By car to the Caucasus mountains. Travel to the North Caucasus: the beauty of Kabardino-Balkaria and the hot horseman Dagestan in one bottle

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The Caucasus means a lot to me! Back at school, during sightseeing trip in the Elbrus region, I saw real mountains for the first time. The inaccessible teeth of Kogutai, the harsh northern wall of Donguz and the ice caps of the giant Elbrus surrounded us from all sides. Glaciers sparkled high in the sky in the sun, the tops of pines rustled in the wind, and Baksan murmured nearby. Three years after this trip, after finishing the tenth grade of school, I went on my first mountain hike and finally fell ill with the mountains, and in 2011, leaving noisy Moscow, my wife and I moved to live in Sochi and now we ourselves live in the Caucasus. This page contains links to all my 70 hikes and travels in the Caucasus (mainly in the vicinity of Sochi and Krasnaya Polyana), which I managed to complete in last years.

The Caucasus means a lot to me! Back at school, during an excursion trip to the Elbrus region, I saw real mountains for the first time. The inaccessible teeth of Kogutai, the harsh northern wall of Donguz and the ice caps of the giant Elbrus surrounded us from all sides. Glaciers sparkled high in the sky in the sun, the tops of pines rustled in the wind, and Baksan murmured nearby.

Three years after this trip, after finishing the tenth grade of school, I went on my first mountain hike and finally fell ill with the mountains, and in 2011, leaving noisy Moscow, my wife and I moved to live in Sochi and now we ourselves live in the Caucasus.

For the convenience of searching, the trips are grouped by types: #, #, #, #, #, #.

Multi-day hiking and climbing

Since I have been living in Sochi for almost five years, almost all of my trips to the Caucasus start from Krasnaya Polyana. The Western Caucasus is very beautiful, friendly, safe and comfortable. In addition to Polyana, sometimes I go to the Elbrus region, and I plan to study Arkhyz, Dombai and other regions of the Central Caucasus. I hope, after reading my stories, you will also want to see these beautiful mountains with my own eyes!

District - Abkhazia | Duration - 4 days | The length is 52 km. | Climb +3400 m. | Route difficulty - high

Dream to go to Agepsta - highest peak from all the mountains visible from Krasnaya Polyana emerged from the very first day we moved to live in Sochi. While hiking in the surrounding mountains, it is impossible not to pay attention to this beautiful peak, which is threateningly cut off by powerful rocks towards the Mzymta gorge!

Day hikes in the vicinity of Sochi and Krasnaya Polyana

Logistics is very important for day trips. I don't want to waste time getting to the mountains. In our country, but what is there, even in the vast the former USSR there are not many cities where you can walk to the mountains with just one day at your disposal. Alma-Ata, Irkutsk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Yalta and, of course, Sochi! Thanks to the Olympic construction of a new railroad Krasnaya Polyana became even closer. From the center of Sochi to the beginning of the routes leading to the alpine peaks Greater Caucasus can be reached in an hour and a half by public transport!

Cycling in the vicinity of Sochi

Spurs Caucasus mountains, forest hills descending to the Black Sea coast - ideal places for cycling adventures! An extensive network of dirt and asphalt roads makes numerous passes, canyons and waterfalls accessible to the cyclist. In the height of summer, in July - August it is very hot, so my favorite time for cycling is spring and autumn. From mid-April, April to early June is an excellent time for pre-season training of general physical training before serious mountain hikes and at the same time the flowering season, and the end of September - November is the season of warm and comfortable "golden autumn".

Hiking with little Sasha

The first time we took our son Sasha on a hike when he was 3 months old. Now he is already 3 years old, and of course he does not sit at home, but goes camping with his dad and mom! In the first year and a half, of course, he did not "walk", but only went in a special backpack-carrying, but already at two years and three months he did not only go to his first mountain hike with overnight stays in tents, but even climbed his first mountain peak 2800 meters high!

Petroglyphs and dolmens are scattered at the top of the ridge, and you need to walk with your feet for several hours to get to them. The village has a camp site with all the amenities where you can stay overnight. Food is prepared at will. There are no shops and no gas station.

After spending the night food in Arkhyz. Of the sights on the way to Arkhyz - the miraculous face of Christ, found on a rock and became a massive place for pilgrimage for tourists. A metal staircase of 500 steps was laid up, a chapel, a souvenir market and barbecue were placed below.

A little further from this place there is a turn to the BTA (Large Alt-Azimuthal Telescope) - the largest telescope in Eurasia with a main mirror 6 m in diameter.It was the largest telescope in the world from 1975 to 1993, when a ten-meter telescope in the United States was put into operation. However, BTA remained the world's largest monolithic mirror telescope until 1998.

A serpentine seventeen-kilometer asphalt road leads to the observatory, at the very top of the ridge. The observatory is open to the public on weekends. We were allowed to pass at an irregular time, having learned that from afar. The checkpoint meets before the start of the serpentine.

There is nothing to do in Arkhyz itself, except to find excursions to the Sofia glade, rafting, horses, spend the night with conveniences, a souvenir market and shops.

There is no gas station, despite the large number of tourists, but there is a well-known Arkhyz water plant.

I drove through the village and left the road to the Sofia meadow, 10-15 km. I ask how to get to the waterfalls, the main local attraction, not counting hiking trails on glaciers. The road is only for UAZ-Niv-Kruzaks. There is a section where the road runs right along the river.

I leave the motorcycle under the shelter at the barbecue and go to the waterfalls. The climb is about an hour and a half. The waterfalls offer a stunning view of the Sofia meadow and the entire gorge.

This completes the acquaintance with Karachay-Cherkessia. I am moving to Kislovodsk to the Narzans and mountain routes. The first place where we went with the Pyatigorsk motorcyclists and a friend who had arrived from Stavropol was to the Bermamyt plateau, the place that is guilty of wanting the Caucasus after seeing photographs from the Bermamyt mountain on the Internet.

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It is better to go to Bermamyt with local endurists, there are several roads here and you can make a beautiful circle in the mountains if you know all the ways. The changeable weather does not always allow us to enjoy the beauty, but she favored us, and, despite some difficulties with my universal rubber and Lechina's big, not yet run-in, orange endura, we succeeded.

The next day we drove to the sources of Dzhily-su. Under the northern side of Elbrus.

And since we are still alone with Leha, we decide to scout the road from the springs to the Baksan gorge across the pass. We ask the locals about the condition of the road, and when we heard that the quad was passing, but the cars hadn’t driven yet, we decided to take a look.

Height 3000 m and not a single soul. At the end there is a long serpentine, descending from the once prosperous mines to Tyrnyauz.

We say goodbye to Leha, he is home to Stavropol, and I am under Elbrus to reconnoiter the situation with the ascent.

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Descending to Cheget, I drive through the pass to the Chegem gorge. Green mountains and Chegem waterfalls are local attractions.

According to the plan, there was another pass to the Bezengi Gorge, but part of the mountain road was washed away, and we had to take a detour on the asphalt. Blue Lakes- one of the main tourist attractions in Kabarda. Not impressed, as is often the case with promoted places. Approximately the same with the Chegem waterfalls, however, the gorge with a narrow road stretches the situation.

The most beautiful are the passes between the gorges.

All the sights are still ahead: the Dzheyrakhsky district in Ingushetia with tower complexes, the alpine lake Kazenoy-Am in Chechnya, the Naryn Kala fortress in Dagestan.

After Kabardino-Balkaria, next in line North Ossetia.

Here I am interested in the road between Feagdon and Karmadon gorges, where you can see the city of the dead in Dargavs, Midagrabin waterfalls 600-700 meters long and the notorious Karmadon gorge, where a glacier disappeared in 2002. The road there has not been restored to this day. You can get to Karmadon from the Feagdon Gorge. Between these gorges, a little to the side, in the border zone, there are Midagrabin waterfalls, the highest in Europe. In fact, there were no problems with the visit. You need to have your passport with you.

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There are several loaves of tourists on site. If the bike is light, you can drive up almost to the waterfalls, along the dry river bed. The place is beautiful, here two ridges converge, forming a dead end, on the sides of which water falls.

Going back to the main dirt road, driving through City of dead- ancient burials. Some kind of fee is charged for the entrance. Photographed from the road and went to Karmadon.

There are no problems with gasoline in the Caucasus, there are a lot of gas stations. The price of gasoline is about the same as in the middle lane. Accommodation prices are lower. There are camp sites in mountainous regions and inexpensive hotels in civilization.

But the most interesting thing about the Caucasian service is, of course, the food. It's cheap, plentiful and delicious. If, leaving the Caucasus, you catch yourself thinking - again barbecue, again khychins, then the mission accomplished, it will not be easy to gorge on it.

