Khunzakh Museum of Local History

The Khunzakh Museum of Local History is located on the southern outskirts of the village. It is located in a 19th-century house built by the Russian officer Alikilych Chupanov. The museum is a branch of the National Museum of the Republic of Dagestan. The branches of the museum are located in most cities of Dagestan, but the Khunzakh Museum is one of the largest.

Nowadays, the Khunzakh tourist center has moved closer to the northern part of the Tsolotlinsky Canyon, where the Tobot waterfall and the Khunzakh fortress are located. Tourists come to this place, hotels and cafes are being built there, but the first settlement on the site of Khunzakh in the 1st millennium BC appeared on a hill where the Museum of Local History is now located.

This place is 2.5 kilometers from the Tobot Waterfall. From here, the Tsolotlinsky Canyon opens from a different angle. It looks much wider. Here the road begins, where you can descend to the bottom of the canyon and then drive into the Valley of the Avar Koisu River. This road is unpaved and it is quite difficult to drive a car here. However, the beauty of the landscapes that open up on the mountain serpentine compensates for this. Reconstruction of the road is planned in the near future.

We advise all tourists to plan a visit to the Khunzakh Museum of Local History, as the history of the Avar people living on the Khunzakh plateau is very interesting. The first state on the Khunzakh plateau was the Kingdom of Sarir. It was founded in the 6th century by the Huns. The capital of Sarir was the village of Humraj, which is now renamed Hunzakh. In the 7th century, the Arabs captured Derbent, and from there the spread of Islam in Dagestan began. However, the rulers of the kingdom of Sarir, under the influence of missionaries from Georgia and Armenia, adopted Christianity as the state religion.

In the 12th century, a powerful Avar Khanate was formed on the site of the Kingdom of Sarir. Its rulers converted to Islam, after which this religion was established throughout the territory of Dagestan. Their power extended beyond the territory of the Khunzakh plateau. The Khanate existed for 8 centuries until 1803, when it became part of the Russian Empire. However, a few years later, the Avars took an active part in the Caucasian war, which was waged by Imam Shamil against the Russian army. In 1867, these lands finally became part of Russia.

In the Khunzakh Museum of Local History, most of the expositions are devoted to the Avar Khanate (12th-19th centuries), as well as its entry into Russia and the construction of the Khunzakh fortress. There are practically no archaeological artifacts from the era of the Christian kingdom of Sarir. The most interesting attraction of that time is the 10th-century Datuna Temple, which is located in the valley of the Avar Koisu River.

In several halls of the historical museum of Khunzakh, you can see national clothes, household utensils and weapons from the time of the Avar Khanate. There is also furniture of that time, you can imagine how the Avar`s dwelling and his way of life looked like. 

The museum has an exhibition of birds and animals that are found in these places. Of particular interest are vultures and eagles that soar over the Khunzakh plateau. In the sky, these birds seem small, but in fact they are very large.