Dagestan Mountain Villages Loop

A culturally dense mountain loop with abandoned villages and high plateaus.

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Why this ride

A culturally dense mountain loop with abandoned villages and high plateaus. The road: Regional mountain roads. Distance and riding time are estimates from the checkpoints until the road is measured on this page.

Roadbook

1. Gunib start

   Gunib is a mountain village on a high plateau in central Dagestan, at about 1,500 metres, and it is one of those places where a single event made it famous. In 1859, Imam Shamil, the leader of the long Caucasian resistance against the Russian Empire, made his last stand on this mountain. After decades of fighting, he and his remaining followers were surrounded, and he surrendered here to Prince Baryatinsky, who commanded the Russian forces. A memorial and a viewing platform on the site mark the place, and a gazebo is said to be where the surrender took place.

   The landscape is spectacular, a world of gorges, bare ridges and terraced slopes. Gunib sits on a flat-topped mountain with sheer cliffs on three sides, a natural fortress, with a suspension bridge across the Kara-Koysu gorge. Birch and juniper trees grow on the plateau, and the air is clean, cool and quiet, with a view across the valleys to ranges in every direction. In autumn, the slopes turn gold and red, and the nights are cold.

   The roads in Dagestan are demanding. They twist along cliffsides and through tunnels carved in rock, with steep drops, narrow lanes and few barriers. The surface can be rough, and rockfalls and mud are common after rain. Traffic is a mix of old cars, trucks, minibuses and livestock, and the local style of driving is fast and assertive, with horns used constantly. Villages such as Gimri, the birthplace of Shamil, and Chokh, a stone village perched on a hill, are reached by narrow roads that need slow riding. Summer is the best season, though afternoons can be hot in the valleys.

   Gunib is small, with a shop or two and a guesthouse, and fuel is limited. The nearest larger places are Gergebil, about sixteen kilometres away, and Khadzhalmakhi, where there are stations and shops, so fill the tank there. Food is simple and good, with khinkal, boiled dumplings served with meat and garlic sauce, and chudu, thin flatbreads filled with meat or herbs. Tea is served in generous quantities.

   Check the security situation and local advice before you travel, as conditions in parts of the North Caucasus can change. A respectful, modest approach to the villages goes a long way, and hospitality can be remarkable.

2. Chokh stop

   Chokh is another of Dagestan's mountain villages, one of those places where the whole settlement is a stack of stone houses on a hillside, with slate roofs, narrow lanes and a mosque and tower at the top. It lies in the same highland country as Gunib, about ten kilometres away, with Khadzhalmakhi, the nearest larger town, a little further off. Fuel and proper shops are down in the valleys, not here, so ride with a full tank and a bit of reserve.

   The road is slow and the scenery is the point. Climbing from the Gunib plateau, you wind along ridgelines and through deep gorges, with views opening across layers of grey and green mountains that stretch toward the horizon. Corners are tight, narrow and often blind, and you share the tarmac with sheep, cattle, trucks and locals who drive these roads fast and confidently. The surface is patchy, so keep your speed under your sight line, and avoid the road after heavy rain. Spring brings green slopes and waterfalls, summer is hot below and clear on the ridges, and autumn is dry and golden.

   Dagestani villages tend to specialise: some are famous for silver, others for carpets or pottery, and this highland country has a long habit of craft passed from one generation to the next. Chokh is known above all as a place to see an old stone village largely intact, with the traditional houses of the upper quarter still standing. Walking its lanes you can hear the village before you see it, with the sound of animals, water and conversation filtering between walls.

   The surroundings are rugged and dry, with limestone cliffs, scrub oak and juniper, and terraces carved into the slopes by centuries of farmers. The mountains of Dagestan rank among the most culturally diverse places in the world, with dozens of languages spoken across tiny valleys, and the contrast between neighbouring villages can be striking. The Avar, Dargin and Lak peoples all live in this highland belt.

   A ride here is best done with a guide or at least local advice. Take water, snacks, warm layers and a map saved offline. Sunset light on the stone is memorable, but do not be caught on the road after dark. The hospitality is warm, and a cup of tea is an easy offer to accept.

3. Gamsutl stop

   Gamsutl is a ghost village on a ridge in the mountains of central Dagestan, a cluster of stone houses clinging to a steep spur above a deep canyon, and it is one of the most photographed sights in the republic.

   Getting there is half the point. The mountain roads of Dagestan are narrow, steep and often cut straight across rock faces, with hairpins that tighten without warning and long drops on the outside. The surface varies between good tarmac and rough patches, and in places the final approach becomes a track. A road like this rewards patience: ride slowly, keep your line, and expect livestock and oncoming cars on blind corners. Early morning is cleaner and cooler, and the light on the canyon walls is wonderful. Avoid riding in or after heavy rain, because the rock is crumbly.

   Gamsutl itself is a place of silence. It was once a thriving village of the Avar people, built in tiers on the mountainside, and for generations its inhabitants farmed, herded and traded from this eagle's nest. The last families left in the twentieth century, and the stone houses are now mostly empty, with doorways open to the wind. Standing among them you can feel how hard life was, and how clever the building was: houses stacked like steps, roofs doubling as neighbours' yards.

   The landscape is astonishing. Gunib, famous for the final surrender of the imam Shamil to the Russian army in 1859 after his long resistance in the Caucasus wars, sits just along the plateau, and the whole area is layered with that history. The canyon below Gamsutl is cut in limestone and glows orange in late light. Eagles and griffon vultures ride the updrafts, and in spring the slopes are green with grass and scrub.

   Take water and food, since there is nothing at the top, and tell someone where you are headed. Phone signal is patchy, and the roads are slow. Respect the place, because locals still consider the old village a heritage site.

4. Khunzakh stop

   Khunzakh sits on a high, windswept plateau in the heart of mountainous Dagestan, at roughly 1,700 metres, and for centuries it was the capital of the Avar Khanate, the most powerful state in the mountains of the eastern Caucasus. The Avar khans ruled from here, and the village played a central part in the wars of the nineteenth century: it was the home of Hadji Murad, the Avar commander whose shifting loyalties between Imam Shamil and the Russians inspired Tolstoy's last great novella. A Russian fortress, built after the conquest, still stands on the edge of the village.

   The plateau around Khunzakh is a surprise after the narrow gorges below. It is broad and open, with meadows, hay fields and villages of stone houses, and on its edges it drops away suddenly into deep canyons. The most famous is the canyon near the village where the Tobot waterfall plunges over a cliff into a narrow gorge, a sight that draws visitors from all over Dagestan. The air is clean and cool, the light sharp, and in early summer the meadows are full of flowers. Avar is spoken everywhere, and traditional crafts, especially carpets and metalwork, survive in the surrounding villages.

   The road to Khunzakh is one of the great rides of Dagestan. From Buynaksk or the Gimry tunnel it climbs through gorges and over passes, with tight hairpins, steep gradients and long drops beside the road, then levels out onto the plateau. The surface is mostly paved but can be rough and broken, with rockfalls and landslides after rain. Watch for livestock, slow trucks and local drivers who know the bends and take them fast. The best season is from late spring to early autumn; snow can close the roads in winter.

   Khunzakh is a village of about four thousand people, with shops, cafes and guesthouses, and fuel may be available, but Untsukul, about twenty kilometres away, is the nearest larger town. Top the tank down in the valley and pack a lunch. Mountain villages here keep traditional manners, and a modest outfit and a polite greeting go a long way. Then stand at the edge of the canyon, watch the waterfall, and feel the wind across the plateau that the Avar khans once ruled.

5. Back to Gunib finish

Where this sits

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