The attraction of the Caucasus

Breakfast at the hotel. 

Together with a local guide, you will embark on a fascinating journey to the high-altitude lake Kezenoy Am (1869 m above sea level). 

In terms of size and depth, it can be put on a par with the lake. The Ritsa in Abkhazia or the Blue Lake in Kabardino-Balkaria. 

The coastline is 10 km, and the depth is 76 meters. 

The lake is located on the territory of two republics at once – Chechnya and Dagestan. 

The water in the lake is cold, and in summer the surface temperature does not rise above 17-18 degrees Celsius. 

On the way to Vedeno village, you will see the walls of the fortress, which is more than 200 years old.

And at the local market you can buy tortillas, pita bread, seasonal fruits, homemade cheese, honey. 

After lunch at a cafe on the way (on your own), transport will take you (about 24 km) to the Harami Pass (2400 m above sea level). 

After stopping at the pass, where the beauty will make your head spin, the descent to the lake (about 11 km) will begin – also by transport. 

Next, your way will pass through Kharachoy village, a village famous for its location and history. 

A road connecting Chechnya and Dagestan has been passing through it since time immemorial. 

The legendary name of Zelemkhan Kharachoevsky, the famous Abrek, is associated with this place. 

Next, you will visit the ruins of the ancient village of Khoy, where you will see a six-story battle tower, petroglyphs, tombstones, arched structures that are found only in the local places of the Cheberloy society. 

A mandatory item of the program is a visit to the city of Shali, where a new mosque, The Pride of Muslims, was opened in the fall of 2019. 

The mosque covers an area of more than 5 hectares in the city center, next to the Shali City high-rise complex. 

Four minarets rise to 63 meters, while the height of the central dome is more than 40 meters. 

The territory is decorated with 12 oriental-style fountains and marble gazebos where you can take a bath before prayer. 

At the end of the day, you will drive to Argun, to the Aymani Kadyrova Mosque, the first mosque in Russia built in the hi–tech style.

During the day, depending on the weather, the arches of the mosque change their color from light gray to turquoise blue. 

At night, the mosque and the surrounding areas are illuminated with colorful LED lamps and spotlights. 

Return to Grozny. 

Free time in the city, dinner on your own.

Breakfast. 

Check-out from the hotel. 

Today you will go to Vladikavkaz, the capital of North Ossetia-Alania. 

A sightseeing walking tour will show you one of the most beautiful streets of Vladikavkaz – Mira Avenue, founded back in the 19th century. 

Here you can take a leisurely walk, listen to local radio music, see the famous Vladikavkaz tram, which is one of the most beloved symbols of the city, drink coffee in unusual coffee shops, and in good weather you can see magnificent views of the Main Caucasian Ridge and Mount Kazbek. 

You will definitely walk along the avenue, see the architectural monuments – the building of the former Paris Hotel, the academic Russian Theater named after Ye. Vakhtangov, a branch of the Mariinsky Theater, will visit Bulgakov with a Hippopotamus cat, stroll among the houses of the 19th century, and, of course, learn how the city was formed with different faiths and views – after all, the Armenian church, Lutheran church, Sunni mosque and Orthodox churches get along in the capital of North Ossetia. 

You will have lunch during the tour in one of the cafes of the city (included).

Accommodation at the Vladikavkaz 4* hotel. 

In the evening, we suggest going to the Biragzang thermal springs in the mountains under the open sky (without a guide, additional payment for transport – depending on the number of people who wish).

There are 3 swimming pools on the territory: main 35-38°C, small hot 40-43°C, small cold 5-15°C). Bathing – 1 hour (surcharge for entrance tickets from 400 rubles/ person on site). 

The thermal spring gushes from a depth of more than 2000 meters. 

Bathing in it helps to successfully treat various diseases of the gastrointestinal tract; skin and joint diseases; gynecological problems; cardiovascular and neurological diseases. It is not recommended to visit the pool during the period of exacerbation of diseases.

Dinner (on your own). 

Important! The route passes through the border area. Citizens of the CIS countries need to issue a border pass in advance: documents must be submitted 45 days before the intended trip.

After breakfast at the hotel, you will meet with your guide and go to mountainous Ingushetia, learning a lot about the region along the way. 

An inspection of the Egikal complex awaits you (from the observation deck). 

According to historians, at one time it was the cultural, political and economic center of the Middle Ages. 

