Sheki from Baku: the Khan’s Palace and how to plan the trip

If you are in Baku, Sheki (Şəki) raises two questions before anything else: is it worth the journey, and can it be done in a day? The short answer: the Historic Centre of Sheki with the Khan’s Palace has been on UNESCO’s World Heritage List since 2019¹, and the palace, with its coloured-glass shebeke (şəbəkə) windows and painted halls, is the centrepiece of a visit. A day trip is possible but long, and we found no official journey time to plan around. If you want to see the palace, the caravanserai and the nearby village of Kish without rushing, one night makes the trip comfortable.

Why Sheki is different

Sheki is an old town, but its present historic centre was rebuilt after a mudflow in 1772, on higher ground in a mountain valley east of the earlier site¹. The silk trade then drove the rapid construction of caravanserais, shops, public fountains, mosques and bathhouses, and UNESCO notes that local people still use one caravanserai and some of the shops for trade¹.

Sheki was a silk town: its houses were built with steeply pitched roofs so that silkworms could be bred in airy, spacious attics¹. UNESCO notes that Sheki became a khanate in 1743, the first and most powerful of a series of khanates in the Caucasus, and that the Khan’s Palace and a number of merchant houses reflect the wealth generated by silkworm breeding and the cocoon trade from the late 18th century into the 19th¹. As you walk the lanes, you can read that economy in the very shape of the houses.

The Sheki Khan’s Palace

The Khan’s Palace (Şəki Xan Sarayı) is the heart of the visit. It stands inside the fortress walls, within the grounds of the Yukhari Bash State Historical-Architectural Reserve², and is a two-storey building 31.7 metres long, 8.5 metres wide and 10 metres high, according to the reserve’s heritage portal². The portal dates it to the 18th century; other official pages give different, more precise dates, so we do not commit to a single year².

What to look out for:

• Shebeke windows: wooden lattices filled with coloured glass, with about 5,000 pieces of wood and glass per square metre on average². The Azerbaijan Tourism Board describes shebeke as a technique for making stained-glass windows without glue or nails⁵.
• Painted interiors: the reserve groups the decoration into geometric patterns, plant motifs, narrative compositions and animal imagery; there are hunting and battle scenes, and legendary creatures such as dragons and unicorns².
• The setting: the Tourism Board describes the palace as surrounded by 500-year-old plane trees⁶.

Hours, tickets and photography. Neither the reserve’s portal nor the Tourism Board’s page on the palace, as we read them on 30 September 2026, publishes opening hours, ticket prices or photography rules, so we cannot say what a ticket covers. Check on arrival or with your guide, and do not assume that photography is allowed inside.

The Upper Caravanserai

The Upper Caravanserai (Yuxarı Karvansaray) is an 18th-century building with up to 300 rooms and cellars over a total area of 6,000 square metres, on Mirza Fatali Akhundzadeh Avenue, according to the reserve⁷. Standing in its courtyard gives you a sense of the scale of the trade that passed through Sheki. We could not confirm its current use from the reserve’s information, so if you plan to go inside, check directly before you travel.

Kish, crafts and halva, if you have time

• Kish Church: in the village of Kish, about 5 kilometres from Sheki, according to the Tourism Board⁸. The core of the building is believed to date from the 1st century AD, and it now serves as a museum of Caucasian Albania⁸. It is a short visit, but it needs its own transfer.
• Craft workshops: the Tourism Board mentions a shebeke workshop in Sheki Fortress and the printing of patterns onto kelaghayi (kəlağayı) headscarves⁹. Watching a craftsman fit the pieces together helps you make sense of the palace windows.
• Sheki halva: layers of a dough called rishta, filled with sugar, hazelnuts, coriander, cardamom and saffron; the Tourism Board lists sweet shops where you can take part in making it¹⁰.

Getting there and planning the day

Sheki lies on what the Tourism Board calls the “North-western route”⁶. Two ways of getting there have been available:

• By road with a driver. This is the most flexible option, especially if you want to include Kish or several stops. We found no official distance or driving time, so agree the route, stops and hours with your driver in advance, and check the current journey time before fixing your return.
• By train. In an undated page on its corporate website, ADY announced that it had resumed the Baku–Balakan route on 3 January 2025 and mentioned a daily sleeper train from Baku with Sheki among its stops³. On 16 July 2026, citing damage to the line on the Qax–Balakan section, ADY announced on its official Telegram channel that Baku–Balakan–Baku services would be temporarily suspended from 1 August 2026 and that further information would follow⁴. When we checked on 3 October 2026, the channel showed no announcement that the service had resumed. Check the current position, times and fares on ticket.ady.az before you plan around the train.

A day trip suits you if your time in Azerbaijan is short, the palace and a walk through the old centre are enough for you, and you are happy with a long day on the road. Leave Baku early, so that a late start does not cut into your time at the palace.

Stay overnight if you want the palace, the caravanserai and Kish together, you are travelling with children or older travellers, or you like walking the lanes in the early morning.

A private, coordinated trip makes sense when you want one driver and one guide for the whole day, a guide who can explain the palace paintings and the silk history as you walk, or an overnight stay arranged around your own pace.

If you are still arranging entry to the country, our guide to the official e-visa portal explains where to apply.

When this trip may not suit you

• You have only two or three days in Baku and would rather not spend a large part of one travelling. Start with Baku’s Old City and save Sheki for a longer trip.
• You need confirmed opening hours or accessibility information in advance. We found none published officially; if that is essential for you, ask the reserve or your guide before committing.

Frequently asked questions