After a wonderful month in Azerbaijan, we left this amazing country and headed back to Georgia, taking two days to go from Zaqatala to Lagodekhi.
Sheki to Zaqatala
Most travellers head from Sheki straight back to Georgia. We’re great proponents of slow travel so wanted to see a few more places before leaving Azerbaijan.
The transport from Sheki to Zaqatala was quite straightforward. First of all, we took the #11 marshrutka from the Karvansaray to the bus station.
Click here for more information about our wonderful 2-night stay in this incredible 300-year old caravanserai: https://frugaltravellers.com/sheki-azerbaijan/
The marshrutka to Zaqatala left at 10:10 and cost 3 manat per person, arriving at 12 noon.
The other foreigners on the marshrutka continued to the border town of Balakan, leaving us wondering if we’d made a mistake… the good old herd mind and all!
Finding accommodation in Zaqatala
There weren’t many properties on the usual accommodation websites so we decided to wing it – back to old school travel!
This was slightly daunting when the first hotel in town was 60 AZN per night! We persevered and found a lovely room at the Zaqatala Hotel, near the roundabout where the marshrutki to the border stop.
Luxury for us at the Zaqatala Hotel
The hotel was clean, big and had a lovely garden at the front. It was 25 manat per night for a room with ensuite, which included breakfast.
We had the choice of rooms at the front or back of the property, and went with the second option to avoid traffic noise.
Little did we realise that the rooms at the back overlook a bus/truck carpark so there was a bit of unnecessary revving at 6 am!
The room was clean and modern – it was a great place to stay, and was in the perfect location.
Zagatala had more to offer than we thought – we wished we’d had enough time to stay 2 nights!
Exploring Zaqatala
Zaqatala is a pretty town that doesn’t receive many foreign tourists, so the people are very friendly! The only downside is that we didn’t find many places to eat when we headed up the hill and walked around the older part of town.
The old Russian fort was very interesting – we wandered into it by accident round the back door, so aren’t sure of the price of a ticket.
We were hunting for food so didn’t stay long – just chatted with some guys preparing mulberry leaves for drying, for the silk worm factory nearby.
Sights of Zaqatala
There’s the fortress, a Olympic football stadium, a museum dedicated to the former president, a ruined Armenian church, countless murals, and loads of charming brick buildings in a style I’d never seen before.
Food options in Zaqatala
For lunch we went to the Turkish kebab shop around the corner from the hotel, and had a fairly average shawarma.
For dinner we went to the restaurant opposite the hotel and had, yes, you guessed it – kebabs! These were far tastier and the staff were friendlier.
I’m sure there are other options in Zaqatala but we struggled to find anything other than fast food.
Marshrutka to the pretty village of Car
We’d seen photos of Car, pronounced Jar, a pretty village further up the hill from Zagatala, and thought it would make an interesting side trip.
The friendly guy in the tourist information centre said we could walk the 7km. Turns out it’s uphill all the way, so I’m pleased we took a marshrutka from outside our hotel after lunch.
They run every half hour, and we decided to stay for 1.5 hours. This gave us ample time to wander around the village, and take photos of the beautiful stone walls and houses.
We managed to fit in an ice-cream as well before heading back down the hill. Check out the slight design flaw in front of the shop!
The Cows of Car
I grew up in rural New Zealand, so love seeing cows in different countries! The ones in Car were super mellow, and didn’t seem to mind the pesky tourist taking photos.
Crossing the border from Zaqatala to Lagodekhi
As it was hot weather even in May, we decided to start fairly early. After a tasty breakfast, we walked the 5 minutes to the bus stop on the other side of Flag Square.
We were there by 9:15, but ended up waiting until 10:20 for the first marshrutka of the day! Fortunately for our peace of mind, a friendly local was also heading to Balakan so we followed his lead and waited patiently.
The marshrutka was fairly full but we were fortunate to get seats. We arrived at Balakan by 10:50 – the 30 minute trip costing 50 qəpik each.
We had the usual insistent taxi drivers to contend with, but ended up getting a ride to the border at 10:56.
This was with our one and only female taxi driver during our 3 months in the Caucasus! There were already 2 police officers inside, and cost 1 manat each.
The trip to the border only took 9 minutes with her fast driving. The policeman in the back with us didn’t seem fazed as was playing a world building game on his phone!
Simple border crossing with a lot of steps
We arrived at the border by 11:05. We were behind a busload of Antipodean tourists fresh off a cruise and tour. Our NZ passports suddenly seemed far less exotic!
The border crossings on both sides were fast and professional.
The only issue for some people is the maybe 800 metre walk between the two border posts, up a steadily rising series of steps. The Aussies and Kiwis in front of us were struggling with their wheelie suitcases.
Once you’re through the Azerbaijan border formalities, you cross a bridge over a fast flowing river, and you’re in Georgia!
Money exchange and taxis on the Georgian side
We’d read that it could be tricky to change money on the Georgian side. We went to the money exchange booth and were very happy to get the xe.com rate for our remaining AZN!
The taxi drivers wanted 5 GEL to go the 7km to Lagodeki. We decided to walk it, but as it was hot we ended up paying 3 lari to the bus station area on the main street.
From there it was a 10 minute walk uphill to our lovely guesthouse.
Further information on our travels from Zaqatala to Lagodekhi
If you have any queries that aren’t covered in this post on our journey from Zaqatala to Lagodekhi, please comment below.
For further information on this region, we can recommend the excellent website https://caravanistan.com/ – our go-to for travel in the ‘stans and Caucasus!
For more posts on our travels in Azerbaijan, check out the links below:
4 thoughts on “Zaqatala to Lagodekhi”
Wooohoooo, the exact info that I have been looking for. Thank you so much!!!
I am thinking of going to Car and Zagatala after Sheki and have been looking for border crossing info.
Am thinking of heading to Telavi from Lagodekhi. Have you noticed any Marshrutka heading that direction when you were there? Or do I have to go to Tbilisi to get one?
Wheelies? Can’t imagine travelling with wheelies in hilly and uneven terrain.
That’s so cool – this had been sitting as a draft for over a month, so I’m pleased I finally managed to post it… and that it’s going to help someone!
I am going to write another post on Lagodekhi, Sighnaghi and Telavi… will work on that today and tomorrow.
We really liked Telavi and enjoyed going to Chavchavadze Estate and the Shumi Winery next door – have posted a video on YouTube if you want some ideas before I get the blog post up.
I took a photo of the timetable at Lagodekhi – will post that as well. We went from Lagodekhi to Sighnaghi then to Telavi… marshrutka definitely go straight from Lagodekhi to Telavi.
I know, I felt so sorry for the cruise ship passengers. They were all in their 70s and over, and had to walk up loads of steps with their massive suitcases!
Look forward to your next, and subsequent posts. Sighnaghi sounds good, probably will go there as you did before Telavi. I am slow and tend to wing it a bit when I am on the road. One time I was only planning to be away for 10 days and didn’t get back till 7 weeks later.
Excellent – that’s exactly how we travel! Keep in mind that there aren’t any marshrutka going up the hill to Sighnaghi on Saturday or Sunday from the drop off point at Tsnori en route to Telavi, so the only options over the weekend are paying for a taxi or hitchhiking.