I am going to spend the night in Vladikavkaz. In the morning I go up the Ossetian Military Highway and leave for Ingushetia, to the village of Dzheyrakh. In the mountainous part of this small republic there are tower complexes, the most interesting both on this side Caucasian ridge, and on the other.

The whole tourist drives by, to Georgia, and few people think that there are so many unique places... Moreover, it is safe here. Towers are everywhere, on every hill. There are combat and residential towers. The largest complexes can be viewed by moving the pass from Dzheirakh to Guli, where the oldest one in the Russian Federation is located. christian temple Tkhaba-Yerdy. In the Dzheyrakh region, there is a large sanatorium with a ski resort where you can stay.

I leave the border zone and drive through the republic down to the plain. The first time they wrote off the passport data at the checkpoint. I do not meet any police lawlessness, and there will be no one all the way. Except, perhaps, one extortion attempt at the border Stavropol Territory and Kalmykia is already our guardian of order.

A lot of honey is produced in Ingushetia, the whole road is in apiaries. As in other republics, everyone speaks two languages: local and Russian. There are already stricter traditions, people seem to be more closed.

There are no food shops on the road, but there are many small shops. And everywhere there are signs about the rent of dishes and tables for weddings and other traditional mass celebrations. No poverty or devastation is noticeable, there are many fresh houses, all the villages are made of red brick. The road along the Assa River from the mountainous part of the republic to the plain is fast and in good condition.

Next is the Chechen Republic. Having left on the Kavkaz highway, I call the Wild Division club, they are already waiting there. By lunchtime I am driving into Grozny. The city does not leave you indifferent. Wide central avenue good roads and no sign of war.

It is customary to say that it is at our expense. Let's take a look at your region. In Tver, even the central station square cannot be made. There is money in all capitals of the regions, but nowhere is building, as in Grozny, for themselves.

For this, Ramzan is loved and respected here. I don't go into politics or military-clan history. When he is free from this, he is free from unnecessary prejudices and fears. What is happening here now - I like it. Those who think that not wearing shorts or not plumping is so stupid, they probably won't like it here.

A family from Yalta has been visiting the Wild Division for a couple of days. I will not describe what local hospitality is. I can only say that it is proud and described by traditions.

Motorcyclists in Chechnya, as in Dagestan, are mostly relatively wealthy people. And according to the Caucasian rule, show-offs are more expensive than money, they ride here only on hot Caucasian sports motorcycles.

The next day I went to the alpine lake Kazenoy-Am in the Vedeno region on the border with mountainous Dagestan, one of the most beautiful lakes I have seen.

In this part of the republic, the mountains are green, wide and open. After looking at the blue lake and having a bite of cheese cakes, I go to other Chechen mountains. Those that squeeze the road into a tall narrow gorge. V Argun gorge Itum-Kalinsky district.

For lovers of horror stories. A bit of an odd situation happened when I took a photo of the towers here. The border area and the military are many here. Having passed, I decided to take a picture of this place on the way back, there were a couple of cars and several people with machine guns, raised my hand and said hello, they too. In 15 minutes I go back and stop. There is an Audi Ku7 and a black Camry. I see that people have strained themselves by my stop. Who is being killed in the Caucasus? Police officers. What is the most dangerous position? The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It was he who ended up here.

So, I stop next to the Camry, get off the motorcycle, open the pad, and that's when I realized that something was wrong. The submachine gunners were already seriously straining, approaching me, I took out my camera, and only then I felt general relief. As usual, I was invited to spend the night and eat, I photographed the towers, politely refused and went to Grozny.

After spending the night at the Grozny hotel in the center for 1000 rubles, I go to Dagestan, which promises to be the most unpredictable. Concerning this republic, there are most of all fears and often not groundless. But the fact that Dagestan cannot be skated unaccompanied is an obvious exaggeration.

How terrible Dagestan met me

At the entrance to Makhachkala, I stop at a large gas station, call the guys from the Black Eagles club. Most of the motorcyclists were on the road outside the republic, but I was ordered to stay put.

Refuel, ate ice cream, wait. The car is refueling. The man from her goes to the store. Comes out, hands me a bag of fruit and says:
- Welcome.
He gets into the car and drives off.

I stand smiling. Camille arrives and we go to the city. We bought oil, changed it at Kamil's house. We picked up a hotel in Derbent. Camille fed and released. Middle of the day, heat. Driving along the Caspian to Derbent.

In Derbent, there is the only UNESCO monument in the Caucasus - the Naryn-Kala fortress. The fortress stands on a hill and goes down to the very ocean. The locals weave their buildings into the fortress using the walls. The city itself is quite picturesque, with low buildings.

It stands on the shores of the Caspian Sea and is the second largest city in Dagestan. The fortress is large and interesting. Different religions have coexisted within the walls of the fortress for a long time. There is the oldest mosque in the CIS and one of the oldest Christian churches.

I spend several days in Derbent, enjoying the hospitality of local motorcyclists, hot weather and the sea.

The farthest point of this journey is Mount Shalbuzdag, which is on the very border with Azerbaijan. 120 km south of Derbent and then 30 km of a beautiful off-road serpentine road up to an altitude of 3000 m. The mountain is sacred for the locals and at the end of July-August it is full of pilgrims. It's June now, no one here. I leave the motorcycle, change clothes, pack my backpack and go upstairs to an altitude of 3700 m.

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Below you will find a very voluminous story, deliciously flavored with gorgeous photos, about a tourist trip in the Caucasus, to be precise, in Dagestan. Maybe someone will decide on vacation to go there after watching ...

Dmitry Chistoprudov writes from Moscow: A standard telephone conversation with friends and acquaintances sounded like this:
- Where where? In Dagestan? What are you! Crazy?
- Yes, everything is fine here. Hospitable people, mountains, sea, beauty! The only danger is that they can feed to death.

It was undoubtedly the most eventful and rich in impressions car trip of this year. Crazy mountain landscapes, ancient villages with traditional artisans, hospitable and open people, endlessly delicious food, tea drinking and long sincere conversations in the native language. We traveled through the concentration of beauty, moving from one incredible place to another, always being late somewhere, constantly shifting appointments and breaking the trip schedule. There was no other way.

1. This trip came out in every sense of the double. According to the plan, we were going to visit Dagestan in April, and in May go to the Elbrus region. In order not to waste time on long hauls, we decided to combine two trips into one double. From Dagestan we went straight to Chechnya, and on the first of May we made a small ascent to Terskol peak - to the observatory on the slope of Elbrus.

We had two cars. The brands are the same, but in reality they are completely different: Chevrolet Trailblazer and Chevrolet Niva.

Except for our standard crew of me, Kolya nikolapic and his wife Yana ya_yankel , we were joined by the famous metrophotographer Sasha on social networks russos and my classmate Anton, completely unknown in social networks, with whom I studied side by side for five years at MSTU "MAMI". We will tell you more about Anton, but for now we will just note that this man is a wonderful engineer who looked after Niva throughout the trip, looked after her and kept twisting, pumping and pouring something.

Even in the very first photo of the trip, during a halt in the Tambov region, when everyone is drinking tea and pie, and Anton is poking around in the Niva.

2. On April 18, early in the morning, we left Moscow and without spending the night moved south through Tambov, Volgograd and Elista. At dawn the next day we drove into the Republic of Dagestan. Until that time, we were never stopped by traffic cops.

3. 99% of the photos on the way to Derbent are endless Dagestan gas stations. There will be a separate report on this.

4. We passed the steppe part of the republic in transit. Our goal was to get to Derbent in the evening.

5. Anton, an engineer, like a real patriot and the owner of Lada Kalina, drove along the roads of Dagestan and was sincerely happy, contemplating the endless number of Russian-made cars. Dagestan is a paradise for connoisseurs of Avtovaz products.

6. Towards evening we drove into the most Southern City Russia - Derbent. We were met by our future friend and brother Magomed Khan-Magomedov, who suggested a good and inexpensive hotel on the shores of the Caspian Sea. For only 500 rubles per person without breakfast. We checked in, drank tea with Magomed and passed out.

The modern architecture of Dagestan is not much different from the architecture of other cities in the country - all the same Chinese ventilation facades, foam blocks and plastic windows. Therefore, in my report you will not find photographs of modern Derbent. Rather, it will be views of the old quarters or such sketches.

7. After two days of the road, I planned to arrange a fasting day. We had to get a good night's sleep, relax and spend the day leisurely strolling through the streets of the old city.

