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RussiaWhat to Expect and Is It Worth Visiting
There are several caves on the outskirts of the village of Karabudakhkent in Dagestan, among which one called the "Living Cave" stands out. They say that it got its name because of the bats that live in it, and there are really a lot of them here. Not far from the "Living" there are two more caves, but we could not find them, perhaps because the entrances to them are blocked and they are no longer accessible.
Please note that on the Internet at the request of Karabudakhketn cave you will see a beautiful large cave, sometimes even with a waterfall. These photos and descriptions have nothing to do with reality and appeared as another tourist fake from the authors of blogs and websites who have never actually been to this place, and in their posts they give out photos of completely different places for the Karabudakhkent cave. We have visited this cave and provide you with its real description, real photos and exact location.
The living Karabudakhkent cave is an ill–equipped and little-known tourist place. There are no signs to it, it is not easy to find it, and you can only get there by your own transport or with an individual guide, since group excursions are not carried here. Of course, there is no lighting in the cave, so be sure to take a normal flashlight with you to visit, preferably a headlamp. You can't do without a flashlight on a smartphone here. Also, it will not hurt to explore the cave with clothes that are not a pity to get dirty, because you will have to crawl along the ground, or rather through the droppings of bats. It's stuffy inside, there are a lot of bats and flying insects, and therefore we also advise you to protect your nose and mouth with a protective mask, and the usual medical one will do.
The entrance to the cave is located on a mountainside and is completely inconspicuous. Details on how to find it and the exact coordinates are described at the end of the article. There is a small area in front of the entrance where you can relax after climbing a steep slope or catch your breath after leaving the cave.
The entrance to the cave itself is small, but it is easily overcome by squatting. After about 20 meters, the corridor narrows to a narrow and low passage, which will have to be overcome by crawling. This is where old clothes will come in handy, which you will certainly get dirty in mouse droppings.
After this low passage, or rather a "hole" no more than a meter long, a more spacious hall with bats opens, and here you can already stand up to your full height. The cave continues further, and they say that its depth is more than 100 meters, but we did not check, because it is very difficult to breathe and is there without face protection and respiratory organs. But even the first meters in this hall will be enough to tickle your nerves and be surprised by the huge number of bats that have clung to the ceiling and walls of the cave.
🕐 Working hours
Around the clock.
💵 Entrance fee / ticket price
Free of charge.
🚶 How to get there
Karabudakhkent caves are located on the outskirts of Karabudakhkent village about 50 kilometers from Makhachkala and 110 from Derbent (Karabudahkentskaya cave on the map). It is impossible to get here by public transport, you will have to go by your own transport or hire a car with an individual guide.
You need to go exactly to the point indicated by us on the map, these are its exact and real verified coordinates. From the asphalt road you need to turn in the direction of these coordinates to the primer, and literally after a hundred meters you will find yourself in a small old quarry. You can safely park your car there, and, by the way, in this quarry you can perfectly stay in a tent for the night, because the place is very conveniently protected from the wind and prying eyes.
Then you need to walk to the cave, preferably using a navigator or smartphone with maps exactly to the coordinates we specified, since you will not see the entrance to the cave from below. First you need to walk about a hundred meters along the bottom of the gorge to the beginning of the trail, which starts from the remains of some wooden structure, possibly an old shop, and goes left up the slope. You need to climb this path for 10 minutes, the climb is steep, but not dangerous. You will be able to see the entrance to the cave only when you are directly in front of it. But keep in mind that the path here is little traveled and may eventually become overgrown, so it's worth taking a tool like a hatchet or a large knife with you to clear 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: