The village of Khunzakh in Dagestan

General information about Khunzakh, history, recreation, infrastructure

Khunzakh is a village in the mountainous part of Dagestan, 150 kilometers from Makhachkala, located on the Khunzakh plateau at altitudes of about 1,658 meters (Hunzah on the map of Dagestan). Khunzakh is the center of the Khunzakh district, but if you look more broadly, in fact it is not just a village, but a whole group of three villages of Khunzakh, Arani and Itlya, which are located so close to each other that they form a single settlement without an explicit border between the villages. Ie, during a walk here you will not even understand that they came out of one village and ended up in another. And nearby in walking distance there are several more villages Ginichutl, Tsada, Gonoh, Batldaih and a very tiny Hini.

Khunzakh is one of the oldest settlements of Dagestan, which was first the capital of the Sarir state (existed from the VI to the XIII-XIV centuries), and then the Avar Khanate that replaced it. The fate of the Avar Khanate ended in the XIX century, when in 1803 it became part of the Russian Empire. However, the proud descendants of the Avars, one of the indigenous peoples of Dagestan, did not accept the policy pursued by the new authorities, and began to confront them, which resulted in popular uprisings and unrest. As a result, with the outbreak of the Caucasian War, Khunzakh moved to the Imamate of Shamil. The war lasted for a long 47 years, and after it ended, Khunzakh became the administrative capital of the Avar District of the Russian Empire, and then the Khunzakh district of the USSR and the current Russian Federation.

Rest in Khunzakh and what tourists should do here

Khunzakh itself does not seem to be a particularly attractive tourist destination at first glance, tourism is just beginning to develop here. However, its location makes it a very convenient starting point for exploring mountainous Dagestan, in particular, the Khunzakh, Shamil and Gunib districts. There is an unexpected large number of accommodation options here, which will allow you to drive around the neighborhood during the day and get acquainted with interesting places, and return to the village for an overnight stay.

In the mountainous part there is another, much more famous and popular tourist destination – the village of Gunib, which can also be used as a starting point. But Hunzakh is even more convenient in this regard, and accommodation here is cheaper. You can book hotels or private accommodation for traveling in Khunzakh on these sites, we especially recommend that you look at Sutochno.ru , there are the most options presented there:

• 🛌 Search for affordable housing in Hunzakh on Sutochno.ru (we recommend it, the bonus system works)
• 🛌 Search for hotels in Hunzakh on Ostrovok.ru
• 🛌 Search for hotels in Khunzakh on Yandex.travel
• 🛌 Search for hotels in Hunzakh on Tvil.ru

Infrastructure in Khunzakh

The modern infrastructure in Khunzakh is poorly developed, after all, it is a village, moreover, located quite far away in mountainous Dagestan. However, do not think that this is a completely abandoned place, it is not at all. There is a good asphalt road leading here, there are shops and markets. There are no chain supermarkets here, but on the main highway in the center of the village of Arani there is a good local supermarket with shelves "World of taste". There are several other grocery stores, consumer goods, and even a gift shop. There is a district hospital, there are gas stations. True, all the main urban infrastructure is not located in Khunzazh itself, but in the village of Arani, and basically everything is concentrated along the main road.

There is nothing else from the tourist infrastructure except hotels, guest houses and rental housing, as well as several cafes. You can't buy group tours here, there is no tourist transport and no official taxi.

The only tourist entertainment in Khunzakh is something like a giant trap in the Tsolotlinsky canyon above the waterfalls, extreme entertainment. But at the beginning of 2023, a tourist suffered there, and we still don't know whether this attraction will work in the future.

How to get to Hunzakh

Khunzakh is located in the mountainous part of Dagestan far from major cities on the Caspian Sea coast. It is 150 kilometers from Makhachkala and almost 190 kilometers from Derbent. Public transport goes here very poorly, and as far as we know from local residents, there is a single bus from Makhachkala, but it does not always run and is unstable. So it's not worth counting on public transport, and you'll have to go here with excursions or by car.

Khunzakh has been rapidly gaining tourist popularity over the past few mountains. That is why one-day group and individual excursions from Makhachkala, Derbent and Izberbash have appeared here. You can pick them up and book them online on these verified sites with reviews:

• 📷 Excursions in Hunzy on Sputnik8.com
• 📷 Excursions in Hunzy on Tripster.ru

If you are traveling in Dagestan by car, then this is an ideal option to visit Khunzakh. There is a good asphalt road leading to the village from the coast from Makhachkala through Buinaksk, and from Derbent you can go by road through Sergokala, Levashi, Gergebil. Also, from the side of Derbent or Izberbash, you can build an interesting automobile route through the village of Kubachi masters, but then through the villages of Urari, Gapshima, Akusha you will have to go along a mountain dirt road, but this is a very picturesque route.

