The Karadakh Gorge is one of the most interesting tourist attractions in Dagestan. It is located near the village of Karadakh, in the Valley of the Avar Koisu River. The gorge is a narrow canyon about half a kilometer long. In the narrowest part, the width of the canyon is only 2-4 meters, and the height of the steep walls reaches 170 meters.
The Kvartakh River flows along the bottom of the Karadakh gorge, but it is filled with rainwater. During heavy rains, a powerful stream flows here, which makes the gorge inaccessible to visitors. In dry weather, the river Kvartakh dries up. You can safely walk along the bottom of the Karadakh gorge, although rubber boots are offered to tourists at the entrance in any case.
The Karadakh gorge is most convenient to visit if you live in the villages of Gunib or Khunzakh. There are many hotels and there is a developed tourist infrastructure. Some people come here from Makhachkala. However, the distance from Makhachkala to the Karadakh gorge is 130 km (2.30 hours on the way).
The entrance to the Karadakh gorge is free, there is a convenient parking next to the entrance. At first, the pathway goes along the valley of the Kvartakh River. Suspension bridges have been built over the riverbed of the Kvartakh River in the most difficult sections of this valley. They allow tourists to cross the river in rainy season.
As we approach the narrowest point of the gorge, the limestone cliffs begin to close. As elsewhere in Dagestan, they have a beautiful layered structure: limestone alternates with clay shale. Only a narrow strip of sky is visible inside the gorge. It is always dim and cool even on a hot day. Because of this, the Karadakh Gorge is called the Dark Gorge. There is absolutely no vegetation inside it due to the lack of sunlight.
In the depths of the gorge, the walls close together and in the narrowest section the width between them is only 2 meters. From above, the distance between the walls is even narrower, in some places large stones are stuck between them. At the exit from the Karadakh gorge from the side of Gunib, you can see very picturesque rubble of giant stones.
If you would like to hike a fairly high difficulty, then you can enter the Karadakh gorge not from the side of the Avar Koisu River, but from the Village of Gunib through a tunnel, along the Royal Trail. In 1871, it was cut for Emperor Alexander II. He wanted to see the place of Imam Shamil`s captivity in Gunib, but in Dagestan, even after the end of the Caucasian War, it was not safe. Since Gunib is a natural fortress and has only one exit, for the safety of the emperor, guard decided to cut a tunnel in the rock. It could be used as an emergency exit from the village in case of an attack on the emperor.
The distance from Gunib to the Karadakh Gorge along the Royal Trail is 10 km. You will descend along a rather difficult path from an altitude of 1800 meters to 800 meters. A distance of 10 km and a descent of 1000 meters is quite a difficult route, and it will take all day.
