Gamsutl

Gamsutl is a picturesque Avarian settlement that was abandoned forty years ago by almost all its residents. The village lies deep in the heart of Avarian mountains in Gunibsky district of Dagestan, Russia, and has become a popular tourist attraction.

Sitting around 1,500 meters above sea level and surrounded by awe-inspiring cliffs, the village takes its name from its foundations – Mount Gamsutlmeer. The village is one of the oldest settlements in the territory of modern Dagestan although archaeologists have been unable to trace its exact origins.

In its heyday, Gamsutl boasted shops, a school, a post office, a hospital and even a maternity ward. Originally there were 300 houses but there are now about 70 houses in the abandoned village. Surprisingly, there was a road suitable for motor vehicles leading to the village. In the late 1950s, village life dwindled as residents went in search of a better life. When it’s final inhabitant died in 2015, the hilltop settlement returned to the natural world.