The amazing landscape of the mountain ranges of the Sheki-Zagatala region arouses interest not only in the beauty of nature, but also in the monuments of centuries-old history found everywhere, convincingly proving the need and desire of the people to create and preserve enduring values, passed down from generation to generation.

Once one of the most important points of the Great Silk Road, this delightful town in north-west Azerbaijan will amaze not only lovers of antiquity. Go for a walk through the historic center, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, soak up the atmosphere of the city, which has preserved the unique atmosphere of the ancient trading capital, touch the stones of the cobblestones laid many centuries ago, look into the artisan shops, caravanserais and charming pastry shops.

Gakh is one of the most beautiful cities in the north-west of Azerbaijan, where different cultures are intertwined, because it is located on the border with Georgia. Mountains shrouded in blue haze, dense forests, waterfalls with crystal clear water, raging rivers teeming with fish - all this awaits any tourist.

Archaeological excavations prove that the city was inhabited before the Bronze Age, but it is not known for certain why the area is called “Gakh”. There are several versions:

1. The tribe that lived in this territory was called “Gag”, and then the word was transformed into “Gakh”;
2. “Gakh” is translated as “fortress”, and on the territory of the city archaeologists found the ruins of ancient fortresses.
3. “Ga” is a habitat, “Ah” is a river. When words are merged, the toponym “Gakh” is formed.

Choose the option that you like best. Tourists joke that upon arrival in Gakh it is impossible not to gasp with delight. Maybe that's why the area has such a name.

The territory of the future Zagatala district was once part of Caucasian Albania. Since the 5th century it was included in Iberia. The local population was converted to the Georgian Orthodox religion by the Eretian queen Dinara. At the beginning of the 11th century, the Kakheti king Kvirike annexed Hereti to Kakheti. Since 1104, the Kakheti-Ereti kingdom was finally annexed to the Georgian kingdom thanks to the effective policy of King David IV the Builder. In the 15th century, the territory of the future Zagatala district, at that time the eastern outskirts of Kakheti, began to be populated by residents of Dagestan - Avars - who arrived from beyond the Caucasus Range. At the beginning of the 17th century, this was facilitated by the devastation of Kakheti by Shah Abbas, accompanied by the extermination and captivity of the inhabitants, as well as the settlement of Turks (Azerbaijanis) in this area.