The Vnushki tower complex will also be a mandatory item of the program. It consists of three main towers, two of which stand on top of one cliff, and the third on the opposite cliff. 

The towers of the complex attract attention from afar, they are located in the picturesque gorge of the Guloi Khi River against the backdrop of impressive cliffs and ridges of the Caucasus.

Lunch on the way (dry ration). 

Let's not ignore the oldest Christian church in Russia, Thaba–Yerdy, in the Assinsky gorge, on the right tributary of the Assi River, near the border with Georgia.

Historians estimate the date of construction of this temple ambiguously – from the 8th to the 14th century inclusive. 

Return to the hotel full of new experiences to relax and recuperate. 

Dinner (on your own).

Breakfast at the hotel. 

After meeting with the guide at the hotel, you will go on an excursion to the Alagir Gorge, a kind of gateway to Transcaucasia.

In ancient times, the gorge played the role of a fortress – the Ossetians built fortifications, bastions, castles, and watchtowers in this area.

Everyone who travels from Vladikavkaz to Alagir invariably slows down at the entrance to the village of Dzuarikau – here, by the mountain river Fiagdon, seven white cranes are frozen in eternal flight above a gray rock, touching their wings. 

The monument is dedicated to the Gazdanov brothers, who one by one went to the front during the Great Patriotic War and never returned to their native Ossetian village. 

Our next stop is the Cathedral of the Ascension of the Lord in Alagir (1851), built in the Byzantine style from a local material – pinkish-gray tuff. 

Another interesting place to visit is the Alan Epiphany Convent. 

The first sisters settled in Alagir in May 2002, in an unfinished house of three hundred square meters on twenty acres of uncultivated land. 

Now, on the territory of the monastery there is a temple, a hotel, a separate building for monastic workshops, a large monastic refectory, a nursing building and a Rehabilitation center for children injured in terrorist attacks and hostilities.

8 km from the town of Alagir, before entering the gorge, you will be greeted by the monument of St. Wastyrji, the most revered in Ossetia. 

It is located right in the rock, at a height of 22 m above the ground and weighs 28 tons. 

On this day, you will also visit the capital of ancient Alagir, the village of Verkhny Mizur (XVI century), so named for its impressive size – it stretches on several slopes at the foot of a Rocky ridge.

The landmark of the village, in addition to the size, remains of towers, crypts and churches, is considered to be the Church of the Archangel Michael, which was built by the Marzoev family in 1890. 

Lunch with national Ossetian dishes, with Ossetian pies at the head.

After lunch, your way will pass to the oldest highland settlements of the 13th century of the Ursdon gorge – Tsamad, Dagom and Donisar.

You will see incredible plateaus and clearings with stunning views of the Caucasus Mountain Range. 

You may encounter herds of wild horses. 

And, of course, here you will fully experience the meditative state of "silence in the mountains", for which they return here again and again. 

Return to Vladikavkaz. 

Free time. 

Dinner (on your own).

Breakfast at the hotel. 

Room release (we take our things with us). 

Today, the first thing you will do is go to the Karmadon gorge (the second name is the Genaldon gorge). 

The Genaldon River runs along the bottom of this gorge. 

There is also a fairly large Kolka glacier, the site of the tragedy that happened to Sergei Bodrov in 2002.

Climb a little higher and you will already be in the Kurtatinsky gorge, one of the most picturesque in North Ossetia (it has a length of more than 50 km). 

The gorge was formed as a result of the breakthrough of the rocky massifs by the Fiagdon River.

Stop for a photo shoot in the Kadargavan gorge, where the river has cut a hundred-meter gap in the mountain range. 

Visit the Dzivgis rock fortress, a complex of defensive structures built in the 13th-16th centuries, and the towers of the Kurtag and Tag brothers. 

Magnificent views of the mountain panorama open from the observation deck of the tower.

Acquaintance with the history of the Ossetian ancestral castles. 

Today you will find out where the genealogy of more than a hundred surnames of North Ossetia originates from. 

The pearl of the Kurtatinsky gorge is the village of Tsymyti, located in the upper reaches of the Kurtatinsky gorge. 

Picturesque views, crypts, towers with petroglyphs – all this awaits you here.

The tour will continue with a visit to the village of Verkhny Fiagdon and the Holy Dormition Monastery, the highest mountain temple in Russia. 

Lunch with dishes of national cuisine, where you will learn how real Ossetian pies are made. 

At the end of the day, a transfer will take you to Vladikavkaz airport for flights after 20:00.