Visit Dagestan before it goes mainstream! Unforgettable places are completely deserted and free. We advise what to see in Dagestan and how to get to the sights. Photos with titles and descriptions.
For a week of travels in Dagestan as part of a car expedition #NashKavkaz we drove through almost the entire republic and looked at several dozen sights - both popular and completely unknown. Dagestan amazed us and made us fall in love! There are incredibly beautiful landscapes, the most hospitable people, many wonders and very interesting culture and life of local residents. We decided for sure - we will definitely return to Dagestan: there are still many places left in this region that are worth seeing.
Here we will tell you about the best sights of Dagestan that any tourist can see by car. Most places can be reached by any car. The sights were arranged in the order in which we visited them.
Dagestan attractions map
Lake Kezenoy-Am and the road to it
Lake and landscapes of unearthly beauty - here you can shoot films about other planets. Plush hills, azure water, mirror-like surface and complete silence evoke serenity. The lake is divided between Dagestan and Chechnya. Swimming is prohibited. The road leading to it and further to Dagestan is unusually picturesque. Each turn requires: "Stop, admire, take pictures!"
Where to live. On the coast, which belongs to Chechnya, there is a hotel and a recreation center. Kezenoy-Am is the most famous. Prices - from 2500 rubles for a double room.
How to get there. We drove from Grozny along an asphalt serpentine road. On the territory of Dagestan - dusty, but rolled primer. It is better to start your trip around Dagestan from the lake or end it with it, because there is no accommodation nearby, except on the lake, and the trip will take a whole day.
Khunzakh: fortress, plateau and Tobot waterfall
In Khunzakh there is a plateau, from which a slender and graceful waterfall Tobot breaks down. We didn't think it would be so beautiful: we arrived at sunset, when the cliffs were flooded with golden light. We did not go to the fortress.
Where to live. There are no hotels in Khunzakh and the surrounding area. You can go from Makhachkala or Gunib.
How to get there. We visited the site on the way from Kezenoy-Am lake to Gunib. From the road you need to move to the observation deck - it is marked on the MAPS.ME maps. Find out also about other useful apps for tourists.
Gunib
This village on the Gunib plateau flaunts in the painting by Aivazovsky. The side plateau looks like a truncated cone. The village is divided into Lower Gunib, where life is in full swing, and Upper. Shamil was captured there. Now Upper Gunib is a natural park with a fortress and children's sanatoriums. We advise you to visit the park and go to Mount Mayak (only by off-road vehicle!), From where you can see views of Inner Dagestan. Locals recommend meeting sunrise or sunset on the mountain.
Where to live. An excellent hotel in the village - "White Cranes". Accommodation costs from 1000 rubles per person per night, a good breakfast is included. If you are staying longer than overnight, you can ask for a discount.
How to get there. A steep serpentine leads to the village, so come before dark. To the Upper Gunib you also need to go along the serpentine. You can go by any car, the road is asphalted.
Karadakh gorge
This is "The Lost World" by Conan Doyle: it seems that now a pterodactyl will fly out, and a dinosaur lurking around that corner. Complete silence, except for the rare chirping of birds, rustles in the bushes and the quiet murmur of water. A narrow passage between austere rocks, mysterious light and coolness - and all this is hiding some kilometer from the road.
Where to live. Better to stay in Gunib or in a guest house in Salta.
How to get there. From Gunib, first along the asphalt to the hydroelectric power station, turn left at it. Then - along the unpaved serpentine road for about 20 km. Near the bridge, to the left of the road, there will be a sign to the entrance to the gorge. You can drive any car, but it is better with a high clearance (many holes).
Saltinsky underground waterfall
The entrance to the cave, where the waterfall is located, vaguely resembles the Karadakh gorge: the same mysterious light, coolness, silence, murmur of water, separation from civilization and loneliness. Only now there is no that majesty - but there is intimacy: you feel yourself not as a man crushed by rocks, but as a discoverer.
Where to live. In Gunib or Salta.
How to get there. We drove from Gunib: first on the asphalt, then after the hydroelectric power station to the right onto the dirt road - about 5 km to Salta. You can go by any car. In the village, take it to the right, and you will run into the river bed. There is an entrance - you need to follow the riverbed. In October, the river and waterfall dry up, so you can walk without any problems. But in the summer you will need waterproof shoes. In autumn, the waterfall is scarce, but no less interesting. By the way, in summer they charge a nominal fee for admission.
Chokh and Gamsutl
Chokh is an old alpine village with authentic terraced houses, where the roof of one house adjoins the base of another. Almost every house has a date of construction. Narrow streets, beautiful doors, picturesque poverty. You can go by any car.
Gamsutl is an abandoned ghost village. It merges with the mountain and is not so easy to see from the road. We did not go up to the aul, because we stayed in Chokha and arrived at sunset. Advice: if you live in Gunib, leave early, because the ascent to Gamsutl will take 1-1.5 hours.
Where to live. In Gunib or Chokha - there is an ethno-house for 2,000 rubles a day.
How to get there. From Gunib to Chokh - about 10 km of dirt and asphalt mixed. From Chokh drive towards Sogratl, on the way to the right there will be a turn to Gamsutl. Approximately another 2 km can be traveled by car (SUV only), then on foot up a steep hill.
A tiny, abandoned 10th-century Orthodox church, tucked away in the Resurrection Gorge not far from the road. The path to it is barely noticeable and leads past the dilapidated arch of the stone bridge.
How to get there. The most convenient way is from Gunib along a good asphalt road.
