Nagorno-Karabakh

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Applications-office.png This article is a stub. This means that the information available to us is obviously insufficient. In these places little information is available or the description is severely outdated. If you have been there, whether hitchhiking, for travel or as part of an organized tour − be sure to extend this article!


The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR; Armenian: Լեռնային Ղարաբաղի Հանրապետություն Lernayin Gharabaghi Hanrapetut’yun), or Artsakh Republic (Armenian: Արցախի Հանրապետություն Arts'akhi Hanrapetut’yun) is a de facto independent republic located in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of the South Caucasus. It controls most of the territory of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast and several Azerbaijani districts adjacent to the borders of Azerbaijan with Armenia to the west and Iran to the south.

Officially, it is Azerbaijani territory but Armenia kind of sees it as part of their country, and probably around 99% of the people living here are from Armenian origin.

Cities

Safety

If you stick to the roads and don't venture too close to the borders with Azerbaijan (these are not marked), Nagorno-Karabakh is a very safe place. People tend to be very friendly and open towards foreigners. As in other parts of the ex-Soviet Union, basic understanding of Russian will be a big plus in Karabakh as well.

Hitchhiking

Hitchhiking in Nagorno-Karabakh might even be easier than in Armenia. People will stop very quickly for you, especially when they see you're a foreigner. In Karabakh too, hitchhiking is pretty common among the locals - so be sure to tell your driver you have no money if you're not planning to pay - usually it is no problem at all. Be aware of the fact that the amount of traffic in Karabakh can be very low. When going to Stepanakert from Armenia or vice versa there is only one road leading there (it starts near Goris). Expect on this road maybe one car per 10 or 15 minutes - when travelling between Karabakhian cities this will surely be even less. Usually, the cars you see passing by will be full. But when there is a car with some empty space changes are more than 90% that they will stop for you!