NABRAN

Nabran is a popular resort and municipality in Khachmaz Region of Azerbaijan, close to the Russia-Azerbaijan border.It has a population of 1,313. The municipality consists of the villages of Nabran, Dalğalı, Turist, Meşəli, Günəşli, Samurçay, and Şimal. Nabran is the largest recreational region within the Khachmaz Rayon.

The village was founded by Russian colonists in 1900. The village’s name presumably originated from the Russian word “nabirat’” (recruit). The Russian Emperor ordered to recruit people to this village to fish sturgeons for imperial cuisine. This is how the name of that settlement originated. Fishery was the main kind of activity of its residents up to the 70-s of the XX centuries.

On a 3-hour drive from the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, Nabran is located on the Caspian seashore in a subtropical forestland. Nabran is a settlement that spreads for several kilometers. Houses, hotels, entertainment facilities and restaurants are located along the left side and the beach is on the right side of the road that runs along the shoreline for over 30 kilometers.

The village Nabran is located in a northeast part of Azerbaijan on the bank of Caspian Sea and surrounded by beautiful forest. Nabran is a settlement which is famous for its resort zone, and, not only in Azerbaijan, but also in the vast territory of all former Soviet Union. First of all, tourists are attracted by the climate, which here throughout the whole year is moderate: it is dry and warm in summer, and wet in winter, but it is not especially frosty. The local population is favorable disposed to visitors. You will be always paid attention, provided with comfortable habitation, informed about all local sights, and in case of necessity also rendered help. Tourists come to us from every corner of the globe as we have a set of various tourist bases, complexes and rest zones. In Nabran people of the most different age can perfectly have a rest. Elderly will find here calmness, a pacification and a cosiness; children will have fun, the blessing for this purpose is all necessary conditions; for youth it is not boring, because there are numerous discos, disco-bars. Nearby to the settlement there are also swimming pools, an aquapark with attractions, and the big sports complex. All listed recreational activities, day and night will not let you be bored.

The forested area which is immediately intertwined with the sandy beach is rich with unique trees particular to this area.In the background, the forests merge with Mount Shahdagh of Greater Caucasus Mountain range. Due to absence of manufacturing industry and low population density, the sea water is clean compared to heavily industrialized Absheron Peninsula. Nabran area is rich with clean drinking water flowing from Mount Shahdagh. In the early 1900s, at Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev's initiative, a project was started with an intention to pump the clean drinking water from the area to Baku. The pipe would start from Shollar village and travel south to Hacı Zeynalabdin village (formerly known as "Nasosnaya" meaning pumping station in Russian) in the vicinity of Baku where it would be pumped to the higher ground on which Baku is located. The project was completed in 1917.

The township itself is located in the midst of a beautiful wood with elm trees and beeches, as well as very old oaks growing there. The woods are inhabited with various animals and birds: raccoons, boars, deers, hares, jay birds, owls and other interesting representatives of fauna. One of the main advantages of this resort is not only its natural and geographic conditions but also the fact that Nabran’ is rich with reserves of hydrosulphuric underground sources which are an efficient means to treat many diseases. These sources form a belt of wetlands which separates the village from a beach.

Nabran is rich with many recreation facilities offering a wide variety of services from upscale accommodations, athletic activities, children camps to music entertainment. Most of the accommodations are 2-story cottages or town houses. The variety of tourists includes domestic visitors, tourists from Russia and expats working in the capital Baku. Throughout the history of the area, Nabran served as the resort for oil workers of State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic. The company still has two tourist hostels. In 2009, Nabran tourism expansion project was started in order to create more facilities for increasing tourism in the area. A planned amount for the project is $110 million.

Today, it is a large resort zone occupied by hotels, boarding houses and private cottages. Tourists from all over the world come there since it is one of the places where they can vary their rest. Nabran’ has all the conditions for holiday-makers of any age to have excellent pastime. There are also entertainment centers for children, numerous disco-bars for the youth as well as cozy and quiet boarding houses for elder generation. In addition, not far from the village there is Aqua Park and sports complex, while the vicinity to the Caspian Sea and moderate climate, which holds almost the whole year, make this resort zone be one of the most visited places in Azerbaijan.