# Upper Caravanserai, Sheki > The Upper Caravanserai (Yuxarı Karvansaray) is a vast Silk Road merchants’ inn on Sheki’s main street, run as a hotel with a restaurant since 1988. Allow **30 minutes**. You can usually walk into its arcaded courtyard with a central pool **for free, without staying**, every day until about 19:00 — unofficial, as the hotel publishes no visitor hours. It is about 10 minutes’ walk downhill from the fortress gate. Web page: https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/sheki/sheki-caravanserai - City: [Sheki](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/sheki), Azerbaijan - YesGo score: 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 30 min - Opening hours: Courtyard for day visitors — daytime, roughly until 19:00 (unofficial); open every day - With kids: Fine with kids - Entry to the courtyard: Free, no booking needed — unofficial - When: Daytime, roughly until 19:00; early morning and evening are for hotel guests - Upper gallery: Guest rooms — hotel guests only - Address: 185 M. F. Akhundzada Avenue (some listings say no. 85) - From the fortress gate: ≈ 700–800 m downhill along Akhundzada Avenue, about 10 minutes on foot - Payment: Visa and Mastercard work in Baku, but in Sheki carry manat cash for cafés and tea houses - Inside: Hotel, Azerbaijani restaurant and a tea house - Coordinates: 41.20111, 47.19361 - Facts checked: 02.11.2026 ## Key facts - **2019** — became part of the UNESCO site “Historic Centre of Sheki with the Khan’s Palace” (source: Russian Wikipedia; UNESCO site description by the Azerbaijan Tourism Board; JAMnews) - **Since 1988** — the caravanserai has been a working hotel (source: English and Russian Wikipedia; Tonkosti Turizma) - **18th century** — the most common dating; some sources say 17th, others 19th (source: Russian Wikipedia (Sheki); Advantour; English Wikipedia gives 18th–19th) - **2 caravanserais** — survive in Sheki — the Upper (Yuxarı) and the Lower (Aşağı) (source: English and Russian Wikipedia; Advantour) - **Central pool** — in a large rectangular inner courtyard (source: English and Russian Wikipedia; Tonkosti Turizma) - **Corner gate** — the main entrance sits on a corner, up a flight of steps, because of the steep slope (source: Russian Wikipedia; Wander-Lush) - **240–300+** — rooms — sources disagree and there is no exact count (source: English Wikipedia (242); Russian Wikipedia and Tonkosti Turizma (over 300)) - **1772** — a flood of the Kish river swept away old Sheki; the town was rebuilt higher up, around today’s centre (source: Russian Wikipedia (Sheki); UNESCO site description by the Azerbaijan Tourism Board) - **≈ 0.5 km** — in a straight line downhill from the Khan’s Palace (source: Wikidata and OpenStreetMap coordinates, YesGo calculation) - **Restaurant** — serving Azerbaijani food inside the caravanserai (source: English and Russian Wikipedia; Advantour) > **It is a hotel, not a museum** There is no ticket desk and no official visitor hours. In daytime the gate is normally open to anyone, but the upper gallery with the guest rooms is for guests only. Treat it like someone’s home: keep out of open rooms and don’t photograph guests up close. ## Can you visit the Sheki caravanserai without staying? Yes. During the day you can walk through the corner gate into the courtyard for free, with no booking and no guide. This is unofficial — the hotel posts no rules for visitors, and published times vary from 9, 11 or 12 o’clock until 18:00–19:00. Midday to late afternoon is the safe window. On the ground floor you can walk the full circuit of arches, look at the pool, and sit down in the tea house or the restaurant. The upper gallery, where the room doors open onto a shared balcony, is off limits to non-guests. If you want the courtyard to yourself, stay the night: early morning and evening it belongs to guests. Room rates change, so we don’t quote them here. ## Is it worth it? Yes, if you are already in Sheki — and almost everyone visiting the [Khan’s Palace](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/sheki/sheki-khans-palace) passes it on the way down the hill. It is free, takes half an hour, and it is the easiest way to picture how Silk Road merchants actually lived: goods and stalls below, cells above, one gate locked at night. Don’t expect a museum. There are no labels, no exhibits and no guide on site — just the building itself. If you have no interest in architecture, the gate and the street arcade from outside are enough. If you like a slow lunch somewhere atmospheric, eat in the courtyard restaurant and make it an hour. ## How old is the Upper Caravanserai? Nobody has a firm date, and the sources disagree. Russian Wikipedia’s article on the building says 17th century, English Wikipedia says 18th–19th, and most tour operators and the article on the town say 18th. We go with the 18th century as the most common answer, and flag the dispute. What is certain is the setting: today’s Sheki grew up after 1772, when a flood of the Kish river destroyed the old town in the gorge and people moved higher, to Nukha. Sheki was then the capital of a khanate, silk caravans passed through, and big inns along the trading street became part of the new town. The