Sulak Canyon and Chirkey Reservoir

Russia's deepest canyon landscape paired with a major mountain reservoir.

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Why this ride

Russia's deepest canyon landscape paired with a major mountain reservoir. The road: R217 and canyon roads. Distance and riding time are estimates from the checkpoints until the road is measured on this page.

Roadbook

1. Makhachkala start

   Makhachkala is a surprise: a Caspian port, a city of half a million, and the capital of the most diverse republic in Russia. Dagestan has more than thirty languages, and mountain villages a few kilometres apart can speak entirely different tongues. The city sits on a narrow coastal plain between the sea and the Tarki-Too ridge, a long limestone hill that rises right behind the town, and its streets mix Soviet blocks, new towers and old courtyards, with a lively market and a busy waterfront.

   The coast road toward Derbent is the usual start for a ride. It runs south along the Caspian with flat, open views of the shore, and then into Derbent, a city that has stood for about two thousand years and is often called the oldest in Russia. Its citadel, built by the Persians, with massive walls running from hills to the sea, is a World Heritage site. To the north and west, the road climbs into the mountains, to the Sulak Canyon, one of the deepest in Europe, with sheer walls dropping to a turquoise river. Beyond lie Gimry, the birthplace of the imam Shamil, who led the resistance against Russian conquest in the nineteenth century, and Gunib, where he finally surrendered in 1859.

   The riding in the mountains is demanding. Roads twist up through gorges, with tunnels, blind bends and rockfalls, and local drivers are fast and bold. The surface varies from good to broken, and weather in the high country can change quickly. Spring and autumn are the best seasons, since summer on the coast is very hot. Tarki, just next door, has an old mosque and a hillside view over the sea.

   Fuel, food and repairs are easy in Makhachkala, but services thin out in the mountains, so fill up before leaving. Local specialities include khinkal, dumplings with meat, and chudu, thin stuffed flatbreads. Foreign riders should check current official advice and the rules for travel in this region before making any plans.

2. Dubki stop

   Dubki stands on the rim of one of the deepest canyons on the planet. The Sulak River, draining the mountains of Dagestan toward the Caspian Sea, has carved a gorge here that drops close to two kilometres from the surrounding ridges to the water, deeper than the Grand Canyon in places. The view from the edge, near this small settlement built in Soviet times for the workers of the Chirkey hydroelectric dam, is startling: sheer walls of layered limestone and shale, and far below, a ribbon of impossibly turquoise water.

   That colour comes from the Chirkey Reservoir, formed when the dam was built across the Sulak in the 1970s. Mineral particles in the water give it a vivid blue-green tint, especially in sunlight, and the boat trips that now run along the reservoir and through the narrow canyon below the dam have become one of Dagestan's most popular attractions. The rocks around the canyon are full of fossils, and the slopes are dry and scrubby, with juniper and thorny bushes, and eagles circling on thermals overhead.

   The road to Dubki climbs from the plains near Kizilyurt, winding up through dry hills and past villages, with tight bends and steep gradients. The surface is generally paved but can be rough, with potholes, loose gravel and some sections without barriers on the canyon side. Traffic includes buses and cars full of tourists in summer, so keep your eyes on the road and leave the views for the stops. Spring and autumn are the best seasons; summer can be very hot, and winter brings fog and occasional snow.

   Dubki is a small town of about five and a half thousand people, with a shop, simple cafes and viewpoints that have become busy in recent years. Fuel should be available nearby, but filling up in Kizilyurt or Buynaksk is wise. Most of Dagestan is devoutly Muslim; cover up a little when you get off the bike and ask before photographing people. Linger at the edge of the canyon, early in the morning or late in the afternoon when the light is softer, and watch the colours change on the rock and water below.

3. Buynaksk stop

   Buynaksk was founded as a Russian fortress during the long war against the mountain peoples of the Caucasus in the nineteenth century, and under the name Temir-Khan-Shura it became the military and administrative capital of Dagestan. Officers, writers and exiles passed through, and the town's grid of streets, old barracks and solid brick buildings still reflect that garrison past. In the Soviet period it was renamed after Ullubiy Buynaksky, a local revolutionary, and the capital moved to Makhachkala on the Caspian coast.

   Today Buynaksk is a busy, mostly Kumyk and Avar town of around sixty thousand people, set in a broad valley among dry hills at the foot of the mountains. It is a useful gateway to inner Dagestan. To the south and west, roads climb toward the Sulak canyon, the Chirkey Reservoir and the mountain villages, and a long road tunnel under the Gimry ridge leads to the valley of Untsukul and the village of Gimry, birthplace of Imam Shamil, the legendary leader of the resistance to Russian conquest in the nineteenth century. The history of that war is still a living subject here.

   The riding around Buynaksk is a mix of busy town roads and quieter mountain routes. Traffic in town can be chaotic, with minibuses stopping without warning, cars weaving and pedestrians crossing anywhere. Outside, the roads climb through dry, rolling hills toward the mountains, with sweeping bends and long views. The surface varies from good to rough, with potholes and loose stones, especially on minor roads. Spring is green and fresh; summer can be hot and dusty, and autumn is mild and golden.

   Buynaksk has all the basic services: fuel stations, shops, cafes and a market where you can buy fruit, bread and local cheese. Try chudu, thin Dagestani flatbreads filled with meat, cheese or greens, or khinkal, the local dumplings served with broth and garlic sauce, quite different from the Georgian version. Long sleeves and trousers off the bike will earn you warmer looks than shorts. Use the town as a base to fill up, eat well and prepare for the mountains, which begin just beyond the edge of town.

4. Back to Makhachkala finish

Where this sits

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