The Yeddi Gozel waterfall, the Seven Beauties of Quba: what it really is, what the walk through the Gachrash forest is like, when it has water and what else to do in Quba

South of Quba, where the apple orchards end and the forest begins, the road climbs the Qudialchay valley to Gachrash, an area of kebab restaurants under the trees where the people of Quba go at weekends, and from there a path enters a narrow gorge between beech trees to Yeddi Gozel, the Seven Beauties, a waterfall that drops down the rock in seven steps, none of them large, in a corner of shade, moss and icy water. It is best said from the start: it is not a spectacular waterfall, it is a pretty walk through the forest with a waterfall at the end, and as such it is worth it, above all in May and June, when the snowmelt fills it. This guide tells what it is like, when to go, what to bring, how to get there and what else there is in Quba, which is a lot.

What it is like

The water comes down from the slopes of the Greater Caucasus in a stream which, on entering the gorge, falls in seven stone steps, two to five metres each, separated by small pools and passages between rocks; the people of Quba gave it the name for the seven drops and for the local legend of seven sisters, which everyone tells their own way. The gorge is narrow and damp, with beech and hornbeam closing off the sky, ferns, moss on the stones and a green light, and the noise of the water drowns out the restaurants; in spring, with the snowmelt, the flow doubles and the steps become a real waterfall, and by late summer a thread of water is left on the rock. The pools are ten-degree water, and the locals get in; it is a thirty-second swim.

The trail

From the car park of the Gachrash restaurants the path follows the stream up the gorge for half an hour, on a track of earth and stones with stretches of wooden steps and walkways, wet and slippery at the crossings by the water; nothing special is needed beyond closed shoes with grip, and children do it without trouble. The first step of the waterfall is reached in half an hour, and carrying on to the upper ones means a little scrambling on the rock, which not everyone does and which is best avoided when the water is high. Between going, swimming and coming back it is two hours, and afterwards there is kebab under the trees at Gachrash, which is the second half of the plan.

When to go and what to bring

May to June is the best time, with the meltwater and the forest freshly green; in July and August there is less water, more people and the swim is the point; in October the beech wood turns orange and the waterfall has water again with the rains; in winter the path ices over and it is not worth it. Bring closed shoes, a layer for the damp of the gorge, a swimsuit if you mean to get in, water and something to eat, even though there are restaurants below, and cash in case they charge for parking or access in season. On weekday mornings there is nobody; on summer weekends, whole families.

How to get there and what else to do in Quba

Quba is 170 km north of Baku, two and a half hours on the motorway, with buses from Baku's international bus station; from Quba you go up to Gachrash by taxi in twenty minutes, asking it to wait or returning with one of those at the restaurants, or by your own car on a paved road. It is Quba's half-day outing, and Quba deserves two days: Qırmızı Qəsəbə, the village of the Mountain Jews across the river, the Juma mosque and the bazaar, the Tengi gorge with the Afurja waterfall, the tallest in the country, and Khinalig, the village at 2,300 metres at the end of the road, for the second day. Anyone going on west to Gabala and the mountain of Tufandag has 200 km on the Shamakhi road, which is another day of travel.

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