caravanserai was built like a small fortress — thick stone walls, shops facing the street, cells around the courtyard and a single corner gate that turned the whole yard into a stronghold once it was shut. It opened as a hotel with a restaurant in 1988. ## What to see - **The corner gate** — huge arched wooden doors above a stone stair. This is the shot everyone takes. - **The street arcade** — the ground-floor shop fronts where merchants once sold straight onto the pavement. - **The courtyard** — large and rectangular, with a pool in the middle and two tiers of arches all round. - **Vaulted cells** — identical rooms where traders slept; some are now hotel rooms. - **The tea house and restaurant garden** at the back — a good stop after the palace. - **The Lower Caravanserai** — a couple of hundred metres further down the same avenue (see below). ## How to get to the Upper Caravanserai 1. From Baku, take an intercity bus or minibus from **Baku International Bus Terminal** to **Sheki bus station** — about 4.5–5 hours; morning departures are easiest. 2. Sheki bus station is about 2 km from the old centre: a taxi takes 5–10 minutes, or take a city bus heading up **M. F. Akhundzada Avenue** towards the fortress. 3. Start at the top, at the gate of **Sheki Fortress** and the Khan’s Palace. 4. Walk downhill along M. F. Akhundzada Avenue for about 700–800 m — roughly 10 minutes. 5. Look for the big stone building with a shop arcade and wooden doors on the corner above a flight of steps — that is the way in. 6. Carry on down the same avenue for the Lower Caravanserai and the [Juma Mosque](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/sheki/sheki-juma-mosque). ## Upper vs Lower Caravanserai The Lower Caravanserai (Aşağı Karvansaray) stands a couple of hundred metres below the Upper one on the same avenue. It follows the same plan — a rectangle around a big courtyard with a pool, shops along the front — and both are counted among the largest caravanserais recorded in the South Caucasus. For a visitor the difference is simple: the Upper one is alive, with a hotel, a restaurant and a courtyard open in daytime. The Lower one has, unofficially, been closed for restoration for long stretches, and we could not confirm whether it is open now. Look at its façade on your way to the mosque, and step in only if the gate is open. ## Which caravanserai to go into | | Upper (Yuxarı) | Lower (Aşağı) | | --- | --- | --- | | Today | Hotel and restaurant since 1988 | Monument, access not confirmed | | Where | Akhundzada Avenue, nearer the fortress | Same avenue, a few hundred metres lower | | Courtyard | Rectangular, with a pool | Rectangular, with a pool | | Dating | 18th century in most sources | 17th–18th century, sources vary | | Walk in by day | Usually yes, free | Not confirmed | | Time needed | ≈ 30 min | 5–10 min outside | With time for only one, go into the Upper Caravanserai: there is something to see inside, and it is on your way down from the Khan’s Palace. ## Before you go: checklist - [ ] Going in daytime, before evening - [ ] Some manat cash for tea or lunch - [ ] Remember: no going upstairs to the rooms - [ ] Comfortable shoes — the avenue is steep and the gate has steps - [ ] Pairing it with the Khan’s Palace and fortress, 10 minutes uphill ## Historic sites in Sheki compared Every historic site in Sheki that YesGo has rated. - [Upper Caravanserai](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/sheki/sheki-caravanserai) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Courtyard free (unofficial) - [Sheki Fortress](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/sheki/sheki-fortress) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 40 min · Free; museums inside extra - [Gilahli Mosque Minaret](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/sheki/sheki-gilahli-minaret) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 15 min · Free, viewed from outside - [Juma Mosque](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/sheki/sheki-juma-mosque) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free - [Sheki Old Town (Yukhari Bash)](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/sheki/sheki-old-town) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Free; museums on the way charge - [Palace of the Shaki Khans](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/sheki/sheki-khans-palace) — YesGo score 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · 15 AZN for foreigners (unofficial) - [Shakikhanovs' House](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/sheki/shakikhanovs-house) — YesGo score 40/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · 1–10 AZN (iTicket.AZ) - [Round Temple](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/sheki/sheki-round-temple) — YesGo score 40/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free outside; museum fee not published - [Church of Kish](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/sheki/kish-church) — YesGo score 33/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · 15 AZN for foreign visitors - [Galarsan-Gorarsan Fortress](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/sheki/galarsan-gorarsan) — YesGo score 32/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h 30 min · Free, open ruins ## Old Sheki top to bottom in half a day The fortress and the Khan’s Palace at the top, the Shakikhanovs’ House, then down the main street to the caravanserai and the Juma Mosque. 