Shahdag Mountain Resort

Shahdag was built from scratch from 2012 on the slopes below the Shahdag massif, and it is the country's main winter sports centre: gondolas and chairlifts, graded pistes, snowmaking across most of the area, and a row of hotels at the base. The altitude runs from around fourteen hundred to over two thousand three hundred metres. In summer the lifts keep working for walkers and mountain bikers, and the meadows and ridge walks above the resort are the better half of what it offers.

What you actually see

• The lift system - gondolas and chairs running up to over two thousand three hundred metres.
• The pistes - graded runs with snowmaking, the largest ski area in the country.
• The summer meadows - alpine grass and ridge walks above the top station.
• The massif - Shahdag and Bazarduzu, the highest ground in the country, on the skyline.

When to go

December to March is the ski season, with the most reliable snow in January and February. June to September is the hiking season, when the lifts run for walkers. Late spring and late autumn are shoulder periods when much of the resort closes.

Honest expectations

It is a new resort and reads as one, with no village and no character beyond the hotels. Snow reliability varies and the season depends heavily on snowmaking. Prices are high by Azerbaijani standards and weekends and holidays fill it with Baku traffic.

Nearby

Laza village is over the ridge, and Qusar is the nearest town.