In the beginning, everything went according to plan. We wandered through the old magals and photographed something. Magomed gave us a whole city tour and told many interesting stories. Locals were welcoming and welcoming. There was not even a hint of any danger or discomfort. No one was in a hurry to steal or kill us, but on the contrary, the inhabitants of Derbent constantly invited us to visit for tea, asked about our trip and were sincerely glad that we were traveling in Dagestan. Tea is drunk here anytime, anywhere. Even during the bulkhead of the KAMAZ engine.

8. The driver of Kamaz said that he had also recently arrived from Moscow. He brought goods 20 tons more than the permissible load, and now he is sorting out the engine for prophylaxis.

9. One of the main attractions of the city is the Derbent fortress complex. This is an outstanding architectural monument, which includes the Naryn-Kala fortress and two long city walls that completely blocked the narrow passage between the sea and the Caucasus mountains and went into the sea, forming a port.

10. A passer-by was walking in front of the gates of the city wall and humming "Figaro" with all his heart. Noticing us, he came up to greet the guests and get to know us. His name was Samir and he turned 76 that day. A very positive guy.

During our walk, we shook as many hands as you can shake in Moscow for a whole month. The smile did not leave my face - and so we spent the whole day.

11. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the city seriously monitored the preservation of the historical appearance of the sights and was allowed to build only in a certain style. In the nineties, architectural anarchy came and people began to equip their homes as best they could.

12. We were allowed to go through a private courtyard and climb a fragment of the old city wall. Imagine that you have a piece of a defensive wall in your garden that is more than 1500 years old)

14. Grandfathers on the bench.

We, of course, did not immediately get used to the fact that no one and nowhere forbade photographing. People treated the photographer with interest and kind curiosity. The only exceptions were schoolgirls - at the sight of a camera, they threw themselves all over the place.

18. Old women's bathhouse. More recently, she worked. Now it has been closed and turned into a museum.

21. The Juma Mosque is the oldest mosque in Russia. A former temple, once seized by the Arabs and converted into a mosque. Therefore, the entrance to the building is located from the south, and not from the north, as it should be near the mosques (as it is written in Wikipedia, although, as it seemed to me, we entered from the north).

22. Young women of fashion.

23. City pastoral and the Naryn-Kala fortress towering over Derbent.

25. Seller of radishes.

26. The name Derbent translated from Persian means “narrow gate”. Derbent was located in the most strategically vulnerable place of the Caspian Passage, where the mountains of the Greater Caucasus come closest to the sea, leaving only a narrow three-kilometer strip of plain.

Derbent is considered one of the oldest living cities in the world. The first settlements appeared here in the Early Bronze Age - at the end of the 4th millennium BC. The Derbent fortress is part of a grandiose defensive system that protected the peoples of Transcaucasia and Western Asia from the invasions of nomads from the north. The system included the city walls, citadel, sea walls and the Dag Bara mountain wall. The complex was used for defensive purposes by the Persians, Arabs and Mongols for 15 centuries.

27. View through the defensive fortifications.

28. The total length of the wall was 3600 meters. The southern and northern walls ran parallel to each other at a distance of 300-400 meters. The once grandiose structure has survived only in fragments. The sea part of the wall went 500 meters into the sea, blocking the entrance to the harbor. The most ancient part of Derbent lies between these two walls. The southern wall, like the later one, was mostly demolished in the 19th century, while the northern one largely retains its original appearance.

31. Derbent.

34. School excursion from Untsukul district.

35. Dagestan cat.

36.From the fortress opens good view to the city and the Caspian Sea.

40. The director of the fortress, when he found out that guests had arrived from Moscow, quickly organized a table right on the territory of the complex, and began to treat us with tea from a samovar. It was April 20, Easter day, so there was a cake in the center of the table)

41. Obligatory bow in burka and hat.

42. Well, after tea our plans changed a little. Magomed phoned his friends (and he has friends all over Dagestan), and we went to the Tabasaran district to a carpet factory. This is a separate story)

Dagestan, Tabasaran. Traveling behind the carpet.

It is known that tea is made in India, in Germany - cars, and magnificent woolen carpets - in Tabasaran. I mean real, handmade pile carpets, the colorful patterns of which were invented many centuries ago. We went to Dagestan in order to learn as much as possible about this region - the country of mountains - and of course we could not help but visit the place that is famous throughout the world for its carpet production - Tabasaran district. By the way, Tabasarans are the only people of Russia who continue to practice the traditional kind of national art - carpet weaving.

The well-known skepticism about "photography against the background of a carpet" gave rise to an unfair attitude towards it as an unnecessary, long outdated thing. In addition, our apartments, in which everyone seeks to express their individuality, are becoming less and less like the homes of our ancestors - and are often filled with meaningless things. But life flies very quickly, and over the years you begin to comprehend the value of those things that were invented many generations ago. Yanka and I have long understood that the carpet in the house is a useful thing, so we began to think about where to get it. The trip to Dagestan turned out to be very opportune, becoming for us a kind of pilgrimage behind the carpet.

Tabasaran greeted us with magnificent mountain landscapes. The rich colors of the green valleys, illuminated by the slanting rays of the sun, looked especially solemn against the background of the approaching leaden clouds. We went on a visit to one of the many houses where carpets are made, and this was just the end of the work that had begun six months ago. The owners agreed to wait for us so that we could see with our own eyes the completion of the many months of work of several craftswomen. We were in a hurry, of course. On the way, Mahomet, our Derbent friend, who organized this trip, told the story of Tabasaran and, in particular, the story of carpet weaving.
Once upon a time, carpets were not as elegant as they are now, and were not at all for decorating a room. The nomadic peoples who inhabited the countries of the East began to make them for their homes primarily as a functional thing that would help keep warmth in the house, could be easily transported from one parking place to another and at the same time would serve for many years. Over time, carpets began to be covered with patterns that became more and more complex and graceful, and by their decoration it was possible to judge the well-being of the owner. Carpets became a luxury item without losing their original qualities, and they migrated from poor huts to the palaces of oriental rulers and influential rich people.
Today, there are carpets in every Dagestan house: in families poorer are sumakhs - lint-free rugs, and in wealthy houses the floors are covered with simply magnificent specimens - thick, with high pile and very pleasant to the touch. When we went to visit someone, we usually did not pay special attention to them until we arrived in Tabasaran and found out how much time and work such a masterpiece costs.

We were met by Umganat Suleimanova - a local resident, a poet and just good man... Carpets are made here in almost every home - if not for sale, then just for themselves. Umganat is no exception: when he weaves a carpet, he says he rests with his soul.

We went to the next house, where five craftswomen were finishing weaving a large carpet. It took more than six months to work on it!

Taking off our shoes in front of the porch, as usual, we squeezed in turn into a small room, half of which was occupied by a machine. A very beautiful, almost finished carpet was stretched on it, and women were sitting on a low bench in front of it. It is simply impossible to understand something in the complex interweaving of various threads and auxiliary sticks. The purpose of some of the tools is not clear at all. Women smile, seeing our confusion - they can knit their intricate knots without looking, along the way telling us about their work and by example showing the subtleties of the craft.

To make a carpet, first prepare the base: dense cotton threads are tightly and tightly pulled over the frame, parallel to each other. Then several women sit down at the machine - and the main work begins. Operating with a special crochet, they tie a special knot of colored yarn around each thread. The speed with which the hands of the craftswomen move is fantastic - so it is impossible to catch exactly how they tie the knot. When the row is completed, it is pressed with a special heavy comb, and the uneven ends are cut off with large scissors. Thus, a certain pile depth is formed. In order not to be mistaken with the pattern, women check the pattern on a cheat sheet, and the most experienced carpet weavers know the pattern as a keepsake.

Special attention is paid to the yarn in the carpet business. The most valuable is the carpet made of wool dyed with natural dyes. How to get this or that color has been known for a long time - after all, there were no artificial paints before. A wide variety of colors can be obtained from plants and minerals, as well as from some insects. For example, the red color, traditional for Dagestan carpets, is obtained from the root of the madder plant. Also, many are familiar with such a natural dye as henna, from which a beautiful orange color is obtained. Synthetic dyes are more commonly used these days. This makes the carpet a little cheaper, since a lot of work is not spent on collecting and processing the components of natural dyes, but the quality of the carpet does not decrease from this.

Following the story, the women finished their work. One of them cut the warp threads - and the most beautiful carpet was solemnly transferred to the courtyard for its first photograph. Now he must go to his owner, who will serve for at least 300 years - it's not hard to imagine how many future generations will see this carpet.

