Mountain Life
Sheep, wool and the ancient path of the moving flocks.
Life by the laws of the mountains
Life in Khinalug has always obeyed the mountains and the flocks. The chief occupation here is sheep herding. Sheep give meat, milk and wool, and wool is warmth: from it people felt and knit, make rugs, socks and warm chukhas, without which the high-mountain winter cannot be survived.
Warmth made by hand
The working of wool in Khinalug is a whole art, long mastered by the women. The wool is washed, beaten, spun and turned into thread, rugs and clothing. Behind this unhurried work lie centuries of skill: every thread holds the warmth of the mountains and the labour of many generations.
The ancient path of migration
The heart of the Khinalug way of life is transhumance. In summer the flocks graze on the high mountain meadows right by the village, and for winter they are driven down to the warm lowland pastures, and in spring brought back up to the mountains. This ancient route — 'Köç Yolu' — has for centuries linked the high country with the plain, and is recognised as part of the World Heritage.
Here the year is measured not by the calendar but by the path of the flocks: up to the summer meadows, down to the winter plains.