Winter trekking in the Chegem gorge

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Special offer! For check-in on 02/10/2025 - 02/15/2025, a 15% discount is valid for bookings made before 12/26/24. The price is indicated without discount.

In winter, the Chegem Gorge has everything you need for recreation: picturesque coniferous forests, icefalls and ancient towers shrouded in legends. There are not many tourists here yet, and you can treat yourself to a quiet vacation away from civilization.

In just 6 days we will walk 43 km at an altitude of 1500-2650 m, surrounded by the Caucasus Mountains, fresh alpine air and the company of like-minded people.

Ort

Stavropol territory, Mineral Waters

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Kontakt mit dem Tour-Koordinator

Mo. - Fr.: 08.00 bis 20.00
Sa. - So.: 08.00 bis 19.00 (UTC+3)

Oder schreiben Sie uns

Highlights

Waterfalls in winter

It's always very beautiful: the water freezes, and huge frozen cascades hang on the rocks

The City of the Dead in Eltuby

Here you can feel the connection of times and realize the transience of life

Distant gorges

We will take off-road vehicles to remote corners and discover new routes

Reiseplan

Tag 1 - Arrival. Chegem waterfalls, Adai-Su icefall
12:00-12:30 Gathering of the group at the airport and at the railway station in Mineralnye Vody.
Having gathered all together, we go to the mountains, to the village of Bulungu.
Along the way, we will visit several interesting sights.
Adai-Su Waterfall is a picturesque waterfall that is located in a very narrow canyon.
Adai-Su is called the younger brother of the Chegem waterfalls, to which we are going further.
Chegem waterfalls in winter are always very beautiful: the water freezes, and huge, frozen cascades of light blue color hang on the rocks, for 200-300 m.
This is a very popular place among tourists, so a souvenir market has been formed here.
You can buy honey, herbal teas, berry jam, warm socks, shawls and many pleasant souvenirs.
After looking at these locations, we go further to the Chegem gorge.
In the village of Bulungu, we will move into a cozy guest house, where we will live throughout the tour.
Active part: 4 km on foot.

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Tag 2 - Golden Castles of Bulungu
We are going to explore the surroundings of the winter village of Bulungu.
First of all, we will discover Golden castles and a Stone mushroom.
To see all these, you need to climb a little above the village of Bulungu.
The Stone Mushroom is our first interesting location.
In this place, nature has created a huge mushroom, on the cap of which interesting pictures are obtained.
There is also an excellent observation deck, from where we will look at the future locations of our winter tour to Chegem — the village of Eltyubyu and Mount Zinki.
Next, we will walk through a small forest and climb to the Golden Remnants.
Golden castles or outliers are huge sand figures that seem to grow on top of a mountain.
In sunny weather, they look spectacular, and on foggy days they look very mystical!
Active part: 14.5 km on foot, altitude difference 1620-2150 m, duration 6-7 hours.

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Tag 3 - Mount Zinki and the Eye of Chegem
Zinki is the most popular local peak.
Its height is 2498 m and this mountain can be seen from anywhere in the villages of Bulungu and Eltuby.
Even from our guest house we will admire this mountain every day!
There is a Chegem airfield on Zinki, where paragliders fly in summer.
We will arrive at the location where these sky lovers live and start the walking route from here.
We will smoothly climb the winter gorge, see the shepherd's kosh and by lunch we will go out to the spectacular Oko Chegem rock, or it is also called the Eye of Chegem.
It is rumored that it is through this eye that the Zinki rock watches everything that happens around.
We will have lunch at this place and admire the surroundings.
Despite the fact that we drove only a few kilometers from our village of Bulungu, the landscape around us will change very much: we will see very beautiful, sharp rocks, and in the distance the inviting mountains of the Aktoprak pass will be visible.
Active part: 8.7 km on foot, 1500-2050-1660 m, duration 6-7 hours.

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Tag 4 - Tikhnengen Mountain, Chegem narzan, Abai-Su waterfall
We take off-road vehicles to the distant gorges, drive towards the Main Caucasian Ridge.
Today we will see Mount Tihtengen — it is a four-thousand-meter high 4611 m.
This mountain immediately attracts the eye and you immediately realize that he is the owner of this gorge.
We will go to the foot of this mountain to see and taste the Chegem narzan.
Narzan is water that comes straight from the ground, has a small mineralization and is saturated with useful trace elements.
Then, according to the tour program, we go to the neighboring Bashil gorge to see the largest waterfall of these places.
The waterfall of hunter Abai has a height of 78 m!!
But you have already realized that in winter all waterfalls freeze and turn into icefalls.
In addition, here we will see the basalt rock, which looks very impressive, and in some places resembles a mountain organ.
Active part: 10.8 km on foot, height differences within 150-200 m.

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Tag 5 - Aktoprak Pass, Caucasian Baikal, Eltyubyu village
Today we will go to the Aktoprak pass.
Along the way, we will make several photo stops to admire the mountains and endless expanses.
In this place, the instructor will tell you the legend of untold treasures and about the secret passage that once existed in these places.
And then we go to the lake, which is called Lake Baikal in the Caucasus!
We go to Lake Gizhgit, which freezes completely in winter.
There is little snowfall in this area, most often the surface of the lake is open and looks like a huge ice rink.
After taking a walk near the lake, we go further to the village of Eltyubyu.
We will see:
the tower of love and a bonus to hear the legend about it;
The snow-white mosque;
a book in stone with poems by the Balkarian poet;
The Fardyk-Keshene necropolis, where there are huge octagonal crypts.
Active part: 5 km on foot, drops within 100 m, duration 6-7 hours.