When we came to visit Migdet Gadzhievich, we already realized that we would not be able to leave Tabasaran without a carpet - this was just the only place where such acquisitions had to be made. Somewhere, in the past, the director of a local school, and today - a person who, together with his family, is trying to preserve carpet production in the region, also told us a lot of interesting things.
Since ancient times, the Tabasarans have been engaged in carpet weaving, and carpets were woven here in every home - both for themselves and for sale. The skill was passed on from the elders to the younger: girls from early childhood watched how mothers work, and young women already became experienced craftswomen. In Tabasaran families, women were the main breadwinners of the family, as they earned much more than men. In Soviet times, an organized production of carpets was established in Tabasaran. They began to be weaved not at home, but in one large carpet workshop, where almost all the women of the villages came to work. Today, this workshop is still working, but not at full strength, and most of the carpet weavers have returned to work at home.

Carpet workshop

While we were listening to Migdet Gadzhievich, his mother, Aminat, a ninety-year-old woman who was considered the best carpet maker in the village, came out to us.
“Children still make me work,” Aminat jokingly complains, showing his knitting. The children laugh as they translate the words of their mother from the complex Tabasaran language.
Finally, the carpets made by the women of this family were brought out into the yard. We squint at the bright colors, enhanced by the sun, and, exchanging glances with Yanka, we understand that our carpet has finally found us and is now just in front of us. A few minutes later, in the trunk of our car, there was already a neat package, which we were going to unfold in Moscow, in our apartment.
The rest of the evening we spent visiting Gadzhimurat, the head of the Tabasaran region, where we raised more than one toast to guests and hosts, to children and parents, to Dagestan and Russia as a whole, and many, many more for that, which is now difficult to remember. Now, when I am writing this post at home, I am pleased to once again say thank you to all the Tabasaran people who showed so much sincere hospitality to us, as well as to those who helped us come to Tabasaran.

High-mountain villages of Dagestan

Where is Antokha? - I switched the alarm for another fifteen minutes, I really wanted to sleep.
“He’s fixing the Niva,” Sasha answered in a sleepy voice and rolled over on the other side. It's funny, but this simple dialogue began almost every morning of our trip)

From the street came the light sound of the surf. I instantly fell asleep, but the alarm clock, the infection, came to life again. Anton came in and said that Niva was ready and that he had learned everything and agreed on everything. On this day, a long journey to the high-mountain villages of the Samur Valley awaited us.

1. I took the camera and went to find out what Anton had agreed on about everything and what had happened to Niva.

While we were sleeping, Anton managed to drive to auto parts and buy oil and some things. Then he made friends with the men in the garages and drove the car into a ditch. His eyes were on fire - poking around in the car for Anton is the same thrill as it is for me to meet the dawn at four in the morning on the spire of a skyscraper.

In the steppes of Kalmykia, the Niva "flowed". The handout was covered in oil. Anton checked the level and said that it was too early to add. If anything, he bought a syringe of some kind, and he has already tightened the weakened handbrake.

2. While Anton was repairing the Niva, he managed to make friends with the men and discuss our travel plans. It turned out that one of them has a friend of an acquaintance who is the head of the village of Tsakhur, where we actually gathered.
“Everything will be fine,” said our new friend, called somewhere, and now they were waiting for us for dinner somewhere far away in the mountains on the border with Azerbaijan at an altitude of almost 2000 meters. All that remained was to understand if we could get there ... It was necessary to check.

3. Meet - Zeynudin, honored taxi driver of Dagestan. Experience of 18 years!

A small digression. Many believe that in Dagestan it is good to be accompanied by someone's guest and it is dangerous to be on your own. What happened in our case:
- Nobody accompanied us, the riot police did not follow us. There was no air support either.
- Friends from the Ministry of Tourism of Dagestan helped with the choice of interesting places and planning the route. We gave contacts to local residents who are well versed in the history of their area and know what to show.
- We went where we wanted, when we wanted and changed our plans on the go.

In the case of the trip described in this report, the story was special. Initially, I did not know anything at all about the village of Tsakhur and the gorges of the Samur River. On the recommendation of Magomed Khan-Magomedov from Derbent, we decided to try to "break through" into a high-mountain village, but no one could say for sure whether they would let us into the border zone, and if they let us in, where. One thing was known - in the area of ​​the Tsakhur village it is very beautiful, and it is imperative to go there.

And where is it better for us to spend the night? We do not know to which village we can climb ...
- Yes, in any village, go to the first house you come across and spend the night there. Everywhere you will be welcomed, fed, and even the neighbors will fight for the right to receive a guest, you will see - Magomed told with a smile.
- It’s not convenient to be overwhelmed without warning. There are so many of us.
- There are no many guests. A guest is a holiday!

4. Anton drove Niva out and thanked the peasants with a bottle of Stolichnaya, a box of which we captured from Moscow just in case. We hit the road - towards the border.

The picture shows the Samur river valley in the Magaramkent region. Russia is on one side, Azerbaijan is on the other.

6. The higher the mountains, the lower the Priory octane number of gasoline. Surprisingly, gas station operators are honest people:
“They don’t risk refueling such cars here,” said the operator, pointing in the direction of the Chevrolet Trailblazer, and the Niva — no problem.

7. Walking a flock of sheep against the backdrop of beauty.

10. Gradually the channel of the Samur narrowed, and the valley turned into a gorge.

Passing the last major settlement - administrative center Rutulsky district, Sasha Popov suggested trying to look at the head of the district - to get acquainted, learn about the border guards and ask about the village of Tsakhur. What if he will? For this, we spoke with the language:
- Hello! Where can we find the head of the district?
- He should be in the administration, there she is, the building is white.
- What is his name?
- His name is Amaevich.
- Is that a first or last name?
- I don’t know, everyone calls him Amaevich.

In fact, it turned out that it has been four days since Amaevich was replaced by Dzhabrailovich. We were told about this by an obese security guard in the administration building, who escorted us to the second floor to the chief's office.

11. On the way out of Rutul, the local boys were treated to Alenka chocolates.

12. Closer to Tsakhur, they began to take upward. The village itself is located at an altitude of 1800 meters right under the passing clouds.

13. The Samur River and the village.

15. The village turned out to be surprisingly small and compact, nestling on the steep northern slope of the Main Caucasian ridge. There are no street names in it, and the postman remembers all residents by name.

17. Not a single city, not a single settlement of Dagestan in ancient times had such an arrangement of household buildings as in Tsakhur, they were located separately from residential quarters.

19. Tsakhur cat or whoever he is.

20. While I was walking, Kolya informed me by radio that they had met the head of the village and were waiting for us for tea)

21. Tsakhur, translated from Tsakhur - fire. This village is located in a tricky place on a hill. And at dawn, the sun, rising over the gorge, illuminates it with the first rays. And at sunset, the village is illuminated longer than all the neighboring ones.

22. There are no dogs in Tsakhur, so it is especially quiet here.

23. According to our plans, which later changed several times, we thought to stay in Tsakhur only for one night. But it turned out to be so good and sincere that we decided to stay. We were received by the head of the village Vagif Aliyev, an interesting person. With him and his family, we talked for a long time on completely different topics, not noticing the time and amount of tea, delicious cheese and khinkal.

25. In the morning the weather was not good. Clouds came from the direction of Azerbaijan. We went for a walk and first of all went to the ancient madrasah to Imam Jalalutdin Gadzhi. He showed us old books that are over 400 years old.

27. Kolya takes a portrait of the imam.

29. Antokha takes pictures of heifers.

35. Shepherd with an umbrella.

36. The weather was getting worse. It rained several times.

37. Anton in the clouds.

38. At about this point Kolya decided to drop his Canon 5D Mark III along with the 70-200 2.8 IS on stones. The camera fell with an unusual and sad crunch. As a result, everything was skewed, crumpled and at the very beginning long trip Kolya was left without a camera.

39. At this sad moment, we decided that it was time to go down. Silently in mourning, we walked around the village on the right side, gradually going down, only a rare rain pounded on our raincoats.

43. Cellular station. Vagif told us that it was built by the whole village. Every week, subbotniks were arranged and people went to help - not only to the construction site itself, but also simply to help drag equipment up a mountain 3000 meters high. Today it is the highest Beeline cell tower in Russia.

44. Now the village has cellular and the Internet, and before that, local residents were queuing up to the only payphone in the whole village.

45. Morning in the Samur Valley is wonderful!

50. In Tsakhur, as probably in the whole of Dagestan, there are no fences. Fences are only needed for livestock pens and monuments.

51. And people, even the smallest ones, who have just learned to walk, live carefree and without fences. Kids run along the roofs of buildings, along narrow streets with steep cliffs, along fortress walls - and nothing, no one falls.

