Where to stay, where to eat

There are several private hotels in Makhachkala and Derbent, where you can stay for the night for a reasonable amount of money. In the mountains, there are practically no tourist centres (except for Gunib, where you can find a turbaza – a tourist centre). The best solution is to stay for the night at some of the local inhabitants’ place. People in Dagestan are still very hospitable, you can always count that somebody will invite you for the night and serve you a dinner. When you want to return the favour, it is better to hand the hosts some little gift (generally, giving gifts is a part of the local savoir-vivre) instead of money.

Another option is sleeping in a tent, but staying at people’s houses is much safer. When you stay at one of the locals, you acquire the status of a guest of a concrete family, whose responsibility is to guarantee your safety. From that moment on, the whole village will know where you’re staying and no one would dare to harm you, as this would soil the reputation of your hosts.

You will find a lot of restaurants, cafes, bars in Makhachkala and other large cities and towns, as well as along the main roads. They offer a lot of cheap and tasty meals, especially local treats: lamb shashlik (shish kebab), chudu (‘Dagestani pizza’) stuffed with meat or cheese, khinkal the Avar style, different brands of cheese, soups, etc. You can also get food and necessities in bazaars and numerous shops. There are also shops in mountainous villages, but usually badly stocked, so it’s better to count on the locals’ hospitality.


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Tłumaczenie mini-przewodnika i nowe teksty na stronie polskojęzycznej o Dagestanie zostały sfinansowane w ramach progamu Polsko Amerykańskiej Fundacji Wolnosci "Przemiany w Regionie - RITA", realizowanego przez "Fundację Edukacja dla Demokracji".