Cultural Landscape of Khinalig People and “Köç Yolu” Transhumance Route World Heritage Site

Official name

Cultural Landscape of Khinalig People and “Köç Yolu” Transhumance Route | UNESCO

Country

Azerbaijan | Map

Continent

Asia

Location

40.7059° Lat, 48.8854° Lon | Map

Code

1696

Time Zone

Asia/Baku (+04, +0400)

Current Time

Category

Cultural

Description

Inscribed 2023. This cultural landscape is comprised of the high-mountain Khinalig village in northern Azerbaijan, high-altitude summer pastures and agricultural terraces in the Greater Caucasus Mountains, winter pastures in the lowland plains in central Azerbaijan, and the connecting 200-kilometre-long seasonal transhumance route called Köç Yolu (“Migration Route”). The village of Khinalig is home to the semi-nomadic Khinalig people, whose culture and lifestyle are defined by the seasonal migration between summer and winter pastures, and who retain the ancient way of long-distance vertical transhumance. The organically evolved network including ancient routes, temporary pastures and camping sites, mausoleums, and mosques illustrates a sustainable eco-social system adapted to extreme environmental conditions.