53. Local residents. On the left is Vagif - the head of Tsakhur, who sheltered us for a couple of days, fed and watered us, and conducted conversations. For which he and his family are very grateful!

56. Pampered by the Moscow asphalt, like a city dog ​​taken to a dacha, our Niva in the mountains of Dagestan burst into its native element! Niva perlo, if I may say so. She quickly tumbled in the mud and looked happy. If Niva had a tail, she would constantly wag it)

57. A weak engine, which was hard on the track during long climbs, seemed to come to life. Spun and hummed, not paying attention to the thin air. Niva rumbled along the stony serpentine and asked - come on again, come on higher, let's go already into the snow!

58. Traiblazer drove in silence, swallowing bumps and tossing rear passengers on big potholes.

60. On a high slope at the very source of the Samur, the walls of an abandoned village have been preserved. Once upon a time life was in full swing here. People walked to Azerbaijan and traded in cattle. But then the border was closed.

61. Great places!

Guide to Dagestan gas stations

This is the peculiarity of the Dagestanis, Magomed explained to me. - You, Dima, let's imagine, took the land and built a gas station on it. You somehow take oil from the Novorossiysk-Baku pipeline and cook your gasoline somewhere in a basement on a samovar. In short, I set up the process, got the hang of serving clients, and two weeks later I bought myself a Mercedes. Then the wife will come up to Magomed and say - Dima has Mercedes, and you are lying on the couch. Go and build a gas station too. That is why dressings appear like mushrooms. The quality of fuel is roughly the same everywhere, that is, poor.

During my trip to the Republic of Dagestan, I was always on the alert. I kept a camera with 70-200 on my knees and constantly “shot” the next masterpieces of creativity and plagiarism. At the moment, there are more than 200 different names gas stations. Here you and LuxOil, RusNeft, gas stations Kuwait, Yukos, Iskra, Bens, DagPetrol, 777, 888, 999 and many others ...

I present to your attention my modest collection of Dagestan gas station brands:

1. Many wealthy officials have entire networks of their own gas stations - Magomed continued his story. - The money from Russia is huge, but officials are in no hurry to invest the stolen money in serious enterprises. Rather, there will be another wedding salon, banquet hall, store or gas station. Investments also go into the sphere of prestigious consumption: the production of giant gates, paving slabs, stairs and so on. This is a feature of the Dagestanis.

2. Locals refuel only in approved places. If you see that Bentleys are being refueled somewhere, you can safely use this refueling)

3. We must pay tribute to the honesty of the gas station operators. Instead of fighting for each client, they honestly admitted to us that their gasoline is not very dangerous for our cars.
- Now you will go up the mountain and will not enter. Come back to me and tell me that I advised you gasoline. So you better not refuel here.

4. Time after time is not necessary. This is a kind of lottery. For example, in Akhty we poured into the Niva, don’t understand what. At some point, Anton even said: "It looks like everything, Khan Niva." But nothing, Niva stayed and drove on. And on the contrary, we found an excellent gas station near the border with Azerbaijan - after it Niva fluttered like a Swallow for a couple of days.

And another moment. In Dagestan, everything is built on trust. That is, at all gas stations, money is taken only after refueling. They can even fill the tank up to a full and all without prepayment. We only have this on BP!

The highest quality and purest gasoline for refueling cars of any model, both domestic and imported, can be purchased at gas station Rosbenzin, located in the city of Makhachkala, Republic of Dagestan. Who knows a lot about gasoline - refuel in Rosbenzine!

Life high in the mountains

The road to the high-mountainous village was rocky and unimportant, we had to crawl at a snail's speed. I wanted to sleep, but only a professional can fall asleep on such potholes. The Niva roared and walked strained, mainly in first gear, the second was no longer enough. Apparently the left 92nd gasoline, which we poured in Akhty, had an effect. Anton turned on the low. He gazed ahead intently and maneuvered between the scattered stones and bumps, every now and then shifting gears up and down, as if churning butter. It was drizzling rain. Sasha said that the temperature of the oil in the box went up in the Trailblazer. Now both cars switched to lower gears and crawled further along the Caucasian winding serpentine.

We drove into the clouds and it quickly got dark. Visibility dropped to 10 meters, it became noticeably cooler, and the Trailblazer began to cool down. The only navigator who still understood where we were, reported that there were only 20 kilometers left to the village. It's about an hour and a half walk. We did not meet a single oncoming car during the entire ascent.

The village was already asleep when two dirty cars, loudly rustling the engine cooling fans like breathless travelers, climbed up to the first houses of Kurush - at the same time the highest settlement The Caucasus and all of Europe, as well as the southernmost settlement Russian Federation... The village is located on the border with Azerbaijan on the southeastern slope of Mount Shalbuzdag, in the valley of the Usukhchayna River at an altitude of about 2600 meters.

1. The village is over 2000 years old, although no one knows exactly when the first inhabitants appeared here. But it is known that the first road to the village appeared in the 60s. Until that time, only their own legs and horses were the main means of transport. Today "down" can be reached by minibus, which runs every two days in winter, and every day in summer. A ticket to Derbent costs 300 rubles. The journey takes three hours.

2. The harsh climate does not allow for farming, despite the fact that the land in these parts is fertile. The maximum that we manage is to collect for warm summer a small harvest of potatoes, and then, only for yourself, not for sale. Therefore, everyone lives only by animal husbandry and fully supports themselves. Everything goes to work: milk, meat, wool, even dung.

3. On almost every site, like frozen mammoths, there are huge haystacks. Winters are long here ...
Sometimes, in cold winter, the water flowing through the pipes from the Shalbuzdag mountain freezes and then you have to wait until spring. Run with buckets to the spring all winter.

4. Life in mountain villages is a paradise for asthmatics. The purest discharged mountain air with light notes of burnt dung. What could be better?

5. You can wake up in the morning in a fog and not see anything, or vice versa, in sunny weather, admire the kilometer-long wall of Mount Erydag. During the Soviet Union Kurush was very popular among tourists and climbers. Now there are much fewer visitors.

6. Due to the fact that livestock are kept in the village, the streets are dirty. It is better not to go out without boots after the rain. In general, everything is like in an ordinary Ryazan village, only with four-thousanders in the background.

7. In the center of the frame, Mount Bazarduzu is the highest mountain in Dagestan and Azerbaijan (4466 meters). The state border runs along its ridge.

Translated from the Turkic Bazarduzu means "market square", more precisely as a specific landmark - "turn to the market, bazaar." The fact is that in antiquity and the Middle Ages in the Shahnabad valley, located east of this peak, annual large fairs were held, where traders and buyers from many countries came. From a distance, on the way to the fairs, the main landmark of the "market square", the "turn to the market" - Bazarduzu was striking.

A dialogue from the Middle Ages was presented.
- Excuse me, but how to get to the market?
- Up to the mountain, and to the left.

There were a lot of relatives on the other side of the pass. They are also Lezgins, but they live in Azerbaijan. To go on a visit - the road takes the whole day. Now just so few people go. Only for a big holiday, wedding or funeral. To cross the border you need a passport. And at the very border, you can spend up to 8 hours standing in lines.

8. Talking about life in the mountains, one cannot but tell about food. No wonder they say that the most dangerous thing that can happen in Dagestan is to be fed to death. Oh, this trip was real food terrorism! We have never eaten so much. What are the delicious and always different (depending on the area) Khinkal!

Khinkal should not be confused with Georgian khinkali, which is a significantly different type of dish. Digastan khinkal is a piece of dough cooked in meat broth (actually "khinkalins"), served with broth, boiled meat and sauce.

9. And this is Miracle, a dish for a large solemn feast, also a national dish of the peoples of Dagestan. This is a kind of thin pie made from unleavened dough with various fillings. The dough is rolled out as thin as possible. The main taste is created by the filling, it can be meat, potato, with cheese and herbs, or just vegetable. After baking, the miracle is necessarily greased with oil, so they become more aromatic and tender.

10. And this is a school "cake". In one of the mountain villages, we went to a local school, where they prepare their own bread for the children in the canteen. Do not take him out of town every day.

13. In many mountain villages there is no concept of streets, alleys or driveways. Moreover, there are no avenues and highways. Sometimes even houses do not have their own numbers. The postman and the district police officer know all residents by their first and last names.

14. “Our ancestors climbed so high that no one would touch them. The Dagestan mountains are harsh. Not everyone will go to them. So they got away from endless wars and devastation. " - says Bashirov Tagi Aslanovich, head of the village of Kurush.

18. Sometimes the neighboring village speaks its own language and communication with neighbors takes place only in Russian. How versatile English in Europe, so is the Russian language in Dagestan.

