Breakfast is according to your reservation.
Meeting with the guide in the hotel lobby, briefing.
Transfer to the starting point of the route. Today you will enjoy trekking in the Adyl-Su gorge with the passage of the Shkhelda valley and access to the so-called "mountain beach" in the "Smile of Shkhelda" clearing.
The Adyl-Su gorge is one of the most beautiful in the Elbrus region. The name translates as "beautiful water": the river is clean and full of healing narzans, which sometimes turn the boulders bronze.
Through the coniferous forests you will climb to the unique clearing "Smile of the Shkhelda". It is at this point that the Shkhelda River makes a very sharp, unexpected turn and gently hugs the pebble beach. The river seems to smile at the guests – this is how the famous backwater appears.
From this clearing you can see the mighty Shkhelda glacier, frozen here millions of years ago, which descends with a 9-kilometer tongue down the slopes of the Great Caucasian Ridge to become the source of the river of the same name.
The main decoration of trekking along the Adyl-Su gorge is the Ushba massif (transl. – "mountain mountain"), which is not only very picturesque, but also as inaccessible as possible for climbers. It is included in the top of the most dangerous peaks and is officially considered the most difficult 4-thousandth mountain in the world to climb. No less striking is the "toothy" wall of the Shkheld, consisting of 6 peaks with a height of more than 4 thousand meters.
Lunch on the way (dry rations).
Return to the hotel.
Dinner is according to your reservation.
Duration: 4-5 hours.
Height difference: 400 meters.