1. [Sheki Fortress](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/sheki/sheki-fortress) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 40 min · Free; museums inside extra 2. [Palace of the Shaki Khans](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/sheki/sheki-khans-palace) — YesGo score 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · 15 AZN for foreigners (unofficial) 3. [Shakikhanovs' House](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/sheki/shakikhanovs-house) — YesGo score 40/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · 1–10 AZN (iTicket.AZ) 4. [Upper Caravanserai](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/sheki/sheki-caravanserai) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Courtyard free (unofficial) 5. [Juma Mosque](https://yesgo.io/azerbaijan/sheki/sheki-juma-mosque) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free > **Shoot it from across the street** The corner gate and the shop arcade photograph best from the opposite pavement while the sun is on the façade. The courtyard is shaded and dim, so come on a bright day if you want pictures inside. ## Don’t confuse it with The Sheki caravanserai is not the Multani or Bukhara caravanserais in Baku’s Old City, and it is not the modern Sheki Palace Hotel on the same avenue. ## Tips - Do Sheki top to bottom: the Khan’s Palace, the fortress, then the caravanserai — downhill is easier, and tea waits at the bottom. - Want the courtyard empty? Stay the night — mornings and evenings are for guests only. - Have lunch in the courtyard restaurant rather than just walking through; it is the best way to take the place in. - Bring manat in cash: many cafés and tea houses in Sheki don’t take cards. - Don’t detour far for the Lower Caravanserai if its gate is shut — you can see the façade from the street in a minute. ## Questions ### Can you visit the Sheki caravanserai if you are not staying there? Yes. In daytime the courtyard is normally open to anyone, free and without booking. The upper gallery with the rooms is for guests only. This is unofficial — the hotel publishes no visitor rules. ### Is the Sheki caravanserai free? There is no ticket — it is a hotel, not a museum. You only pay if you eat or drink in the restaurant or tea house. ### What are the opening hours? There are no official visitor hours. Day visitors are usually let in from around midday until about 19:00; before and after that the courtyard is reserved for guests. ### Can you stay overnight in the caravanserai? Yes. The Upper Caravanserai has been a hotel since 1988, with rooms in the old merchants’ cells around the courtyard. ### How old is the caravanserai in Sheki? Sources disagree. The 18th century is the most common answer, but you will also see 17th and 19th. There is no exact construction date. ### What is the difference between the Upper and Lower Caravanserai? The Upper one is a working hotel with a restaurant and a courtyard open by day. The Lower one is further down the same avenue with a similar plan, but whether it is open to visitors now is not confirmed. ### How long do you need? Half an hour for the gate and courtyard, an hour with lunch. Combined with the Khan’s Palace and the fortress, plan half a day. ### How do you get to the caravanserai from Baku? Bus or minibus from Baku International Bus Terminal to Sheki bus station, about 4.5–5 hours, then a 5–10 minute taxi to M. F. Akhundzada Avenue. ### Is the caravanserai part of the UNESCO site? Yes. Since 2019 it has been part of the World Heritage site “Historic Centre of Sheki with the Khan’s Palace”. ## How we checked The hotel has no official website and publishes no visitor rules, so free courtyard entry and visiting times are unofficial, taken from several guides, and marked as checking. The dating is disputed (17th, 18th or 19th century) — we give the most common answer and the dispute. Wikipedia mixes up room counts and floor area between the Upper and Lower caravanserais (English Wikipedia gives 242 rooms and 8,000 m² for both), so we leave out the area and show rooms as a range. Address: no. 185 per Advantour and Tonkosti Turizma, no. 85 in some listings. Distance to the Khan’s Palace is calculated from coordinates. We could not confirm the current state of the Lower Caravanserai. ## Sources - English Wikipedia: “Upper Caravanserai (Shaki)”, “Ashaghy caravanserai” - Russian Wikipedia: “Верхний караван-сарай”, “Шеки”; Wikidata Q4522517 - UNESCO site description “Historic Centre of Sheki with the Khan’s Palace” — Azerbaijan Tourism Board on Google Arts & Culture - JAMnews — Sheki’s historic centre added to the UNESCO list, 2019 - Advantour — Sheki Karavansaray Hotel: address and history - Tonkosti Turizma — “Caravanserai in Sheki” - Wander-Lush — staying at the Sheki caravanserai, rules for guests and day visitors - OpenStreetMap — coordinates of the caravanserai, the Khan’s Palace and the bus station --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.