21. Dung cakes on the wall of the house. This is both fuel and insulation at the same time.

27. Young girls are afraid of photographers like fire.

28. Guys, on the contrary, pose with pleasure.

29. Class of mathematics.

31. Director of the school.
“Almost all young people are leaving. Many go to Derbent and Makhachkala, who go to Russia. Many are sent to serve on a contract basis, it is profitable. Young people are simply bored here. "

33. A series of photographs "Sasha is coming."

36. It's almost like Tibet, but only Russia. And they speak Russian here.

40. Once again, I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who received us in distant villages, fed and watered, took us interesting places and talked about the hard life of the mountaineers!

The last of the Mohicans

“I am the last of the Mohicans,” the only inhabitant of the aul said quickly, smiling, and put a kettle on the gas burner to boil.
His name was Abduljalil. For more than nine years now, he has been living alone in an abandoned village high in the mountains of Dagestan. Abduljalil was in a hurry to tell us his stories and thoughts that had accumulated in his head during the time he spent alone. Therefore, stories poured from the old man with incredible speed, mixing and jumping from topic to topic. Little was possible to understand, but it was not so important, the main thing - Abduljalil shone with joy, receiving rare guests in his house. He fussed and kept looking at each of us, as if he was afraid that we might suddenly disappear ...

All doors in the village of Gamsutl, like many years ago, according to the law of the mountains, are open for every traveler. Having climbed almost half a kilometer up a narrow walking path to the ledge of Mount Gamsutlmeer, bounded on three sides by inaccessible cliffs, it is unlikely that someone will meet and invite a breathless traveler to tea. Many years ago there was a large Avar settlement, carved out of rocks, self-sufficient and invulnerable to conquerors. The aul had a kindergarten, a school, a clinic and even a maternity hospital. Today it is not so easy to find the house of the only inhabitant of this village. In the rest of Gamsutl's buildings, time has stopped long ago, and instead of a roof over your head, there is only a blue sky.

1. The ghost village of Gamsutl, like an ancient fairy tale, living somewhere high in the mountains of Dagestan. Without a hint, the traveler will never notice a small abandoned village on the slope of the Caucasian mountains.

2. Even with the help of Murtuzali, our guide in the Gunibsky region, it was not an easy task to see the crumbling walls of Gamsutl's houses.

4. We went down from the pass and left the cars at the bottom of the river. The aul could only be reached on foot.

5. The evening sun promised to hide behind a nearby hill. I drove with all my might. Wet and out of breath, I lost the path and climbed straight up the mountain. Tired, but in time)

7. On one of the houses it is written in large letters: "Lead the herds higher along the paths, do not enter the village, it is dangerous."

8. Incredibly beautiful place.

10. Our entire team is assembled. Except for Anton, who stayed downstairs to fix the Niva. In the right part of the frame, the village of Chokh is noticeably closest to the aul.

11. The sun disappeared and we went down to an abandoned village - an open-air museum.

16. And here is Abduljalil, the hero of our report. Nine years have passed since the last inhabitants of the aul left, and Abduljalil was left completely alone.

17. Abduljalil has to talk only with bees and an old radio. There are eight bee families in his farm. In addition to beekeeping, Abduljalil works in his own vegetable garden, where he grows vegetables. They are enough for him for a whole year. Once a month, he goes to the neighboring village of Chokh to replenish food supplies, borrow new books from the library and receive a pension.

18. The house, built at the end of the 18th century, can rightfully be called a family nest. The ancestors of Abduljalil lived here. He himself was born in this house.

20. On rare days, when travelers go up to an abandoned village and meet Abdulzhalil, he gladly accepts them in his house, gives them tea with honey and conducts an excursion around the aul. He is here like a guide - he can tell the story of each house and its inhabitants.

21. Abduljalil spends his free time reading books, and in the corner of his living room there is an old radio receiver on which Abduljalil listens to concerts on request and sometimes even calls and orders music himself.

22. - Do tourists often come to see you?
- Yes, all the time! In a year two or three zaza, someone comes.

23. The darkest room is the bedroom. A potbelly stove is heard rustling in the corner. There is no extractor hood, or the pipe is clogged. In the smoke from a burning dung, you can see two beds, a table with newspapers, some utensils. There is a bedon with water on a stool, with which Abduljalil walks to a mountain stream every three days. I stepped on something - it blurted out and rolled under the bed. Smoke began to water my eyes and I coughed and hurried out into the street.

24. Being far from people and civilization, Abduljalil considers himself a happy person. There is no internet or television in the village. The cell phone only catches on the windowsill.

25. We drank tea and talked. More precisely, only Abduljalil spoke mostly, and we eagerly listened to him and laughed at his jokes and anecdotes. The evening passed quickly. It was time to go back so as not to go down the mountain path in the dark. Abduljalil went to see us off through the village, continuing to tell something all the time. So he went down with us to the river.

27. In Gunib, the lighting turned on. There a hotel, a bathhouse and dinner were waiting for us. We said goodbye to Abduljalil, thanked him for his hospitality, and he silently walked back up the mountain. In the darkness, his low silhouette floated like a ghost. It was given out only by a bottle of beer in hand)

Many thanks to Abduljalil, Murtuzali and everyone who took part in organizing our trip. Special thanks to the Ministry of Press and Information of the Republic of Dagestan, as well as the City Tourism Center!

Dagstyle

On the roads of our vast homeland, more and more often you can find planted cars with a minimum ground clearance. “The higher the mountains, the lower the Priors” - eyewitnesses who are not immersed in the topic of understatement tuning like to repeat. This fashion originally originated in Mexico and gradually spread to the United States. Today lowriders can be found all over the world, but the maximum concentration of grace and splendor is certainly on the roads of the Caucasian republics.

And do not immediately lash out with evil comments at the sight of such beauty. Try, first, to feel and understand this style, this status! Go?

1. There are several options for underreporting. A budget option- this is when you do not feel sorry for the car. In this case, several coils of the springs are cut off, and shortened suspension struts are installed. It turns out cheap and cheerful - all the bumps are yours. In addition to the low cost of this tuning option, there is another significant plus - before the winter season, you can put back the standard springs and return the suspension to its original state. This operation is also useful in pre-sale preparation, as it is more difficult to sell an understated car. Especially when it comes to foreign cars. The situation with VAZs is simpler - almost all the youth of the mountainous republics begin their acquaintance with the automotive world through the domestic auto industry. And not only mountain republics. Me and many of my friends started driving in eights and nines.

2. The second option, expensive and at the same time versatile, is the installation of an air suspension. In this case, the cost of tuning may approach the original cost of the car. Especially when it comes to Kalina and Priora - these are the models that have gained popularity among Caucasian drivers. Instead of the usual springs and shock absorbers, air bags come into play, the pressure in which is controlled by a separate compressor. In Europe, buses are widespread, which at stops "sit down" with their right side by a couple of decimeters to make it easier for passengers to get off. When the doors are closed, the bus returns to the opposite position. The same system is used in lowriders - the vehicle's ground clearance changes in a couple of seconds and is adjusted by pressing one button.

3. Pravdy Street in Moscow. Unfortunately, the car was parked without a driver, and I took only Instagram.

4. Polyarnikov Street in Grozny. Kind and open guys with a deafening tuts-tuts drove up to our hotel. They stopped, their black as a crow Priora sat on the belly with the sound of pyshshshsh. I took a camera and went to get acquainted.

5. Zhenya, loving owner of his Priora, began the tour from the salon. It was very unaccustomed to get into a car that was lying on the ground. It was only necessary to cross the sod opening and literally sit on the asphalt. The height of the landing can be estimated by the Toyota standing next to it.

6. There is never too much music.

8. There is no free space in the trunk, everything is occupied by the amplifier. A sack of potatoes can be put at the feet of the rear passengers, but it is better to leave the stroller at home.

9. After a major change in the car's suspension, fans of such tuning have to use the best routes for moving around the city. And the main criteria are not distances and traffic jams, but a bad road and speed bumps. In the case of air suspension in front of an obstacle, you can increase the ground clearance. But if we are talking about sawn springs, then boards are used - an integral attribute of a lowrider.

10. The suspension control unit is hidden under the radio. The machine rises and falls in a couple of seconds. The cost of this tuning resulted in 250,000 rubles for the owner.

11. I used to be skeptical about understated cars and did not understand this direction. But after repeated trips to the Caucasus, I changed my mind. This is a certain style, a whole era. We are happy to look at pictures of Pakistani trucks that look like Christmas trees. You can also apply to lowriders. Another question, you might say, is that Pakistani trucks do not cross the Moscow Ring Road at breakneck speeds. Yes it is. But this is a completely different conversation.

