Is there a region in Russia that is more stereotyped than Dagestan? Is it dangerous there? If you believe the media, a militant is hiding in every house in the republic. We were not scared and decided to check. We are talking about our trip to Dagestan by car.
In Dagestan - all the most-the most in the Caucasus. The most multinational republic, the most diverse nature, the most delicious cuisine, the kindest traffic cops and the most hospitable people.
Security in Dagestan
In Dagestan, we felt safer than in our hometown. Yes, here strangers on the street can pounce ... to feed and help. If you are invited to visit and eat, save yourself: they will feed you and invite you to spend the night, and afterwards they will give you food with you. The guest is sacred.
Quite a lot of traffic police posts. They stop to register and check documents, and also ask if everything is in order, if help is needed and if someone is offended. You can contact the police officers with any questions: where to buy good gasoline or how to get to the sights.
Cows and dashing drivers are really dangerous in Dagestan. Beware of the first on the mountain serpentines - they suddenly appear in the middle of the road because of the turn or can run in front of the car in a fit of madness. Avoid the latter in the area of Makhachkala - kamikazes in the oncoming traffic strive to overtake as many cars as possible and do not return to their lane until the last. In mountainous Dagestan, drivers are calmer.
Advice. Yet Dagestan is not entirely safe. In the media, stories are still slipping about the liquidated militants and attacks on traffic police posts. Follow the news!
Mentality
Where are the most open and hospitable people in Russia? In Dagestan. Here, ordinary tourism turns into ethnographic. You just asked the locals for something, and you are already sitting at the set table, listening to life, getting to know family members and looking at photographs. Residents of mountain villages are so sincerely glad to see you that you need to have a cold heart to refuse an invitation.
According to the owner of our hotel, Zemfira, all Dagestani women have a powerful maternal instinct, so they strive to feed, drink and put everyone to sleep.
When traveling around the world, we are used to giving up help and communication, because 99.99% of them are helpers. They will definitely bring them to a store or hotel that pays them a commission, or ask for money for services. We are shot sparrows, and we are not fond of the bait, so we hardly communicate with the locals. This habit is useless in Dagestan: here you NEED to communicate, otherwise all the charm of travel will be lost - it will be just another hunt for beautiful sights.
During a trip to Dagestan, we did not meet a single person who would want to benefit from communicating with us. What was the case when in the mountains we were looking for an unknown cave! It all started with the banal desire of local residents to show us the way, and ended with the fact that two auls, together with the village administration, helped us in our search, and the locals almost quarreled over the right to receive us as guests at home.
Where to live
Unlike Ingushetia, there are many hotels here. Most of the options are in large cities: Makhachkala, Izberbash and Derbent. There are guest houses even in small villages - for example, in the villages of Chokh, Salta, Kubachi. This is convenient because you don't have to go back to one point all the time. Even if there is no hotel, you can ask to spend the night with the locals - no one will refuse. We did not try, but we were constantly offered an overnight stay.
Accommodation prices are reasonable, in Makhachkala and Derbent - from 1000-1200 rubles for a double room. It is convenient to search for hotels and guest houses on Hotellook.com.
This is where we lived:
- Derbent - hotel "Arbat" 4 * in the city center. 1500 rubles per room. Quite convenient entry and exit from the city, has its own inexpensive restaurant.
- Gunib - hotel "White Cranes". 2000 rubles for 2 rooms for three people. Included are devastatingly delicious breakfasts prepared by the hostess Zemfira. Perhaps, of all the numerous hotels in Russia where we have lived, this is the best one in terms of price-quality ratio. We highly recommend it!
The village of Chokh now has a remarkable ethno-house. A local enthusiast restored the dilapidated house and turned it into a museum hotel. The number starts at 2,000 rubles.
Find out 10 ways to book hotels cheaper.
National cuisine
We tried a little of national dishes:
- Khinkal Is a dough boiled in steam or in water, which is served with meat and strong meat broth, as well as sauce. Unusually satisfying and tasty. Price - from 250 rubles.
- Urbech - nut butter, to taste like liquid halva. It is sometimes made from seeds, such as sesame seeds.
- Miracle - cakes or pies with filling. They are thin and thick. From 100 to 250 rubles, depending on the type.
Meat soups and kurze are also popular - like our dumplings. Well, everywhere there is traditional barbecue, kebab, pilaf, lagman. From sweet we recommend almond shekerpare and baklava - you will lick your fingers!
Attractions Map
What to see
When we started looking for what to see while traveling in Dagestan, we were overwhelmed by an avalanche of information. There are so many unusual and diverse places in the republic! We will tell only about the main and most interesting ones that we visited.
Khunzakh plateau + fortress + Tobot waterfall... A wide plateau at 1700-2000 m above sea level, from which the graceful waterfall Tobot breaks down. Especially beautiful at sunset.
Gunib... Take a walk in the park "Upper Gunib" and visit the fortress, climb Mount Mayak. The lighthouse offers amazing views - the locals advise to meet the sunrise or sunset there.
Underground Saltinsky waterfall. Amazing place: first you will walk along a gorge that will lead you to a cave. There is a hole in the ceiling of the cave, from where the waterfall falls. In summer it is full-flowing, and in some places you will have to walk on water. We were in October when almost everything was dry.
Karadakh gorge. Here you get the feeling that you are in a lost world. Only birds, mountains and silence. You can get there from the Khunzakh plateau or from Gunib. From Gunib - first along the asphalt, then about 20 km along the dirt road across the pass.
Abandoned auls. Gamsutl, Goor, Koroda are vivid representatives of typical dilapidated mountain villages of Dagestan.
Sulak canyon. They write that it is more beautiful than the Grand Canyon in the United States. Well I do not know. The best view is from the observation platforms in the village of Dubki.
Samur liana forest. It is quiet, cool and calm here, but the road to the reserve is dead. Locals advised to come to Samur - there are the most beautiful vines.
Derbent. There are many interesting things in the Old Town: an ancient mosque, a fortress, museums, winding streets. Linen is being dried in courtyards and side streets, cats are squinting on the doorsteps, and ripe pomegranates and persimmons hang heavily from tree branches. Derbent is the oldest city in Russia, the first settlements appeared here more than 5000 years ago.
Dune Sarykum. An amazing pile of sand in the middle of the steppes. How was the dune formed? Why isn't it moving? Scientists do not yet have clear answers. There is a special microclimate and many animals listed in the Red Book, although it looks lifeless. Nearby is a picturesque abandoned railway station.
Check out our full overview of the sights of Dagestan with photos, descriptions of places and useful information.
