Visiting the mighty Kazbek. Winter travel

Breakfast at the hotel.

Departure for a sightseeing walking tour of Vladikavkaz, where more than 70 historical and architectural monuments of the late XIX — early XX centuries have been preserved.

One of the most beautiful streets of Vladikavkaz is Mira Avenue, which was founded in the 19th century. Here you can take a leisurely walk, listen to the music of the local radio, see the famous  Vladikavkaz tram, which is one of the most beloved symbols of the city, drink coffee in an unusual coffee shop, in good weather you can see gorgeous views of the Main Caucasian Ridge and Mount Kazbek.

We will definitely walk along the avenue, see the architectural monuments – the building of the former Paris Hotel, the academic Russian Theater named after E. Vakhtangov, a branch of the Mariinsky Theater, we will visit Bulgakov with the Behemoth cat, do not forget to mention Pushkin, take a walk among the houses of the 19th century, and, of course, tell you how the city was formed with different faiths and views, because the Armenian church, Lutheran church, Sunni mosque and Orthodox get along in the capital of North Ossetia temples.

After the walking part of the tour, we will take a look at the center for the development of folk arts and crafts of Alanya, where you can buy interesting souvenirs, including the famous handmade ceramics.

Lunch in the city.

A master class in ceramics.

In the North Caucasus, which is unique for its natural features and rich in natural raw materials, folk crafts have always occupied an important place, and ceramics are almost the main subject of archaeological finds. It is she who is most often found at archaeological sites, which indicates a high level of development of pottery, which is still revered in the North Caucasus.

We invite you to plunge into the world of pottery and create your own work of art with your own hands.

Free time in the city.

Dinner (on your own).

Breakfast at the hotel.

Meeting with the guide at the hotel. Departure for an excursion on an all-terrain vehicle.

The Alagir Gorge is a kind of gateway to Transcaucasia. In ancient times, the gorge played the role of a fortress – 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 froze in eternal flight over 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 did not return 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 city of Alagir, before entering the gorge, you will be greeted by the monument of St. Uastyrji, 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 called 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 tsyrts, is the church of the Archangel Michael, which was built by the Marzoev family in 1890.

Lunch.

After lunch, we will go to the oldest high—altitude settlements of the 13th century Ursdon gorge - Tsamad, Dagom and Donisar. You will see incredible plateaus and glades with stunning views of the Caucasus 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.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Room release. We take our things with us. 

Departure to the Karmadon gorge (the second name is Genaldon). The Genaldon River flows 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.

We climb a little higher and we are already 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 rock massifs by the Fiagdon River.

A stop for a photo session in the Kadargavan gorge, where the river cut a hundred-meter gap in the mountain range.

A visit to the Dzivgis rock fortress – a complex of defensive structures built in the XIII-XVI centuries.

Visit the towers of the Kurtag and Tag brothers, where magnificent views of the mountain panorama open from the observation deck. Acquaintance with the history of the ancestral castles of the Ossetians, and 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 are all waiting for us in the village.

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 we will also be able to observe and learn how real Ossetian pies are made.

Transfer to Vladikavkaz airport for flights after 20:00.