Thanks to Zhenya and his friends for a nice conversation and a small excursion into the world of lowride. Peace to everyone on the roads!

There is a place in the south of our country where you can enjoy the warm sun in winter and sunbathe on the eternal ice in summer. The highest mountains in Europe and the most fertile valleys of Russia are located here. And this place is called - the North Caucasus. In this article, we will go with you on a trip to the North Caucasus and visit 7 republics and 2 regions.

The territory of the Caucasus is rich in reserves of oil, gas, valuable wood species, reserves of industrial metal ores and uranium ores. Delicious mineral water is mined here, and more than 70% of the territory is occupied by agricultural land.

The North Caucasus includes 7 republics and 2 territories:

1. Republic of Adygea

The Republic of Adygea is a real paradise for travelers:

• Routes through Lago-Naki,
• Rufabgo waterfalls,
• Through cave,
• Khojokh gorge,
• river and gorge Meshoko,
• Mount Monk,
• Sahrai waterfalls,
• Valley of the Ammonites,
• St. Michael's Monastery.

All these and many other attractions are very popular with tourists. In addition, there are many thermal and mineral springs on the territory of the republic.

2. Dagestan

Dagestan, which looks more like an eastern state than Russia: Arab bazaars, women in headscarves, hospitable people.

Tourists are interested in the sandy coast of the Caspian Sea, excellent cognac, local wines, architectural structures and an amazing ancient city Derbent.

Unfortunately, in Dagestan in our time are not rare Act of terrorism, but, as a rule, they have nothing to do with tourists, rather they are local showdowns.

3. Republic of Ingushetia

The youngest and smallest republic of Ingushetia. The territory is divided into two parts:

1. Gornaya, where the protected Dzheyrakh region is located - the historical heart of the republic with its 9 inhabited and 10 abandoned ancient villages;
2. Plain, where tourists can only be attracted by the capital Magas and the ruins of the Russian fortress in Nazran.

Elbrus is the oldest dormant volcano covered with glaciers and snow, a mountain sacred to many nations.

Travelers worship Elbrus, they come here to embody their most vivid extreme fantasies: kiteboarding, trekking, ice climbing, rock climbing, freeriding, skiing - these and many others attract the peak.

In addition, the republic is famous for its five largest gorges of unearthly beauty, as well as delicious narzan and ayran.

5. Karachay-Cherkessia

Karachay-Cherkessia, bordering on Kabardino-Balkaria, Stavropol Territory, Georgia and Abkhazia.

The republic is famous for its wonderful ski resort Dombay, high-mountain lakes, mountain waterfalls, rivers, natural resources, mineral and thermal springs.

On the territory of Karachay-Cherkessia there is also the Teberdinsky and partly Caucasian reserves - protected natural areas rich in flora and fauna.

6. North Ossetia

North Ossetia-Alania attracts travelers with turbulent mountain rivers, rocky mountains, unique cuisine, unique traditions and a complex history of development.

The events taking place in Karmadon and Beslan brought the republic a sad celebrity, but now it is already calm here.

7. Chechen Republic

The Chechen Republic, in which very hospitable people live and modern cities continue to be upset.

Interest for tourists here is not only the capital of the republic, but also

• ski resort Veduchi,
• Lake Kezenoyam,
• mosques,
• amazing nature.

The population of the republic is very proud of its president, Ramzan Kadyrov, on the streets of the capital you can often find hanging posters on which people thank him for his actions.

8. Krasnodar Territory

The Krasnodar Territory, first of all, is associated with the summer, the sea and beach vacation... The resort towns are famous for their gentle sun and clean air, but in winter you can also relax here. For example, take an active part in Krasnaya Polyana: freeride, rafting, caving trips, helicopter tours, jeeping.

In addition, tourists who come to the Krasnodar Territory should visit an ostrich farm and Krasnodar tea plantations, taste real Kuban wine, and ride horses.

And, of course, the city of Sochi is of great interest now, where after the games you can not only get acquainted with many new construction projects, but also plunge into the world of adventures of the fabulous “Sochi Park”.

Stavropol region. The city of Stavropol is called the Gates of the Caucasus. Near the city there is a huge archaeological monument of the Ciscaucasia - the Tatar settlement.

It's amazing how this place, surrounded by city buildings, has survived, country houses, fields and roads. Also in Stavropol there is a natural monument protected by the state - Central.

It is worth talking separately about the Caucasian Mineral Waters, which are part of the Stavropol Territory, because this territory is unique for its natural and medicinal resources.

And the beauty here is such that you can't take your eyes off: beautiful valleys, vast meadows, picturesque waterfalls, transparent rivers, a huge number of mineral springs. In addition, the air here is always clean, slightly emitting resin and pine needles, and a mild climate. At any time of the year, you can have a great rest and improve your health.

In Yessentuki, Kislovodsk, Pyatigorsk and Zheleznovodsk there are many sanatoriums and hotels of different classes.

In addition to the treatment with mineral waters, here you can be treated with the Tambukan mud, the natural formations of which help to get rid of many diseases.

Combining balneotherapy (treatment with mineral waters), mud therapy, climatotherapy, physical rehabilitation and medical nutrition, vacationers can significantly improve their health and recharge their energy for years to come.

In addition, on the Caucasian Mineral Waters you can see such sights as the Honey Falls, the place of the duel of Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov, the Blue Lakes, the Narzan Valley, the famous Kislovodsk resort park.

The geopolitical position of all these territories is of great importance, since the North Caucasus has access to the Azov, Caspian and Black Seas, as well as a territorial connection with the Transcaucasian states.

The North Caucasus is the most densely populated region of our country.

The most hospitable people live here, ancient customs are respected and the culture of the peoples is carefully protected. Ask any resident of the Caucasus about the history of his people, and he will tell it with pride.

The ethnic composition of the inhabitants of the Caucasus is extremely diverse:

• Chechens,
• Dargins,
• Lezgins,
• Ingush,
• Kabardians,
• Circassians,
• Adyghe,
• Russians,
• Armenians,
• Ossetians.

And this is not a complete list of peoples living here.

Here people of different religious views coexist side by side:

• Sunni Muslims,
• Shia Muslims,
• Orthodox Christians,
• Christians of other denominations,
• Jews.

A temperate continental climate has formed in the North Caucasus; closer to the Black Sea, the climate is subtropical. There is a lot of sun and warmth, most of the territory is provided with a sufficient amount of moisture and fertile soils.

Traveling in the North Caucasus is a favorite destination for Russian travelers. An unexpected combination of landscapes, unique natural resources, ancient architectural monuments - all this and much more awaits the guests who come to the Caucasus.

And there is no doubt that they will forever remember the enchanting, exciting, unusual beauty of these places.

So, we went to Pyatigorsk. On the first day of the journey, I reached Rostov and spent the night in a stunning guest house Southern Express, for 1000 or 1500 rubles. I don’t remember, the apartment was for 4, with a kitchen, shower, refrigerator. Everything is clean and covered with carpets, the daughter could crawl as much as she liked.

The next day we arrived at Pyatigorsk, the navigator led us around the Okrug Mineralnye Vody in circles, we settled in the Zhit Prosto hostel. It is forbidden to stay with children in the hostel, but the administration went to meet us. Of course, we agreed in advance. We were even given an oilcloth for a mattress for a child! It's funny. But the place is just amazing, cozy, the owners are friendly. They talk about the city, where you can go, what to see. And a lot of people live. Someone met the dawn on Elbrus the day before, shared their impressions, we listened with open mouths. At our disposal, the hostel again had a room for 4. Separate kitchen. Toilet-shower close by, shared by two rooms, but no one lived in the adjacent one. We spend 2 nights here.
So, it is getting dark, having settled in, we go for a walk around the city. The first place we rush to is Mount Mashuk. We find the cable car pretty quickly. Above, there is a strong wind, walking through the open space, below the city lights are on, the sun is setting rapidly. We manage to walk upstairs, walk a little along hiking trail with city panorama plates. Elbrus is visible in the distance.

The next day we go to the pump rooms in the morning mineral water, we try narzans. Then we move to the famous Proval - a cave with mineral lake... We move around the city by car, but we are very lazy. Then we swim in shameless baths. I liked this action most of all in Pyatigorsk and was very impressed! Imagine, on the slope of the mountain on which Pyatigorsk is located, a stream of white lime hot mineral water flows, forming a cascade of baths. The higher the bath, the hotter the water. She's so hot that it's hard to put even a hand in there. But the lower, the more comfortable it is. And now people are sitting in the baths. We climbed into one of the spacious recesses, all settled down there together and lay around, played. It was a lot of fun. Then we went to try the hottest containers. I managed to lie down in one of them when my body got used to the degrees. It is very nice.

