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Alinja’s fabled castle

Guide books and local agencies have taken to calling Azerbaijan’s Alinja Castle the “Machu Picchu of the Caucasus”. Azerbaijan’s answer to Machu Picchu? Alinja Castle! A medieval fortress sitting atop a cragged mountaintop in the Julfa region. The site is actually a recent reconstruction of the former fortress used by Nakhchivan’s various ruling dynasties of the Middle Ages, including the Seljuks, Atabeys and Safavids. The castle was famed for being near impregnable, though it was eventually sacked by legendary Turko-Mongol ruler Tamerlane in 1401, albeit only after a 14-year struggle. Legend has it that Tamerlane then used the castle to house his treasury and local tales claim his treasures may still be hidden somewhere in the surrounds. Visit the museum at the bottom to discover this rich history, then climb the 1,500 steps to the summit for the breathtaking views of Nakhchivan’s epic landscape.