Makhachkala
Makhachkala, previously known as Petrovskoye (1844–1857) and Port-Petrovsk (1857–1921), or by the local Kumyk name of Anji, is the capital and largest city of Dagestan, Russia.
The city is located on the Caspian Sea, covering an area of 468.13 square kilometres, with a population of over 623,254 residents, while the urban agglomeration covers over 3,712 square kilometres, with a population of roughly 1 million residents. Makhachkala is the fourth-largest city in the Caucasus, the largest city in the North Caucasus and the North Caucasian Federal District, as well as the third-largest city on the Caspian Sea, after Baku and Rasht. The city is extremely ethnically diverse, with a minority ethnic Russian population.
Getting to Makhachkala
- 01Uytash Airport
An international airport with flights to Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East.
- 02Makhachkala
A daily train service from Moscow is available, taking two nights.
Worth seeing
- 01Natsional'nyy Muzey Respubliki Dagestan Im
Takho-Godi (Национальный музей Республики Дагестан им.
- 02Grand Mosque of Makhachkala
Financed by Turkey and completed in 1998, it is made in the likeness of Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul and is the premier mosque of Dagestan and landmark of Makhachkala.
Things to do
- 01Gorodskoy Plyazh
Beach for walking or possibly dipping a toe in if you don't mind a little debris in the water sometimes.
- 02City Beach
Another beach, where you can potentially unwind and buy a fritter or two.
- 03Tarki-Tau
- 04Dagestan Russian Drama Theater
Where to eat
- 01Pirosmani
Upscale dining featuring Georgian cuisine.
- 02Kazan-Mangal
Caucasian/Georgian cuisine (aubergine, lamb, etc), some English speaking waiters.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.