Tobot Falls
Tobot Waterfall is one of the natural attractions of mountainous Dagestan. It is located surrounded by picturesque rocks of the Khunzakh plateau. The latter water stream owes its second name – Khunzakh waterfall. However, it is officially named in honor of the Tobot River, which serves as its source and whose three arms fall from the cliff. One of them is the most turbulent and spectacular. The second one could be called a mirror image of the first one, if it turned out to be as powerful. And the third is not even a waterfall – just flowing down the rocks of the water, which can be seen only in the spring, during the period of abundant snowmelt, as at other times of the year the stream dries up.
Video: Tobot Falls
Contents- General information
- History of Tobot Falls
- Best time to go
Viewpoints - Sights and attractions
- Where to stay
- How to get there
General Information
According to various sources, the height of Tobot Falls is between 50 and 100 meters. Such discrepancies in estimation are presumably due to different ways of measuring heights. But perhaps this is a way for guides to attract tourists to see the true size of the waterfall with their own eyes.
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You can read dozens of fascinating publications and view hundreds of picturesque photos depicting the Tobot waterfall, but you can feel all its power, understand the grandiosity of this natural creation only by visiting the edge of the Khungaz high plateau.
.History of Tobot Waterfall
The oldest references to the geographical object date back to the first half of the 19th century. The waterfall was written about in his travel notes by Yakov Kostenetsky, a Russian writer, a participant of the Caucasus campaigns, who found himself in Dagestan in 1837.
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The writer mentions two waterfalls, describing them as follows. One stream, after flying ten fathoms, crashes against a rock and then overflows further into the abyss. The second, much larger, four arses wide, falls to the bottom of the abyss in a huge arc, flying a hundred fathoms, is crushed by wet clouds, to splash again to an unprecedented height.
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The water boils and gurgles, the noise is deafening – as if an unbridled giant is moaning, the water explodes with diamond splashes, and from above, from the sky blue, clumps of milky clouds overhang.
.Best time to go
To see the power and beauty of the water stream, it is better to choose the time from May to July to travel to the Hunzakh plateau. Snow begins to melt in the mountains, rivers become full-flowing, and the Tobot carries a huge volume of water to the cliffs. Above the lake at the foot of the plateau, where the river waters come down, the spray forms an endless array of rainbow arches.
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By the way, there are a lot of people who want to admire the Tobot waterfall! Already by 10:00 on the plateau becomes crowded. So all those who want to become the owner of picturesque pictures of beautiful landscapes, and not a crowd of people, it is better to rise with the first rays of sun and visit the observation platforms before the influx of tourists walking along the cliffs.
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In winter, freezing temperatures constrict the waterfall, turning it into a colossal hollow icicle with water flowing unceasingly inside.
.Viewing platforms
You can see the waterfall from either side of the plateau. The safest viewing platform is designed in the form of a cage.
But, of course, the most picturesque views are from the cliffs. It should be taken into account that only in some places the edges of the cliffs are fenced off by cables.
Care should be taken when approaching the edge of the precipice.
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Attractions and entertainment
On the way to Tobot Falls, one can see the Irganay Hydroelectric Power Plant and the water surface of the Irganay Reservoir. Travelers will also have to drive through the famous Gimrinsky road tunnel – the longest in Russia. Its length is 4303 meters.
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In the immediate vicinity of one of the waterfalls, a ziplane is built. However, there are no people willing to visit the extreme attraction.
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On the other side of the canyon tourists will find a platform for ropjumping. Daredevils are offered to jump off the cliff into the abyss 100 meters deep! Organizers warn that at dusk jumping is prohibited, so work from 11:00 and until the moment when the sun begins to slope to the horizon. The attraction is only open during the summer season.
.Where to stay