Mineral lake in Proval

We are going to the hostel for lunch and in the afternoon we are planning to explore some of the sights of the neighboring resort towns.

Essentuki

Examining the Statue of Christ in the Temple Complex.

And the Drinking Gallery was closed for a break. But we took a walk in the sanatorium park.

Kislovodsk

We arrive in the evening, walk in the park. Oh, how big and dark it is, perennial trees, evening dampness on the paths, a lot of people. We also go to the drinking gallery, try different water.

And in the evening of the same day, my brother and I decided to wander around Pyatigorsk. In the light of the lanterns, the city is completely different, it is difficult to recognize it and it is easy to get lost, especially in resort area, where there are many parks and terrencourt paths. But the city seems to be very cozy and comfortable. Lanterns illuminate the paths, but not the mountains around and not the buildings, it is difficult to imagine the whole picture around you. We wandered into somewhere with a crazy view of the city. And when looking up, we saw a rotunda in the evening lighting.

Now I am surprised how all this could be visited and seen in one day, and even with a 10-month-old baby?
Yes, I must tell you that traveling with a child is a difficult choice, not everyone will decide on it. But we are a traveling family, we are used to doing everything clearly and harmoniously with regard to travel. I searched a lot for information about traveling with kids, but each has its own tricks. We are now looking at pictures from this trip with her, and she is very happy seeing herself in dark glasses on the slopes of Elbrus. And we are all proud that we could, made up our minds and went all the way together.

The next morning, after the second night in Pyatigorsk, we visited the shameless baths again, they were too good! Further, according to the plan, a daring trip first to the Chegem waterfalls, and then along the road "not very drawn" on the maps, straight to Terskol. We learned about the road from the forums during preparation, it leads along mountain passes, and not along the highway, and at the same time allows you to save about an hour's journey and is passable for cars. But the main thing is that you can see the beauty of the mountains. We were not driving along it alone, in front of a family with two children was walking, we saw them on the Chegemskys, and now they are going along our route, just like us, to Elbrus.
Cherem waterfalls, despite their fame and pop character, impressed us. So much water pours from above, it splashes over you, below the river rages two steps away. You can also go up to the observation deck.

Swirling Chegem River

Chegem gorge. The walls come very close to each other.

Mountain road.

Elbrus

To the opening cable car, we are already in production at the first stage of the booths. Let's go up. I'm scared! Unusual, high! The cabins are still closed, protected from ultraviolet radiation, there is nothing to be afraid of, but still scary. And the scale of the mountains is impressive. Having reached the station, when the chair lifts begin, we put on jackets and dress our daughter in winter overalls. We are all already wearing black glasses, including our daughter. The glasses were fixed under her hat, she did not even try to take them off, she smiled at us. And the worst thing is ahead - a single chair lift. At first I thought of staying downstairs. But the cable car workers said that everything was fine. Yes, everyone around said there was nothing to be afraid of. The child was fixed in our carrier very securely, I myself sewed the shoulder straps at home with an additional sling, so that everything is safe. Let's go. Mountain wind, you can feel the height, heaviness of the body, breathing. Upstairs, an unreal feeling. We climbed to an altitude of about 4800-5000 m.

In the evening we return to Kislovodsk.
Our trip to the North Caucasus looks like a sun with rays. The center is KVM, and there are many rays - branches: Elbrus, Dombay, Arkhyz, Dzhily-su all the time you need to return to the center to go somewhere else.
In Kislovodsk we again have two nights in a guest house.

Let's go to Jily-su

This phrase means - warm water. Mineral springs, including medicinal ones at the northern foot of Elbrus. Crowds of locals and tourists come here, a large camping... In recent years, the dirt impassable road has been made asphalt, for entering the territory they take 100 rubles per car and 50 rubles per person. The road is difficult in terms of serpentines, ascents and descents. You get tired more than you enjoy.

Here he is the gray-headed Elbrus

We stop to rest and pose

Here are the tricky sections of the road

At a picnic, we have a rest

Arriving, we had a picnic, fried chicken with pasta, ate a watermelon and went ... But there is much to go here ... We went to a silver spring, which beats a year for only a few weeks in August, the water is considered healing. It cannot be said that the path was long, it was very long, it led through ups and downs, we crossed the river, climbed the pass. We gazed at the radiance of Elbrus. We thought we were almost there, but the scale of the opened valley did not fit into the usual calculations on the flat terrain. But overall it was amazing. This place is far from civilization, there is nothing but paths. There is a special smell of grass, water, delicious air, indescribable sky and mountains around. Here gophers run underfoot, bask in the sun.

We cross the river into a ford.

Down there, the same key beats. The UAZ of the medical service collects water in 5-liter bottles, they probably have 50 bottles.

They bathe in the Silver Spring, the water is icy.

We return to the main camp.

Ahead is a terrible bridge, this time we did not cut the path, went along the well-trodden path.

I could not walk across the bridge while standing, it was scary.

Sultan waterfall.

Returning from the silver source to the tent camp, we still walked to the very big waterfall here, he was in the abyss. Then we drove back to Kislovodsk.

Dombay, Teberda

We leave for Dombay.
Climbing Mussa-Achitara. And it was our mistake that we arrived late, under the closure of the cable car. We walked at the very top for only 10 minutes.
It could be postponed until the morning. But in the morning an even more daring journey awaited us. On foot. To the Alibek waterfall.
I remember and wonder how and with what forces we overcame all this, but I really wanted to go and go forward, not sit idle for a minute!
It is necessary to tell about the place where we stayed in Teberda. Ski hotel Rostovchanka. In summer it is deserted, we were the only guests. But a very pleasant atmosphere, in winter here among fellow skiers it is very sincere, probably.

The next day was tracking. It was, of course, physically difficult, but actually very cool and interesting. We were even stopped by border guards in the border zone. But we issued passes at the forester at the beginning of the route. Do not forget your passports, gentlemen!

This is a view from the lift. The landscapes are very different from the Elbrus region. There were steppes, and here are dense forests.

And this we climbed to Mussa-Achitara.

The baby is tightly fastened to me.

The next day we went to the Alibek waterfall.

Against the background of a waterfall.

Valley of the Alibek River.

After spending the second night in Rostovchanka, we went towards Tuapse, on the way we saw a couple of sights along the highway. The Shaon Temple was very impressive.

And the Shahumyan pass, white with dust, on which the Sword stands. Monument Span of the Earth also evokes a storm of emotions. In each capsule there is a particle of Russian land, on which Soviet soldiers stood to death, who defended our land from the Nazis, who did not let the enemy into the Black Sea.

Span of the Earth.

Shahumyan pass.

Tuapse

At every step there is a reminder that fierce battles were once fought here and that places were heroic everywhere.
Well, in general, they would have known in advance, they would have stayed in Dombai, there are so many paths that we have not traveled. And the sea is boring and a lot of people.

We spent three nights here, one in Tuapse and two in the village of Lermontovo, instead of the four planned and went home, flew unexpectedly quickly, did not even get up for the night. At 6 we left Lermontovo near Dzhubga, at 23-30 we were at home.
Yes, I was impressed by the fogging of the glass outside! When we drove out from behind the hills separating the Black Sea from the plain, and the sun shone on us, the air temperature changed in a split second, the glass instantly fogged up until visibility completely disappeared. But the wipers have dealt with it. At first, out of habit, it seemed that the glass was sweating from the inside.

Separately, it should be said about traveling with a baby. For many, it is difficult even to imagine a long-term trip, let alone imagine a multi-day trip.
Therefore, information and useful tips not much was found in preparation.
The main thing is that we had planned overnight stays, where you can safely cook, wash, relax, and wash your clothes. Secondly, we had all the food with us, we did not waste time on shopping trips, well, of course, we went, but much less often than we could. We had a lot drinking water with myself. Also, medicines for any occasion, but, thank God, were not needed. Also, each member of the expedition did his job clearly. It is very good that my brother was with us, he helped a lot. Now you have to run into the car for something, then look after the baby. Also, ergonomically packed luggage is a big plus. Snacks, water, baby things and baby snacks lay in the cabin, and the rest of the things in boxes, containers in the trunk in their places.
The route was also clearly worked out, the approximate travel time, reaching the objects, the inspection time was calculated in advance, thought out several times, laid out - in general, the trip plan was drawn up for a long time and meticulously, thanks to which we got a lot of pleasant impressions and memories.