Khankendi: Karabakh’s Largest City Is Waking Up
This Is the Moment to See It
The switchback road from Shusha to Khankendi descends 14 kilometres. The mountains do not leave — they simply change their angle. And when the road levels out and the valley of the Karkar River opens below you with the city in it, something shifts in how you understand the Karabakh route: this is a different scale. Where Shusha is a fortress city on a plateau — historic, intimate, cultural — Khankendi is the administrative centre of the entire region. Different streets. Different density. Different phase. Shusha has been restored. Khankendi is being restored. Right now. Right in front of you. Karavan Rent A Car in Baku — Azerbaijan’s flagship car rental company, founder of the ACRA Car Rental Association, ISO 9001 / 14001 / 45001 certified — has compiled the first comprehensive self-drive guide to Khankendi.
Table of Contents
- The city: what to understand before arriving
- Victory Square: the centre of the new Khankendi
- The Congress Centre and the XVII ECO Summit
- The scale of restoration: what is being built right now
- Why to come now specifically
- Practical: how to get there, where to stay
The city: what to understand before arriving
“Khankendi” means “the khan’s village” in Turkic — a name from the Karabakh Khanate of the 18th century, a settlement on the left bank of the Karkar River, surrounded by the ridges of the Karabakh mountain range.
The city came under Azerbaijani control on 29 September 2023, following the military operation of 19–20 September. On 15 October 2023, Azerbaijan’s president visited and raised the tricolour flag. On 8 November 2023, a Victory Day parade took place on the main square.
Today approximately 14,740 people live in the city. The master plan is being developed by Chapman Taylor — one of the world’s leading architectural and urban planning firms. That choice of firm reflects the ambition of the project.
A layer of history worth carrying: the city has a complex, multi-layered history — in the Soviet period it bore a different name and served as the administrative centre of a disputed territory for decades. This history is real and is not resolved by a tourist guide. Arriving with an understanding of that complexity is the right way to arrive.
Victory Square: the centre of the new Khankendi
Zəfər meydanı — Victory Square. The former Renaissance Square, which during the Soviet period was the main square of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, and later the centre of the unrecognised republic. Today: an Azerbaijani flag, the new Congress Centre and construction work that is not yet finished.
The architectural centrepiece of the square is the former regional Communist Party committee building from the 1960s — monumental Soviet architecture in a mountain city. Around it, the new life of the square is taking shape.
On 8 November 2023, a Victory Day parade was held here. This is a place that has witnessed a great deal — and is now witnessing something entirely new.
The Congress Centre and the XVII ECO Summit
Construction of the Congress Centre began on 5 July 2024. It opened on 3 July 2025 — exactly one year later.
On 3–4 July 2025, the XVII Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organisation was held there. The first international forum of this scale in the history of Khankendi. Heads of state of ECO member countries in a city that two years earlier had been closed to outside visitors.
This is not simply an infrastructure fact. It is a signal about the direction the city is moving — and the pace at which it is moving there.
The scale of restoration: what is being built right now
Khankendi is not the restoration of individual buildings. It is the reconstruction of a city — in its entirety. A scale that registers physically when you stand in the middle of a street: construction equipment, new facades beside old ones, asphalt being laid as you watch.
- Power grid. Since early 2025, a ring power supply scheme is being constructed, combining two 110-kV substations and 35-kV distribution networks covering the nearby city of Khojaly. Urban infrastructure you do not see — but without which nothing else exists.
- Residential quarters. Large-scale reconstruction across the residential sector. Social and administrative buildings restored.
- Victory Museum and Cultural Centre. Construction underway. This will be the anchor cultural institution of the new Khankendi.
- Chapman Taylor masterplan. One of the world’s leading international architectural firms is designing the city’s future form. Long-term work — already in progress.