If we talk about travel time, then it is quite realistic to go to Khuzni from Makhachkala and return within one day. But it will not be easy to do this from Derbent. Although the distance from Derbent seems small, only 190 kilometers, in fact the road can take 5-6 hours in one direction. Do not forget that this is a mountainous region, and the roads here are unpredictable and dangerous, especially in bad weather. In addition, you will probably make many stops along the way to take beautiful photos and visit other attractions, of which there will be many. Well, if you take the route through Kubachi, then you will probably have to spend the night on the way here.

So our summary is that it is better to go from Derbent to Hunzy with an overnight stay. Yes, and from Makhachkala we would advise you to come to Khunzakh for a couple of nights to get to know the magnificent sights in the mountainous part of Dagestan.

Another route leads to Khunzakh from Chechnya from the side of Lake Kezenoy-Am. This is also a cool way, but here you have to decide which way to go. There are two options:

• A short road through Matlas, Harari and Tloh. This is a mountain dirt road of quite tolerable quality, but in bad weather it is dangerous to drive: visibility can be almost zero due to fog, there are rockfalls and landslides. The road is being partially repaired and covered with asphalt, and perhaps in the future it will be made quite good, but at the time of our visit in 2022 we had to drive about 40 kilometers on the ground. But here on the way you can visit Matlas waterfalls on the Matlas plateau and The Matlas stone bowl, as well as drive along the branch to the mountain lake Mochoh.

• A long road through Gimry, Irganai, Maidan. This is a good asphalt road, but it is 60 kilometers longer.Here you will pass through the picturesque Irganai reservoir and the Akhulgo memorial complex.

Attractions in Khunzakh and what to see

As we have already mentioned above, you can see the waterfalls of Tobot, Itlyatlyar and Tsolotlinsky Canyon directly in Khunzakh. There is a historical landmark Khunzakh fortress, and there is also a good local history museum. You can easily visit all these places in just 2-3 hours, so it's not worth going here with an overnight stay just for them. But if you decide to take a walk along the bottom of the canyon, it takes a full day, and sometimes they even go there with overnight tents.

In addition to the sights in Khunzakh itself, it is very convenient to visit the sights of Shamil and Gunibsky districts by car from here, and there is something to see in them. Here is a list of the nearest interesting places with distances along the road from Khunzakh.

• Datong Temple - 58 kilometers.
• Abandoned villages of Goor and Kahib - 70 kilometers.
• Troll Language in Goor – 70 kilometers.
• Dagestan pyramids and terraces – the nearest ones are on the way to Goor about 50 kilometers away.
• Saltinsky waterfall – 58 kilometers.
• The abandoned ghost village of Gamsutl – 76 kilometers.
• The village of Gunib and its sights are 62 kilometers away.
• Mochoh Lake is 32 kilometers away.
• Matlas stone bowl – 16 kilometers.
• Matlas waterfalls – 16 kilometers.

In general, there are still many interesting and intriguing places that can and should be visited, you can use our map with sights for navigation and route planning or download points from it to your navigator or smartphone.

Unfortunately, there are no organized excursions from Khunzakh, so you will have to visit everything yourself on your own transport. You don't necessarily need an SUV here, since there is decent asphalt leading to almost all places. A complex primer leads only to the village of Goor, and quite simple to the Matlas stone bowl and waterfall.

And now in more detail about each of the attractions in Khunzakh itself and how to visit them:

• Tobot Waterfall

  

  Tobot Waterfall is sometimes called Khunzakh Waterfall because of its location near the village of Khunzakh. This is one of the most famous and frequently visited waterfalls in Dagestan, along with Khanagskiy and Saltinskiy waterfalls, and it is also one of the most easily accessible.

  Tobot falls to the bottom of the Tsolotlinsky canyon (Tsolotl), forming one powerful jet with a height of about 70 meters, which is as much as 25 floors. In general, estimates of the height of the waterfall are very different, from 50 to 100 meters, and depend on the starting points for measurement. The views of the waterfall and the canyon are very beautiful, you can watch it from several viewing points. Learn more about vodopah Tobot here...

  🕐 Working hours: around the clock, it is better to visit in spring during snowmelt or in summer during rains, and the rest of the time it may be low-water.

  💵Entrance fee / ticket price: adults - 100 rubles; children of school and preschool age, preferential categories - free of charge.

