Old Kahib ghost village in Dagestan and how to visit

What to Expect and Is It Worth Visiting

Old Kahib is an abandoned ghost village in Dagestan, an interesting and intriguing attraction, although not as famous and popular as the famous Gamsutl. To be honest, our opinion is that if you have already visited the abandoned village Gamsutl, visited Koroda village and other similar places, then it is mandatory to go in Kahib, perhaps, it is not worth it. But, if you are not familiar with the ghost villages of Dagestan, then be sure to come here. Moreover, it is located next to another top attraction of the Republic – the abandoned village of Goor and Goor troll language, and their visits can and should be combined. We will tell you about everything in detail:

The ghost village of Old Kahib is part of the modern residential village of New Kahib, located on its outskirts. Now about one and a half thousand residents live in the new village, there are shops and cafes here, and tourism is developing in general. If you wish, you can even come and stay in one of the private guest houses in the Newest Kahib, nearby in Goor, or stay in a chic glamping Aksakal Glamp on the mountainside between these villages. But, to be honest, there is not much to do here besides exploring the ruins, so there will be enough for two nights and one full day to visit both the Old Kahib and the Goor with the troll language. Although, it is worth paying tribute – the mountain scenery and the atmosphere here are amazing.

But back to the Old Kahib. Now it is a group of ruins left after the resettlement of residents to a New village in a more convenient place. This happened in Soviet times in the middle of the last century, when the need for living on a not very convenient and unsafe mountainside disappeared. And the aul originally appeared on the slope not by chance at all. It is assumed that it was formed in the VIII-X centuries, and according to other sources much later, in the XVI-XVII. But in whatever centuries it was, the times were turbulent, and then the most inaccessible places for settlements were chosen specifically so that the relief would naturally protect against attacks. And the location of the old village above the abyss beyond the mountain river was the best place for this. Therefore, the Old Kahib was known in the Caucasus as one of the most impregnable villages, and it is said that it was captured only once during the invasion of the Tatar-Mongols.

On the site of the old village there are many abandoned houses, outbuildings, combat watchtowers, a mosque. At least one object is a protected monument – this is the Bakdab-Roso battle tower of the XVI-XVII century. In addition, it will be interesting to walk along the narrow streets of New Kahib, because this is also a colorful place.

A special highlight of the village, which you never expect to see in such a distance, is the cable car. Sometimes it is called a cable car by mistake, then this, of course, is not a cable car at all, namely a cable car. It leads from the center of the village to the other side of the gorge immediately to the Old Kahib. The fare on it is paid – 500 rubles, but this is more of an entertainment, since walking to the ruins from the cable car station will not be difficult and will take 20 minutes at most.

In the oldest Kahib there is also a toll suspension bridge over another gorge. It connects the terminus of the cable car with the main group of ruins. Passage on it is also paid – 200 rubles, but if you paid for the cable car, then it is free. But again, the bridge is more entertainment than necessity, because you can walk along the path bypassing this gorge, bypassing the toll bridge, for free in just 5 minutes.

How to visit the Old Kahib - instructions

If you decide to visit the Old Kahib on your own, then here is an instruction that will help you figure it out, since not everything is so simple here:

• When you get to the entrance to the village, you will have to leave the car here at the free parking lot (parking in Kahib on the map), since entry to the village by private transport is prohibited. If you plan to spend the night in a guest house in the village, you will be missed.
• To enter the village, you need to be dressed according to the requirements of the local dress code: no short skirts, shorts, T-shirts, translucent blouses and revealing dresses. Trousers are acceptable for women. The requirements for children are not so strict. You can change into your own clothes or take a cape here. When we were there, they were given out for free, but this may change.
• From the parking lot to the old village you can walk completely on foot, walk about 2 kilometers, it will take about 40 minutes in one direction. There are no large height differences here, so this path is easily overcome by any healthy person. It's hard to get lost: there are signs along the way, and anyone you meet will tell you where to go.
• If you do not want to walk, you can hire a jeep that will take you to the center of the village, this will reduce a little more than half of the walking distance.
• From the center of the new village to the ruins through the gorge you can climb the cable car for 500 rubles. This will shorten the path and about 20 minutes of time. But if you don't want to spend money, you can walk to the ruins on foot, there are no difficulties along the way.
• When you reach the ruins of the old village, there will be a suspension bridge that leads to the main group of ruins and towers. It costs 200 rubles to pass through it, but if you pay for the cable car, it's free. At the same time, you can do the same route on foot and for free, you just need to go around the trail, it will take 5 minutes in time, the path is not difficult.
• Go back to the parking lot in the same way in the opposite direction. On the way back, after passing the bridge over the stream, you can go on the same way as you came, or you can turn right along the path and go another way.
• Finally, if you are afraid of getting lost, then here you can hire a guide-guide in the parking lot, sometimes it's just local guys. They will guide you along the route and also tell you something along the way, and for this they will expect a gratitude of a couple of hundred rubles.

💥 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:

• 📷 Search for excursions in Dagestan on Sputnik8.com
• 📷 Search for excursions in Dagestan on Tripster.ru