live from Hostelworld.
When to go
April to June and September to October. Summers are hot.
Jan
Cold
Feb
Quiet
Mar
Novruz
Apr
Spring
May
Good
Jun
Warm
Jul
Hot
Aug
Hot
Sep
Good
Oct
Autumn
Nov
Quiet
Dec
Cold
Bar height is temperature. Colour is how busy it gets:
quiet
busy
peak
Average highs.
What your trip will cost
Pick how you travel. Per person per night, in euros.
Prices are in manat locally; these are euro equivalents.
—
- Beds—
- Food and drink—
- Getting around—
- Doing things—
Ganja travel questions
The ones we get asked most.
Who was Nizami?
Nizami Ganjavi, a twelfth-century poet born in Ganja, celebrated across the Persian-speaking world.
What is the Bottle House?
A private house covered in coloured glass bottles in the 1960s.
How do I get to Göygöl?
By taxi or driver, about an hour.
What is Naftalan?
A spa town known for bathing in its unique crude oil.
How many days do you need?
One or two.
When is the best time to visit?
April to October; summer for Göygöl.
How do I get there?
By train or bus from Baku, four to five hours, or by flight.
Say yes to hostels, meet the world
Compare Ganja hostels — live prices, real reviews and free cancellation on most bookings. Then meet the people already there in the app.
Get the App.