  🚶 How to get there: you can view it from one of several viewing rooms, here are the most popular and convenient:

  • Tobot observation deck on the map
  • Observation deck at the same time on Tobot and Itlyatlyar on the map

• Itlyatlyar Waterfall

  

  Itlyatlyar is one of the most beautiful and easily accessible waterfalls in Dagestan, while in beauty and power it is not much inferior to the Tobot Waterfall, which for some reason is much more popular and famous among tourists and travelers. Both waterfalls are only a few minutes walk from each other and are visited together. Sometimes they are even confused, but it is worth noting that Tobot is located at the very beginning of the canyon on the outskirts of the village of Arani, and Itlyatlyar is 200 meters further along the canyon, then their exact coordinates will be. The Tirontyar River forms a waterfall, which flows along the plateau and falls into the Tsolotlinsky Canyon, where it meets the Tobo River. The height of the water jet is about 100 meters, which is even higher than that of the more popular and famous Tobot. The waterfall becomes full-flowing in the summer from May to July, at other times it may dry out and be barely noticeable. Learn more about Itlyatlyar waterfall here...

  🕐 Working hours: around the clock, it is better to visit in spring during snowmelt or in summer during rains, and the rest of the time it may be low-water.

  💵Entrance fee / ticket price: adults - 100 rubles; children of school and preschool age, preferential categories - free of charge.

  🚶 How to get there: you can view it from one of several viewing rooms, here are the most popular and convenient:

  • Observation deck on Itlyatlyar on the map
  • Observation deck at the same time on Tobot and Itlyatlyar on the map

• Tsolotlinsky canyon

  

  Tsolotlinsky canyon or Tsolotl is one of the largest and most beautiful natural attractions of the Khunzakhsky district in Dagestan. The canyon is not very long, but it reaches a depth of more than 600 meters. From its steep cliffs from a great height, two of the waterfalls described above break off, which form the Tobot River flowing along the bottom of the canyon. As a result, you can see 3 picturesque natural objects in one place from the observation deck at once.

  From season to season, the views of Tsolotl change, which makes it more amazing and picturesque. You can go down and walk along the bottom of the canyon, as well as get closer to the base of the waterfalls Tobot and Itlyatlyar. But for such a hike you will need at least one full day and a guide. Learn more about the Tsolotlinsky Canyon here...

  🕐 Working hours: around the clock.

  💵Entrance fee / ticket price: adults - 100 rubles; children of school and preschool age, preferential categories - free of charge.

  🚶 How to get there: The Tsolotlinsky canyon starts from the villages of Khunzakh and Arani (canyon on the map). There are several viewing platforms for waterfalls on both sides of the canyon, but you can explore it anywhere throughout. At the same time, you should be careful, since there are almost no fences along the edge of the canyon, and the cliffs here are very steep and high. This is especially true in case of poor visibility and strong winds.

• Khunzakh Fortress

  

  This fortress is one of several well–preserved Russian fortresses in Dagestan, an example of a fortification and a historical monument of the XIX century. It occupies an area of 3 hectares. By the name of the village of Arani, to which the fortress belongs geographically, it is also called Araninskaya. By the way, until 1929, Arani was part of the village of Khunzakh, so in many sources the first name was assigned to the object.

  The fortress was built in 1867 for the Russian garrison, and its main importance was the preservation and retention of the Russian emperor's power over the peoples of the North Caucasus after the Caucasian War (1817-1864). Today, the premises of the fortress are still in use. Most of the fortress territory is occupied by a military unit and a military commissariat, so the entrance there is closed. Only a small part of the fortification is available for inspection from the inside, along which you can walk freely. However, this will not give much pleasure, because although the fortress has been preserved well outwardly, but its part accessible for inspection looks abandoned and dull. Read more about the Khunzakh fortress here...

  🕐 Working hours: around the clock.

  💵Entrance fee / ticket price: free.

  🚶 How to get there: the fortress is geographically located in the village of Arani, but it is within walking distance of Khunzakh (entrance to the Khunzakh fortress on the map).

• Hunazakh Museum

  

  The Khunzakh Museum tells about the history of the region since the time of the first Sarir state. Despite the fact that this is only a rural museum, its collection is very decent and has more than 3,000 exhibits, besides it is periodically updated with new ones. We advise you to visit it if possible, especially since the entrance fee is low: only 100 rubles entrance, and for an additional 300 rubles the director and current mastermind of the museum will also conduct an interesting excursion.

  🕐Working hours: from 09:00 to 17:00, Sunday and Monday are days off. If the museum is closed during business hours, you can call +7 (988) 697-67-16 or +7 (988) 292 90-12 and it will be opened for you.

  💵Entrance fee / ticket price: entrance ticket – 100 rubles, excursion (optional) - 300 rubles.

  🚶 How to get there: located on the outskirts of the village at Khunzakhskaya str., 22 ()42.538032, 46.702883 The fortress is officially located in the village of Arani, but it is near the village of Khunzakh within walking distance (museum on the map).