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Tag 6 - Departure to Mineralnye Vody
In the morning we set off on our way back.
12:30-13:30 Arrival in Mineralnye Vody (airport, railway station), departure home.
Depending on the weather conditions, the physical condition of the participants and other factors, the route of the hike may be changed.

Komplexität

Erfordert keine körperliche Fitness, beinhaltet aber eine moderate körperliche Aktivität.

Kommentar des Reiseveranstalters

The difficulty level of the route: moderate (40% of the route), medium (60% of the route). It is recommended for novice tourists.

The route is trekking and provides for walking through mountainous (rugged) terrain. This type of active recreation involves daily climbing and dropping heights (ascents and descents).

The route passes through forest trails, dirt roads, large and small stones. The differences along the route are 200-600 m per day. Climbing up 200-600 m is about like climbing 70-200 floors.

Unterkunft

Gästehaus

5 Nächte

Komfort

Einfach

The tour provides accommodation in the village of Bulungu in the guest house "Jasmine".

The surcharge for single occupancy in a guest house room is 14,000 rubles/ the entire rest period.

2, 3-bed accommodation, room amenities, Wi-Fi. There is a kitchen for tourists.

The Jasmine Hotel is conveniently located in a high-altitude village among picturesque mountains and natural attractions, from where you can easily make excursions and hiking trips through the nearby unique natural and geographical landscapes with natural, innumerable attractions.

Living conditions:

There is a large shared kitchen on site, which has everything you need: new dishes, kettles, pots, pans, a shared refrigerator, stove, oven, microwave. In the courtyard there is a gazebo, barbecue. Two large halls with tables.

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Reisedetails

Gruppe

Von 6 bis 18 Personen

Mindestalter

6 Jahre alt

Reisedauer

6 Tage 5 Nächte

Treffpunkt

Stavropol territory, Mineral Waters

Preis enthält

road crossings along the route;
moving along the route by mountain transport (UAZ);
accommodation in the village of Bulungu in the guest house "Jasmine": 2, 3-bed accommodation;
3 meals a day according to the set menu (the menu is not individual):
- ready-made breakfasts (day 2-6);
- dinners (day 1-5) are served at the guest house according to the set menu;
- lunch (day 2-5) in the form of dry rations in the mountains (sausage, cheese, tea, cookies, chocolate, sweets);
group first aid kit;
environmental fees in the Kabardino-Balkarian Nature Reserve;
the services of an instructor-guide.

Zusätzlich bezahlt

air and railway tickets to and from Mineralnye Vody;
Meals: lunch during the move in 1 day;
the surcharge for a single room in a guest house is 14,000 rubles/the entire rest period;
insurance (optional).

Wichtig zu wissen

a winter jacket with a hood (required!). The daytime air temperature can be in the range of -5...- 17C.;
fleece;
hat, gloves;
running trousers;
T-shirt;
lingerie;
tights, socks;
flashlights (gaiters, gaiters, shoe covers);
warm, waterproof walking shoes. The route runs on asphalt, on a trampled snow trail, on fresh snow;
trekking poles. Sticks significantly reduce the load on the knees. Physically strong and healthy tourists are recommended to have sticks with them. Tourists who have problems with knees, joints and overweight must have trekking poles. If necessary, the club provides trekking poles for rent;
podpopnik;
flip flops;
child's passport / birth certificate;
camera/video camera;
toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, razor);
hairbrush;
sunglasses are required. On clear days, the glasses protect the eyes from sunlight, which can burn the outer layers of the eye;
thread, needle;
backpack for walking (25-35 liters);
toilet paper (useful during the day on the route);
a thermos is required (volume 0.75-1 liter per person). In a thermos, every tourist takes tea for a walk;
a mug, a spoon. If there is a drinking cup in the thermos, then it is not necessary to take a separate mug;
shoe dryers. On walks, we walk along snowy paths, by the evening the shoes become wet, they need to be dried;
sunscreen, hygienic lipstick;
Individual first aid kit (elastic bandage, patch).

Verfügbare Daten für Buchung

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742 $

1. – 6. Jan. 2026 6 Tage 5 Nächte

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674 $

9. – 14. Feb. 2026 6 Tage 5 Nächte

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Kundenbewertungen

IA
Ivan Alfeyev

Über den Reiseveranstalter

2. Apr. 2025

The tour was organized in a great way!!!

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Y
Yuri

Über den Reiseveranstalter

25. März 2025

The tour was very well organized. The transfers from the airport and railway station to the campsite, as well as from the campsite to the hiking trails, were smooth and convenient. The campsite itself was comfortable, with rooms equipped with showers and TVs. What impressed me the most, however, was the drying room on our floor! The weather in this region changes rapidly, and almost every day, our group got caught in the rain. Drying clothes and shoes while hiking can be a real challenge, back in Altai, after getting soaked in rain and snow, I was never able to fully dry my clothes, as it rained every night, and they only dried once I got home. Here, that problem was completely solved. A special thank you to our guide, Roman, an experienced mountain tour expert, a fascinating and cheerful companion, and undoubtedly a true mountain romantic. He went above and beyond to bring our diverse group together, chatting with everyone during the day and organizing engaging activities in the evenings. He shared captivating stories about his native Krasnoyarsk region, the Sayan Mountains, local customs, and legends, as well as personal anecdotes. Roman carefully selected routes based on the weather and terrain, always prioritizing the safety and well-being of the group. Roma, thank you so much!