Mineralnye Vody and Makhachkala are one of the best resort towns in the Caucasus. Here you can not only take a walk, enjoy the sights and buy a bunch of souvenirs, but also significantly improve your he alth in local he alth resorts.
Advice from an experienced tourist
If you decide to go on vacation to the city of Mineralnye Vody, it is best to do this between May and August. At this time of the year, the temperature in this area ranges from +20 to +28 degrees and is considered the most comfortable for relaxation. Before traveling to Makhachkala in the high season, you should take care of your accommodation in advance and book a hotel or buy a ticket to one of the local he alth resorts. The most popular hotels and hotel complexes in Makhachkala and Mineralnye Vody are the following:
- "Art Hall" - from 1000 to 3000 rubles. per number.
- "Bend" - about 800-1000 rubles. per number.
- "Gostiny Dvor" - 1000-1200 rubles. per number.
- "Olympus" - from 3000 rubles per room.
Each hotel has botheconomy class rooms and deluxe rooms. Tourists who have booked a hotel should not worry about their food, as each hotel complex has its own restaurant or cafe. Also, a large number of inexpensive catering establishments are concentrated throughout the city, where the average check per person is about 300-500 rubles. The most popular and successful, both among locals and visitors, are small street establishments specializing in cooking shish kebabs, chakhokhbili, khinkali and other Caucasian dishes.
Sights of the cities of Makhachkala and Mineralnye Vody
It doesn't matter if you purchased a tour to the Caucasus from a tour operator or decided to go there on your own, you still simply have to visit these amazing places and see everything with your own eyes:
- Mountain snake.
- Emanuel Park.
- Rose Valley Park.
- Ring Mountain.
- Permafrost Grotto.
- Iron Mountain.
- Mud and hydropathics.
In addition to sights that you can visit on your own, in the cities of Mineralnye Vody and Makhachkala there are a large number of bus tours accompanied by experienced guides. Bus tours are available in several directions:
- Tersk stud farm.
- Local History Museum.
- Fitness and wellness center.
- St. Nicholas Church.
- Cathedral of the Protection of the Holy Mother of God.
- Place of duel M. Lermonotova.
A ticket for each of these excursions costs between 1000-1500 rubles, which is quite acceptable according to many travelers. In addition, you can book an individual tour with a local guide, which will cost significantly more.
Besides hiking and excursions, there are other things to do in Makhachkala and Mineralnye Vody, for example:
- Get a drinker and go for a tasting of mineral water.
- Go to conquer Dombai or Arkhyz.
- Try out all the delights of mud and hydrotherapy.
- Taste the local cuisine.
- Take a photo with local landmarks in the background.
After the cultural hunger is satisfied, you should go shopping for souvenirs, there are a great many of them. However, among the abundance of goods, it is important not to make a mistake and purchase not Chinese consumer goods, but local products.
Must Buy Souvenirs
It is customary to bring souvenirs from every trip, and not only to give gifts to someone close, but to leave yourself a pleasant memory of your vacation. What is traditionally brought from Makhachkala and Mineralnye Vody? Souvenirs popular with tourists:
- Mineral water tasting cup.
- Bottled mineral water ("Essentuki", "Narzan", "Lysogorskaya").
- Face and body masks based on healing mud.
- Fragrant herbal tea and Caucasian sweets.
- Pottery,Caucasian daggers, handmade leather belts and sleeveless jackets.
However, you should not buy in the store, as mineral water, tea and sweets have a short shelf life. But everything else will delight you and your loved ones for many more years.
Tourist guide
You can get to the city of Makhachkala or Mineralnye Vody by plane. However, this is far from the only way. In addition to the plane, these resort towns can be reached, for example, by train or car. It will take about 15-18 hours to cover the distance by car from Makhachkala to Mineralnye Vody, since the length of the road is about 1476 km. This method is considered very expensive, so experienced tourists prefer another method of transportation - by rail. Mineralnye Vody has its own station of the same name, where trains go from all over Russia.
If you decide to go to Makhachkala from Mineralnye Vody by train, then experienced travelers are advised to choose a reserved seat car. So you save a lot and get there in comfort. The journey will take 7 hours 30 minutes.
It is a mistake to believe that resting in Makhachkala or Mineralnye Vody is unrespectable. You can relax beautifully not only abroad, but also in Russia, and rave reviews from tourists are proof of this.
