Seeing as I was in western Azerbaijan, and with a bit of time on my hands to kill, I opted to check out the village of Qax (said Gakh). Being only an hour or so from either Zaqatala or Sheki, it makes for a pretty good break in the journey.However, upon arrival in Qax, disappointment set in. Although Qax is a pleasant and tranquil
provincial town, it ranks about a -6.2 on the "oh, this is nice" scale. Logistically speaking, it's a pain. Like other "cities" in the area, the train station is about a million miles from the city centre. At least the bus station is right in the middle of everything. But "everything" is an exaggeration. The hotels were overpriced. Restaurants were hard to find. An sights were lacking. There are a couple of well 
manicured parks in the centre. They can be a good area to people watch, although they are equally likely to watch you, as they don't get many tourists around here. In the centre, there is a Georgian Orthodox Church to check out. And if you go around sunset, you can watch all the swallow dive-bombing for mosquitoes. There are a few other ruins in the outskirts of town, but that's not why you come to Qax. It is instead to use it as a base to explore other villages in the area. In the villages of Saribash and Dzhalai, local women weave original carpets. Lekit, Qum and Termechi villages all have ruins of one sort or another. But i only had time to visit Ilisu.
From the station a bus (every hour or so) will bring you to the village of Ilisu. It is located amid dense
woods at the foot of the Caucasus mountains, under Mt. Ahvay, not far from the border with Dagestan (Russian Federation). The road itself is very scenic both for the landscape and for a 16th century bridge 2km out of the village itself. Ilisu is a small place, built around a single street who still remembers its glory days when it was the capital of an autonomous Khanate coveted by Russia. The old stone houses have stood the test of time and are nice to wander among. However, being set off the "main" street, i found Ilisu surprisingly noisy. Clearly, there is new construction going on here. It is a favourite getaway for locals trying to escape the heat in
Qax. There are several restaurants advertising real Ilisu food, although i couldn't tell the difference. the end of town does open up into a sprawling valley (title picture), supporting a trickling river. It is common for locals to bathe here. Further up valley a 4X4 tour could bring you to SariBash (a smaller village) or 'Hamam istisu' a natural "hot spring". But disappointed with the whole trip, i packed it in and headed back to Qax, where i connected to Sheki the next morning.