My close friends still believe that sunny Dagestan is a difficult region for independent travelers. However, its main difficulty is that, having come here for the first time, you, like us, will be planning your next trip!
In this natural museum you want to photograph every centimeter and touch every exhibit with your hands. Let’s take a closer look.
Road
We arrived at the main airport of the Uytash Republic named after twice Hero of the Soviet Union Amet-Khan Sultan. From the airport to the center of the capital, Makhachkala, only 20 km. But our journey took all of 8 hours, since upon arrival we immediately went to the quarry, or rather to the Sulak Canyon and the second largest dune in the world, Sarykum.
I definitely recommend hiring a guide in Dagestan! You can, of course, plot your own route on the map, but only a knowledgeable person can tell you where the sun sets in the gorge, from which point the ghost village of Gamsutl is best visible, and how to avoid the landslide on the road. Mountain roads are difficult. And, despite our rich experience of independent travel around the world, in Dagestan we trusted Murad.
Our guide
Subscribers wished me to go to a tasting of local wine/cognac. My plan was to create an unusual route around the republic. My son’s goal is to get to the unique ekranoplane “Lun”. Given: within three days.
Dagestan is a place where everything is on a grand scale. Nature, people, portions in a cafe. At an adequate price, by the way.
Judge for yourself:
- The Sulak Canyon in Dagestan is deeper than the Grand Canyon in the USA;
- Derbent is the most ancient city in Russia, one of the oldest “living” cities in the world;
- Sarykum Barkhan is the highest in Eurasia and the second in the world;
- Dagestan has the longest road tunnel in Russia (4 km 300 meters);
- The only liana forest in Russia is Samursky;
- The village of Kurush is the highest in Europe, 2560 meters;
- Tabasaran language is the most complex, it has 46 cases;
- The port of Makhachkala is the only ice-free Russian port of the Caspian Sea;
- And Dagestani Sakinat Khanapieva, 75 years old, is the strongest grandmother in the world.
We had three days to get to know the region
Day 1
Barkhan Sarykum. The only desert in Russia. Height – according to various sources, from 244 to 262 meters. The origin of the dune is a mystery. Alexandre Dumas the father was the first to mention him. “White Sun of the Desert” was filmed here, Said was buried in 70° sand and Abdullah’s harem was saved.
Admission 50 rubles for adults/25 rubles for schoolchildren*.
Sulak Canyon. Its depth reaches 1920 meters and its length is 53 kilometers. Eagles overhead, below are point-boats that take tourists along the turquoise water of the canyon.
Features of the first day: while there is a food point on the dune, there is not on the canyon. Nearby is the settlement of Dubki. There you can find cafes and small shops.
Day 2
Walk around Makhachkala. OneTwoTrip put us up in a hotel in the very center of the city, and we decided to spend the day in the capital of the republic. We visited the market, the embankment, and walked around the main squares of the city. Makhachkala is famous for its modern, bright, delicious coffee shops and we planned to visit all that were recommended, but… failed.
Photo: Elena Odareeva/Shutterstock.com
We visited Dagestan during the Muslim fast of Ramadan, and this year most cafes were closed until iftar, that is, six o’clock in the evening.
Only in the evening I was able to try the calling card of local baristas – coffee with urbech.
Urbech is prepared from seeds, fruit seeds and nuts. It is made without heat treatment, flavors, dyes, or flavor enhancers. Honey, Jerusalem artichoke or maple syrup are used as a sweetener.
Day 3
Irganay reservoir
Karadakh Gorge, ghost village Gamsutl. The path when it seemed like now was the time to turn back!
On the way to the reservoir there was a landslide in front of us. I warned you that mountain roads are dangerous. And glory to our guide-driver Murad!
The gorge in its natural power is revealed only to those who have reached the end. Imagine: a narrow passage washed with water, and boulders hanging over you.
The ghost village of Gamsutl became a popular place after the death of the last resident in 2015. You can drive part of the way in a UAZ (200 rubles per person), but you have to go up 1.5 km, and eagles nest nearby. You walk and think, after all, the residents of this village walked the same road every day to work, the children to school. Did they have such shortness of breath?
Derbent
Officially the city is 2000 years old, but it was mentioned for the first time in the 6th century BC.
In Derbent, be sure to take excursions to the Naryn-Kala fortress and the Derbent wine company. It was there that I was able to complete a task from subscribers: to attend a tasting of local alcoholic products. Worthy!
The company is only 3 years old, and employees enthusiastically talk about all the details of the production of Dagestan prosecco. No irony here. The consulting technologists are Italians, who recognized that climatic conditions for vineyards in Dagestan are very similar to Italian places.
You need to spend at least 2-3 days for Derbent.
In summer people swim here in the Caspian Sea. The beaches are clean. There are comfortable ones, there are wild ones.
Ekranoplan “Lun” is located 20 km from Derbent. This is a unique military project from the times of the USSR. It is freely accessible right on the Caspian beach.
Photo: Vladimir Zhoga/Shutterstock.com
And also in Derbent, thanks to participation in the “Kudablin” project, I fulfilled my dream – I bought a national sumac carpet.
Dagestan is still not the most popular place among our tourists. Thanks to OneTwoTrip, we have a real chance to visit alone in those places where in 2-3 years crowds of travelers will trample the roads. I’m glad that my subscribers chose this direction as part of the “Cudablin” project!
Text: Tatyana Gritsenko
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