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RussiaWhat to Expect and Is It Worth Visiting
Akhtyn thermal springs or Akhtyn baths are equipped with hydrogen sulfide sources of hot natural water from the neighboring Ukhindag mountain. Water is saturated with hydrogen sulfide and beneficial trace elements, and it is believed that it has a therapeutic effect on joints, muscles and skin, relaxes and fills with strength.
There are three houses for taking hot baths with the names "Soldier's bath", "Officer's bath" and "Service bath". But you need to understand that these are not baths at all, but just a place to take a hot bath. Here you will not be able to sit comfortably and drink hot tea or beer comfortably, well, who prefers what. And it is not recommended to swim in hydrogen sulfide water for a long time, so payment is provided for 30 minutes of bathing.
Each of the houses is equipped with a bathtub and a shower with very hot water up to 70 degrees, but it can be diluted with cold water from a hose. In some houses there is an additional shower with cold, but for the most part, apart from the name, they are no different from each other, so you can choose any free one. Inside the houses everything is equipped very simply, there is not even a separate changing booth and normal hangers, benches or chairs for relaxing. Each house can be rented for several people, payment is not charged for the whole house, but for each person.
In addition to the houses, you can simply pour hot water from the shower for a fee or swim in the communal pool, which is much cheaper than a house. There is also a cafe and a hotel with rooms from 2000 rubles.
Given the poor arrangement and remote location from the main tourist centers, we will not recommend necessarily visiting the Akhtyn hot springs. But if you come to these parts to see Akhtyn fortress, abandoned aul Gra, Zrykhsky waterfall and Mount Shalbuzdag, then It's worth visiting the springs and relaxing a little.
🕐 Working hours
From 08:00 to 20:00, seven days a week. Advance booking is not required, you can immediately arrive and pay for the service at the ticket office.
💵 Entrance fee / ticket price
Bathing in any of the three houses for 100 rubles / person, houses are rented for a group. Bathing in the shower – 50 rubles, bathing in the shared bathroom – 30 rubles. All for 30 minutes, it is not recommended to swim longer. There are also VIP hotel rooms from 2000 rubles and a bed from 300 rubles/person. Only cash is accepted.
🚶 How to get there
Akhtyn thermal springs are located in the south of Dagestan in the Samur valley in the village of Kurukal, 125 kilometers from Derbent and 260 from Makhachkala (Akhtyn springs on the map). Unfortunately, getting here by public transport is very difficult, it is impossible with a group tour. It is better to take a taxi or your own car. The nearest convenient tourist city for departure is Derbent.
From the southern bus station of Derbent (southern bus station on the map) early in the morning to Akhty village minibuses depart and return after lunch. They go unstable and according to filling, the schedule changes, so everything will have to be clarified on the spot. For a reference point, they go towards Akhta at 05:00-06:00, you need to have time to leave Akhta before 13:00. But the minibus does not go to the springs themselves, and from the center of the village you still have to overcome 8 kilometers. You will not find a taxi here, but you can try to negotiate with local private taxi drivers "bombers" for 200 rubles in one tsorona, or hitch a ride, cars drive towards the springs quite often.
The road as a whole leads to the very sources of normal, asphalt everywhere, and there is ample free parking near the sources themselves. On the way, you will pass through the border zone with Azerbaijan, and border guards may stop you on the road by private transport to check your documents, but no passes are required. When driving along the road directly next to the border after the village of Mugergan, it is better to turn off the mobile Internet on your phone, as sometimes it starts catching foreign towers, and you may find yourself "abroad" with all the costs of mobile Internet roaming.
In general, the road to the Akhtyn springs to the valley of the Samur River is a dead–end direction. That is, you will not be able to pass through here during a road trip, but you need to come here purposefully and come back the same way. Therefore, we advise you to combine a trip here with visiting other interesting places along this road: the Akhtyn fortress, the abandoned village of Gra, the Zrykhsky waterfall and Mount Shalbuzdag. Also, on the way from Derbent, you can stop at Samursky Forest, but you won't be able to see everything at once in one day, you'll have to choose something. Therefore, as an option, you can come to the Samur Valley with an overnight stay and see everything. There are several hotels and guest houses in the village of Akhty and next to it on the highway, you can also stay at the hotel at the Akhtyn springs or at the Jeni hotel next to them. And there are a lot of convenient and safe places to spend the night with a tent.
💥 We remind you that it is much more interesting to get acquainted with the sights of Dagestan with the help of excursions, and therefore we advise you to look at online booking options on these proven search and price comparison sites: