Qakh is the capital of the Qakh District in the north of Azerbaijan, near the Russian border. The Qakh region of Azerbaijan has a long history dating back to ancient times. Archeological excavations suggest the area had been populated during Eneolithic, Bronze and early Iron Ages. What remains of these early inhabitants' activities indicates they engaged largely in sedentary cultivation, animal-breeding and art. According to historians, the territory of Qakh was a part of the Scythian Kingdom in the 7th century B.C.

Culture and Tourism Department of the district was organized in 1949 as the Department of Culture. The first head of the department was Hajiyev Abdurakhman. In 2006, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism was established on the basis of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev dated 30 January 2006. At present the network of the Department of Culture and Tourism has 96 enterprises and 1 monument guards. 49 libraries, 23 culture houses, 17 clubs, Heydar Aliyev Center, 2 museums (History Linguistics Museum, I. Dagestani memorial museum), Ilisu Historical Culture Reserve, Painting Gallery and Art School, totally 506 employees.

There are two hotels in the region, a recreation and treatment center 'Shafa', Ilisu boarding house, 'Green park', 'Ulu', 'Improteks', 'Ulu mountain' tourism and leisure centers and 'Eden' Park hotel, 'Sanjar Qala' recreation center, 'El Resort' five star hotel serves tourists. The prices in tourism centers range from £25 to £55[. The number of places in tourism facilities has reached 600. If in 2011 about 15 thousand tourists had rest, in 2012 this figure was about 20 thousand.

All road transport is available in the city. There are daily buses heading to Qakh from the Baku International bus station and it takes six hours of traveling. Taxis are available both at the bus station and as a general means of driving. Trains can also be taken to Qakh from Baku's central railway station. There is a daily working bus which drives from Qakh city to Ilisu, village and municipality in Qakh region. Roads to some inner villages are not available without offroad cars.