Khinalug

the village in Azerbaijan

Khinalug or Khinalyg (; Khinalug: Kətş), is a municipality and an ancient Caucasian village with origins dating back to the Caucasian Albanian period. It is located high up in the mountains of Quba District, Azerbaijan. The municipality of Khinalug is part of the Quba District and consists of the villages of Khinalug and Galaykhudat. The village was included in the Cultural Landscape of Khinalig People and "Köç Yolu" Transhumance Route UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2023.

Khinalug is located just south west of Quba in the middle of the Greater Caucasus mountains that divide the Northern Caucasus in Russia from the South Caucasus. Khinalug is also the highest, most remote and isolated village in Azerbaijan and among the highest in the Caucasus. The weather changes dramatically during summer and winter, ranging from −20 °C to 18 °C. Khinalug has a population of about 2,000 people. This small group of people speaks the Khinalug language, which is an isolate within the Northeast Caucasian language family, although many speak Azerbaijani as well.

On 7 October 2006, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, announced plans to modernise the educational buildings, infrastructure, governmental buildings and other resources of Khinalug. In 2007 Aliyev established Khinalug State historical architectural and ethnographic reserve by presidential decree, to preserve the unique appearance, language and customs of the village. Khinalug was included on the World Monuments Fund's 2008 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites due to concern over the building of a road between Khinalug and Guba. The listing is not intended to criticise potential tourist and commercial activity in Khinalug, rather it is intended as a warning that new development should not come at the cost of the site's essential, historic character. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism restored the roofs of nearly a hundred homes in Khinaluq in 2011, and the 9th century mosque was restored in 2012–2014.

'Columns supporting roofs are seen in the centre of local houses. They have no furniture. However, there are plenty of pillows, blankets, and mutakkah (long oblong shaped pillows), as well as large and small sized mattresses. They don't have tables and by custom, the inhabitants sit on the floor.

Cultural Landscape of Khinalig People and "Köç Yolu" Transhumance Route were added to the UNESCO World Heritage sites list in September 2023.