North-Western Route: Qakh

QAKH district is located in the north-west of the republic and borders Georgia. In the south of the district the climate is dry, in the centre it is moderately hot, giving way to humid subtropical, and in the mountains it is cold, with evenly distributed precipitation. So, as we can see, four climate zones sit on a relatively small territory. Temperature differences here are very large - from -40 on the mountain peaks to +40 near Lake AJINOUR.

The district is home to the "ILISU" State Nature Reserve (area - 9.2 thousand ha). The main protected features here are the forests of the mid-mountain belt (90% of the reserve's territory). There are about 300 plant species here, including 90 species of trees and shrubs, and a significant number of endemic and endangered species. The mountain forests are home to bears, wild goats, wolves, wild boars, wild cats and jackals. There are good places for hunting and fishing in the GANYKH-AYRICHAY valley area.

Many historical monuments have survived here. Burial mounds discovered by archaeologists show that the region was already inhabited in the Bronze Age. A fine example of distinctive architecture is the 18th-century ULU KORPU bridge. SUMUG FORTRESS, with a mosque still standing at its centre, is located in the village of ILISU, the former capital of the sultanate of the same name. SUMUG has remained in the people's memory as one of the strongholds of the last local sultan, DANIYAL BEY, a comrade-in-arms of SHEIKH SHAMIL. This place was already settled in deep antiquity - archaeologists found unique JAR BURIALS from the 1st century BC here. Also here in Ilisu stands a square WATCHTOWER 10 metres high (14th century). Around this village there are many sulphurous thermal springs.

Near the village of TASMALI, in a grove of centuries-old oaks, is the grave of HAJI MURAD, a naib (military commander) of SHEIKH SHAMIL. A stone slab has been placed on his grave with an inscription in Arabic that reads: "Here lies the great martyr, the Avar Haji Murad of Khunzakh".

Near the village of QUM, monuments from the Caucasian Albania period have survived - the SYRTGALA fortress (18th century), the QUM BASILICA, 5th-century ruins, and the ROUND TEMPLE (7th century). The village of LAKIT also has a surviving TEMPLE COMPLEX (12th century). In the villages of SARIBASH and JALAYIR, local craftswomen weave carpets with original patterns and knit woollen socks called JORABS. In the village of QAKHBASH, local residents make homemade wines.

QAKH TOWN is the administrative centre of Qakh district. It is a small town at an altitude of 500 m above sea level. It sits on the bank of the KURMUKHCHAY mountain river, at the foothills of the Greater Caucasus. The town's name translates as "fortress".