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RussiaWhat to Expect and Is It Worth Visiting
The ghost village of Filya or the village of Verkhnyaya Filya is a picturesque abandoned village in the Magaramkent district in Southern Dagestan. We will immediately honestly and objectively say that this is not one of those attractions that is worth visiting in Dagestan in the first place and necessarily. It does not stand out in any special way among several dozen similar abandoned villages, so if you have already visited Gamsutle, Goore, Gra, the Old Kahib, then you will not get the "wow" effect here. Nevertheless, if you like little-known tourist places, and few people know this ghost village at all, then you can visit it. It is especially convenient to visit it during a trip to Southern Dagestan in the village of Akhty, to Akhtyn thermal springs and Zrykhsky waterfall, especially since you can get almost to the village itself in good weather by car. But first we'll tell you a little bit about the history of Phil, and then about how to get here.
Unfortunately, we could not find reliable information about the time of the appearance of the village of Filya. Everything that is known about him from open sources already concerns the Soviet period. But locals say that it existed here at least in the Middle Ages. And although there is no exact confirmation of this, its very location on the top of a mountain above an impregnable slope indirectly confirms that it really could have been founded in the turbulent times of the Middle Ages, and maybe even earlier. In Soviet times, a state farm successfully operated here, the village was the center of the Filialinsky Village Council, which also included the villages of Bakhtsug, Gogan, Gaptsa, Kama - Kuchun, Kchun. In 1969, the authorities decided to relocate the residents of Gorny Filya and all the other villages of the village council to the plain in the village of Novaya Filya, it is located on the banks of the Samur River on the border with Azerbaijan. In 1974, the last family was resettled from here, the village turned out to be completely abandoned. The resettlement was not the result of some events, such as an earthquake in the village of Gra, but was carried out as planned within the framework of the agrarian policy for the resettlement of the mountaineers of Dagestan to the plain.
🕐 Working hours
Around the clock.
💵 Entrance fee / ticket price
Free of charge.
🚶 How to get there
The ghost village of Filya is located in Southern Dagestan in the Magaramkent district, on the way to the village of Akhty and to the Zrykhsky waterfall (Field on the map). It is 90 kilometers from Derbent and 220 kilometers from Makhachkala. Despite the short distance from Derbent, you should not think that you can go back and forth to Phil in a few hours. In fact, given the complexity of the road, especially the last unpaved part, you need at least half to travel and explore the village. Therefore, it is best to plan trips in the early morning, and along the way to capture other interesting places in these parts. Alternatively, you can generally come to Akhty with an overnight stay, and see all the sights here at once and swim in the Akhtyn hot springs.
So, you can get to Phil in three ways: with an individual excursion, on minibuses, on your own transport.
Group tours are not carried to Filya yet, only individual tours with guides by private car. We have met such offers only in Derbent, most likely they are not available from other resorts of Dagestan yet, too far and specific direction.
Public transport, of course, does not go to the abandoned village. But there is still an option. From Derbent, Makhachkala and Kaspiysk there are minibuses to Akhta. Their schedule is unstable and not all year round, so check on the spot at the bus stations. By minibus you need to go along the highway before turning to Filya, all drivers know this place. Further from the turn to the ghost village on foot 6 kilometers, which are easily overcome at a brisk pace in 2 hours in one direction. It is not worth counting on the fact that you will be picked up by hitchhikers here, very rarely anyone passes Tutu.
And finally, the most convenient way is to on your own transport. Filya is the only ghost village in the south of Dagestan, which can be reached by car. At least, we don't know any others, and if you know such, then share it in the comments.
You need to use the navigator to go to the point that is indicated on our map. After the exit from the asphalt at the turn to Filya (turn on the map) you will have to drive another 6 kilometers on the dirt road. This road is maintained in good condition and leveled with graders to a farm near Filya. So in dry weather, you can drive any car here, even on "puzoterki", if you have experience on bad roads. It is important to turn left at the first fork (fork to the left on the map), otherwise you will end up on a very bad section, impassable for ordinary cars. After this fork, you need to go along the road not along the river, but higher.
But, of course, you need to understand that mountain roads are a very unpredictable thing, and after heavy rain the situation may change, so be careful when driving along it, and have a backup plan. For example, to get to the point where you can get there, and then on foot.
In general, watch our video (embedded in the page above), there we tell and show the way.
💥 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: