Gabala: mountain resort town between Shamakhi and Sheki

Gabala is what the road between Shamakhi and Sheki offers as a reward for climbing. The town sits in the foothills of the Greater Caucasus, about 225 km and three and a half hours northwest of Baku, wrapped in the kind of forested green the capital's semi-desert makes you stop believing in. Modern Gabala is a resort town; ancient Gabala, a short drive away, was the capital of Caucasian Albania. The two share a name and little else, and both are worth your time on this road.

What is there to do in Gabala?

The Tufandag cable cars are the centrepiece. They climb from the edge of town into the mountains in stages, serving skiers in winter and viewpoint-seekers the rest of the year; our ten-day tour includes the ride. Nohur Lake, a reservoir framed by wooded slopes a short drive from town, is the other fixture, quiet outside summer weekends. Around them sits the apparatus of a resort town that has grown quickly: hotels across several price classes, restaurants, and an international airport. In summer the town also hosts the Gabala International Music Festival, which has run since 2011.

What is ancient Gabala?

The name Gabala is far older than the resort. For centuries the ancient city was the capital of Caucasian Albania, the state that covered much of present-day Azerbaijan before and into the early medieval period. The archaeological site lies a short drive southwest of the modern town, its most recognisable remains being the brick towers of the old city gates. It is a field site, not a reconstruction: you walk ground that archaeologists are still reading, and it pairs naturally with the Church of Kish near Sheki if Caucasian Albania has caught your interest.

Gabala and VIVANT

Gabala is one of the eight regions that Baku Media Center, the partner that handled filming permits and logistics for VIVANT season two, named when the shoot wrapped (reported by Report.az and Trend.az on 15 November 2025). The announcement names regions, not buildings, and as of our 28 July 2026 check no source had published a building-level identification in Gabala. When one appears, our episode tracker will record it with its source; the filming regions map carries the distances for all eight regions.

Birtour is not affiliated with TBS, with the VIVANT production committee, or with the travel companies selling packaged VIVANT departures. We are a destination management company based in Baku.

How do you visit?

By road, Gabala is about 3.5 hours from Baku, and the natural way to take it is as the stop between Shamakhi and Sheki rather than as an out-and-back from the capital. Two of our tours go: the ten-day tour covering all eight filming regions reaches Gabala on day 6, cable car included, and the six-day Baku and Gabala tour is built around the town itself, with more time for the mountains and the lake. Year-round works: winter belongs to Tufandag's slopes, summer to the lake and the high green.