- Public transport. From February 2026: bus service Sumgayit — Khojaly — Khankendi — Shusha — Lachin. Ten electric buses by BakuBus, three routes, 62 stops. Cashless payment only — a modern standard from day one.
| Development | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer under Azerbaijani control | Completed | 29 September 2023 |
| Palace Hotel | Open | 5 July 2024 |
| Congress Centre (construction start) | Begun | 5 July 2024 |
| Hotel Bulud | Open | 19 February 2025 |
| Congress Centre | Open | 3 July 2025 |
| XVII ECO Summit in Khankendi | Held | 3–4 July 2025 |
| Open to foreign tourists | Open | 23 July 2025 |
| Bus route Sumgayit — Khankendi — Shusha | Launched | February 2026 |
| Victory Museum and Cultural Centre | Under construction | — |
Why to come now specifically
In five years, Khankendi will be a different city. With a completed Victory Museum, a functioning cultural centre, developed tourist routes and a full hospitality infrastructure. This will happen — the pace of work makes that clear.
But what can be seen now will not exist in the same form again. A city in the moment of its return. Victory Square where the concrete still carries the smell of recent work. Construction cranes beside the first opened hotels. People rebuilding lives in a city that was closed to them for thirty years.
This is not a tourist attraction. This is living history.
From Karavan Rent A Car in Baku: clients who included Khankendi in the Karabakh route spoke about this city differently from how they spoke about Shusha or Lachin. Not “beautiful” or “impressive” — but “understood the scale.” That word — scale — was the one that came up most consistently.
Practical: how to get there, where to stay
From Shusha. 14 km of switchback road, 20–25 minutes. This is the primary route for most visitors — Shusha as the first-day base, Khankendi as a morning departure on day two. The road is mountain driving: if you are navigating it for the first time, take the descent carefully.
From Baku directly. Via Fuzuli — Shusha — Khankendi: approximately 410 + 14 km, 5–5.5 hours total. Logistically, Shusha on day one and Khankendi on day two morning is the natural structure.
Where to stay. Palace Hotel — opened 5 July 2024, a restored and renovated building in the city. Hotel Bulud — opened 19 February 2025. Both in the city, both operating. For those wanting to spend a night in Khankendi rather than just half a day, options exist.
How much time. Half a day minimum — Victory Square, the Congress Centre, a walk through the recovering centre. If you want to feel the city rather than simply mark it visited — allow a full day.
Vehicle. The Shusha–Khankendi switchback requires attention. A crossover is more comfortable than a sedan — particularly on the descent where the road narrows and the gradient is significant. Karavan Rent A Car in Baku operates unlimited mileage across all of Azerbaijan including Khankendi.
Khankendi in the Karabakh series: how to connect the cities
Khankendi naturally belongs on day two of the Karabakh circuit — after Shusha. Day itinerary: Shusha → Khankendi (morning, half a day) → Aghdam (55 km from Shusha, afternoon) → return to Shusha or departure toward Lachin.
Three cities, one day: the cultural capital, the administrative centre, the ghost city. Three entirely different dimensions of what Karabakh was and what it is becoming.
The yolumuzqarabaga.az permit covers the full route including Khankendi. Complete permit guide: How to Get to Karabakh by Rental Car.
FAQ
Is a separate permit required for Khankendi?
No. The yolumuzqarabaga.az permit covers the complete Karabakh route. Khankendi is within the liberated territories — no separate registration is required.
Is it safe to walk through the city centre?
The city centre — Victory Square, the main streets — is safe. Stay in urban areas and do not drive on unmarked tracks outside the city: demining operations continue in surrounding areas.
Are there restaurants and cafés in Khankendi?
The city’s hospitality infrastructure is developing. Cafés are operating, and hotel restaurants are open. Do not expect the range of Baku — this is the beginning, not the destination.
Conclusion
There are cities you look at — and cities you feel. Khankendi right now is the second kind. You arrive and understand that this is not simply another point on the Karabakh route. It is its heart. The largest city in the region, returning. And that return is happening faster and at a larger scale than most expected.
To come here now is to see something that will become history in a few years. Not ruins and not a finished tourist product — the living moment between the two.
Book your car at karavan.az and include Khankendi in day two of the Karabakh circuit. As founders of the Azerbaijan Car Rental Association ACRA and holders of ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 certification, we have one standard: the client arrives prepared and leaves without surprises.
The complete Karabakh series in our Travelers Club: Shusha, Aghdam, Fuzuli, Lachin and Khankendi — five cities, five characters, one route.
