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RussiaWhat to Expect and Is It Worth Visiting
Karadakh gorge is one of the most beautiful natural attractions of Dagestan, accessible to tourists in the form of a short hiking route. In our opinion, this is generally the most beautiful and interesting gorge in the Republic available to tourists without special training and trips to remote regions that are difficult to access for transport, and therefore we definitely recommend visiting it during a trip to Dagestan.
The Karadakh gorge is a deep and very narrow gorge formed as a result of millennia of work of water and wind, which "cut" a narrow deep gap in the thickness of the rock. Its length is small, at most 500 meters, but in the narrowest places the rocks completely close their heads, forming a stone bag, and the height of the walls reaches 170 meters. A particularly interesting place in the gorge is the huge round stones that are stuck at the top between the walls, you can see them almost at the very end of the route through the gorge.
It is very easy to visit the Karadakh gorge. There is an easy hiking trail here, which even children and the elderly can easily overcome. At the very beginning of the route there is a bridge for crossing the stream, and then you will follow the trail for 10 minutes directly to the entrance to the gorge. The length of the most interesting and narrow part of the gorge is only about 300 meters, so half an hour will be enough for the whole walk. It is not necessary to take special shoes and clothes on the route, but good sports shoes will be comfortable. Ideally, you should go for a walk in sports sandals in order to overcome the stream flowing along the bottom of the gorge without difficulty.
🕐 Working hours
Around the clock, it is better to visit for security reasons during the day. Also keep in mind that during rain and bad weather, the gorge is closed to the public due to the danger of rising water, so it's better to check the weather forecast before traveling here.
💵 Entrance fee / ticket price
100 rubles adults; children of school and preschool age, preferential categories - free of charge.
🚶 How to get there
The Karadakh gorge is located in the Gunib district, 30 kilometers from Gunib (by the shortest route) and 130 kilometers from Makhachkala (Karadakh gorge on the map). You can visit it only by private transport or with excursions, you can't get there by public transport. If you decide to get to the Karadakh gorge from Gunib, the navigator will offer you two routes:
- Through the dam Gunibskaya HPP and the village of Murada leads a short route of 30 kilometers. This is a bad dirt road, along which in good weather you can easily drive any car, but you will have to overcome the pass with a large climb and subsequent descent. We do not recommend going this way.
- Detour on asphalt through Kurmi, Kikuni, Chalda 50 kilometers. Although this road is longer, you will get there without adventures and faster, and only the last couple of kilometers to the narrows of the primer.
💥 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: