Program of the day: Kadargavan Canyon – Dzivgis rock fortress – hike to the village of Tsmiti – hike to the tower complexes of villages: Lats, Kadat, Urikau – Archon pass – Holy Dormition Alan Monastery - picnic lunch (extra charge).
It starts at 08:30.
The Kurtatinsky gorge is located in the very center of mountainous Ossetia. To this day, ancient Ossetian villages with family, military, residential and signal towers, cave fortifications, and religious buildings have been preserved here.
The gorge has been one of the main centers of formation of the Ossetian people and national culture since the early Middle Ages. The Kurtatinsky gorge is often called the "land of sleds". The Narts are the legendary people of the Caucasus, the heroes of the ancient epic, the ancestors of the mountain Ossetian societies.
Kadargavan Canyon. A unique place where you can see how, over hundreds of years, a mountain river has eroded the soft limestones of a rocky ridge, and a huge boulder that fell from the mountain has become a natural bridge over the canyon.
Dzivgis rock fortress. The fortress dates back to the time of the invasion of Tamerlane, that is, around the 15th century. An amazing tactical contraption created by the highlanders to protect them from enemy raids.
We will continue to get acquainted with the history of Ossetia and go on a hike to the tower complexes of ancient villages. The architectural monument of the Middle Ages is the city of Tsmiti (Tsymyti), founded in the early 14th century. Its founder is considered to be Tsymyti, the military commander of the last Alan king Os-Bagatar.
Cmiti was a large city, the commercial and economic center of Alanya. Exploring the ruins, we will learn a lot of interesting things from the history of these places, we will see dozens of architectural monuments.: crypts, battle towers, and ruins of residential buildings.
Tsmiti is a real open–air museum, included in the list of objects of historical and cultural heritage of federal (all-Russian) significance.
Hike to the tower complexes of the villages: Lats, Kadat, Urykau. Among the objects of this complex of ancient villages are galuans (fortified complexes), ganakhs (house–fortress), ancestral family towers, sanctuaries, above-ground, semi-underground and underground crypts, an underground burial ground, as well as commemorative steles and pillars.
The cultural heritage site "Nartovsky Nykhas" is located on the territory of the village of Lats. Nyhas (oset. - word, speech) – a place where elders gather, discuss, and speak, where they "kept the word."
We will reach the famous bench with the inscription "happiness is just around the corner, it is in the mountains", located on the observation deck at the Archon Pass.
Until recently, few people knew about this place, but today sometimes you have to take a queue to take a photo on the already famous bench. From an altitude of 2,300 meters above sea level, there are unreal views with a panorama of the entire Caucasus Range!
On the way back, while descending into the valley, we will visit the most mountainous in Russia, the Holy Dormition Alan Monastery. Pilgrims come here from all over the south of Russia. The monastery has an amazing, though not so long-standing history, which we have to learn.
Let's get acquainted with the Fiagdon monuments. At the monument to the Grieving Horse, let us recall the soldiers of the Kurtatians who gave their lives for their Homeland in the Great Patriotic War. We will also see the world's first monument to Lenin and a bust of Stalin.
Picnic lunch (extra charge). It is carried out according to the set menu in one of the cafes along the route (pre-order at the beginning of the tour / cash payment):
- 600 rubles/person, cafe "Right Bank": Ossetian pies with cheese and potatoes (2 pieces) + chicken kebab + fresh salad + tea.
Return to Vladikavkaz by 17:00.
- Daily car race: 150 km.
- Walking distance: 6.5 km.
- Climb: 550 m.
- Duration: 8-9 hours.
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