high mountains and legendary people

September 06 ⇾ SEPTEMBER 13

In addition to our regular group departures to Dagestan, we also offer tour services for private travel parties and lone wolves alike. As a traveller-oriented boutique operator, tailored trips and bespoke adventures are our bread and butter. Get in touch for more info on our customised journeys to Dagestan! 

DAY 1 - Makhachkala

  • Meet-and-greet at Makhachkala International Airport and introductory briefing about the region, the content of the tour, and the practical nuances of travelling around Dagestan.

  • Makhachkala City Tour: Lenin's Square, Central Bazaar, City Beach, Grand Mosque, Drama Theater, National Museum, WWII Memorial, Kumyk Theatre and a vast array of architectonically striking Soviet-era buildings, monuments, and mosaics.

  • Overnight in Makhachkala.

DAY 2 to DAY 5 - Dagestani Mountains

  • Early-morning scenic drive towards the once-inaccessible central mountain districts, heartland of Dagestan’s indigenous people.

  • We’ll spend four days touring traditional mountain villages (auls), ancient ruins, crumbling mosques, Soviet monuments, natural wonders and breathtaking landscapes.

  • The long list of remote Dagestani settlements we’ll visit during our sojourn in the highlands will include:

    • Gunib (the very place where the legendary Imam Shamil made his last stand against the Russian Empire);

    • Kumukh (cultural capital of the Lak people);

    • Chokh (picturesque Avar settlement of antique mansions and vertigo-inducing escarpments);

    • Kubachi (mountain town renowned for the production of silver jewellery);

    • Khunzakh (ancient fortresses and postcard-like vistas);

    • Tsovkra (famous for its curious tightrope-walking tradition);

    • and the ghost villages of Gamsutl’ and Kala-Koreysh as well as less famous but equally fascinating hamlets such as Tsurib, Obokh, Gotsatl’, and Sogratl.

  • During our time in the area we'll also have the unique chance to meet with local mountain dwellers, the proud and gentle representatives of the vast array of different ethnicities inhabiting the republic: Dargins, Avars, Laks, Azeris, Kumyks and many more.

  • Overnights in traditional guesthouses.

DAY 6 - Derbent

  • Today we’ll descend from the mountains towards Derbent, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and home to Dagestan’s only UNESCO world heritage site and the final resting place of the Soviet ekranoplan (a larger-than-life ground-effect vehicle used to travel across the Caspian Sea).

  • We’ll devote the entire day to Derbent and its many historical and Soviet sights (Old Citadel, Naryn Kala Fortress, Friday Mosque, Armenian Church, Lenin Statue, Park of Soviet Military Glory, Central Bazaar) and then hit the city beach for a shashlyk dinner with romantic views over the Caspian Sea.

  • Overnight in Derbent.

DAY 7 - Buynaksk

  • We’ll take the coastal road back to Makhachkala and stop en route in Kaspiysk, a gritty post-Soviet port town from where to admire the abandoned Dagdizel Plant №8 (a torpedo factory emerging from the Caspian waters like a dystopian manmade island coming straight out of Kevin Reynolds’ Waterworld).

  • We’ll then make a detour to Buynaksk and stop at the Sulak Canyon, the deepest gorge in the Russian Federation, before heading further north to Sary-Kum, the largest sand dune in the former Soviet Union.

  • Overnight in Makhachkala.

DAY 8 - FAREWELL TO DAGESTAN

  • After enjoying a final lavish Dagestani meal together, we'll take care of your transfer to Makhachkala International Airport.

  • For those wishing to take the train/bus to reach further destinations: transfer to the train/bus station in Makhachkala.

  • If you feel fit enough, you may also prolong your stay in the republic by either embarking on a challenging but highly rewarding five-day trip up to the remote mountain hamlets (auls) of southwestern Dagestan or indulging in a much calmer and rather melancholic detour across the barren steppes of Northern Dagestan towards Terekli-Mekteb, the cultural capital of the once-nomadic Nogai people; please contact us to learn more both options.

  • End of the tour.

1990 €

INCLUSIONS
Double/twin room accommodation (breakfast included), private transport in Dagestan (car/minivan), all entrance fees, English-speaking guiding service, 24/7 on-site and remote assistance.

EXCLUSIONS
Single supplement, international flights, main meals (lunches and dinners), extra drinks, visa fees (if required), tips, travel insurance.