Does the cable car work in the summer in the CEE? Trip to tseyskoe gorge

The Tsei gorge, which stretches for as many as 23 kilometers, is the most magical place in the land of ancient Alanya. Formed by the Tseiskiy and Kalperovskiy ridges, it mesmerizes with its incredible beauty. Waterfalls rushing down, mountain peaks with "put on" them snow caps, glaciers, a rapid mountain stream, snowfields - all this is Tsey. Landscape beauty is superbly complemented by an amazing and unique vegetable world... A variety of berries and mushrooms grow here, locals collect strawberries, raspberries, lingonberries, blueberries.

Unique mountainous landscape and picturesque nature attracts here, like a magnet, climbers and skiers. The most popular start from Tsey tourist routes running through the passes of the Central Caucasus and leading to Kabardino-Balkaria, neighboring Georgia, mountain Digoria and the Zaramagskaya depression, as well as going to the Ossetian Military and Georgian Military Highways.

One of the best ski resorts not only in Russia, but also in the whole world, is located in the Tsey Gorge today. More than 100 thousand tourists come here every year. Staying on it will be remembered by absolutely all lovers. active rest regardless of the level of training, because there are slopes for both experienced skiers and real extreme lovers, and for beginners.

Tsei has six tracks - two "black", two "blue" and two "red". The tracks differ from each other in different levels of difficulty. Moreover, this resort is a truly fabulous place, surrounded by a mysterious and alluring halo of ancient traditions and legends.



Geographical features and climate

The region of this ski resort is often called the Tseyskaya Horseshoe Mountains, and this is because the Kalperovsky and Tseysky ridges forming the gorge are arranged in a horseshoe shape. The gorge itself looks like a longitudinal valley, on both sides of which there are the Vodorazdelny and the Side ridges. It seems that Tsey crashed between them does not allow the ridges to unite into one array, he seems to separate them from each other - like a referee in a boxing ring. There is also the valley Tseyskiy glacier, one of the largest and lowest sinking glaciers in the Caucasus, feeding mainly on the snows of the Adai-Khokh mountain, whose height is 4408 meters.


In the area of ​​the village of Buron, there is the lowest part of the Tsey Gorge. Its height above sea level is 1300 meters. The very same high point the resort is Mount Wilpat, rising 4646 m above sea level. nature reserve... The total area of ​​the reserve is 29,952 hectares.

The climate of Tsei is quite comfortable for vacationers. Winter in these parts is mild enough average temperature January does not exceed –7 degrees Celsius. Summers are moderately cool with frequent rains. Average temperature indicator August about +13 ° C. Precipitation, the total amount of which is 1000 mm per year, begins in May and continues through October.

Vacationers should also take into account other climatic features of the Tsei gorge. The atmospheric pressure here is consistently low and is only 610 mm, sharp fluctuations are not observed. Despite the rather high rainfall, there are a lot of sunny days a year. In addition, the air in these parts is highly ionized. In the Tsei gorge, an increased level of ultraviolet radiation was noted.



Rest in Tsey gorge

For more than half a century, the Tsey Gorge has been attracting lovers of high-mountain romance. The ski season in the Tsey Gorge begins in November and lasts until the end of April. Extreme tourists come here with alpine equipment, with their skis and snowboards. Geographically, Tsei is located so well that the sun rises here very early and sets late. With the onset of dusk, natural light gives way to artificial light, which allows you to enjoy well-groomed snow for as long as you can. In addition, the uniqueness of the geography of the Tsei Gorge contributes to the long-term preservation of the snow cover - to the delight of the skiers!

Among the trails of the Tseyskiy gorge there are both short ones and up to 3 kilometers in length. Located above sea level at an altitude of 1850 to 2870 m, they are designed, as they say, for every taste and color, ranging from "green" to "black". Some are untouched and full of snow, while others are regularly crossed by a caterpillar snowcat - a special snow compacting machine that is used to prepare ski slopes and ski trails (such well-groomed trails are called wasted). The height of the snow cover in the middle of the season is, on average, 2 meters. It offers skiers a bar, a restaurant, a tennis court, a swimming pool, equipment rental and even a sauna.

There are two chair lifts in the Tsey Gorge. The first is a domestic one-seat cable car with a length of 1400 meters and a capacity of 250 people / hour. The second is a modern Austrian chairlift for two. Its length is 1600 m, and its capacity is 710 people / hour. Both lifts are located directly above the seething Tseidon River and lead to the tongue of the Skaz glacier descending from the spurs of Mount Adai-Khokh. Tsei is rich in glaciers (there are 29 of them, their total area is 15 km²), and the largest of them are Skazsky and Tseysky. The second, yielding in size only to the Karaugom glacier in North Ossetia, in the upper reaches is divided into two branches - North and South.

Climbers, brave conquerors make their ascents here mountain peaks... As befits a modern ski resort, experienced instructors work here to help beginners get comfortable, as well as cozy bars and cafes, comfortable hotels and a wide variety of entertainment options. Vacationers from different parts of our planet come here, people of different ages and professions. Seeing with my own eyes the beauty and splendor of this pearl, hidden in the depths mountain ranges North Ossetia, they are unlikely to forget it and want to return to these blessed places again and again.

Tseysky glacier

Sights of the Tseyskiy gorge

This ski resort is home to the Sanctuary of the Rekom - the most famous historical monument North Ossetia. It became a place for holding national religious holidays and ceremonies of the Ossetian people. In 1995, Rekom was struck by lightning, destroying it. The older generation saw this as an unkind sign, regarding what happened as a punishment of the gods for the fall of modern youth.


To appease one of the supreme deities, Uastirdzhi, the Ossetians every year arrange a grandiose feast in the sanctuary, which lasts no less than a week. The main ritual of the whole action is the slaughter of sacrificial animals, it is this that starts the whole ceremony. Despite the fact that Rekom has not survived to this day in its original form, it was restored as much as possible during the restoration and is a whole complex, divided, however, into two separate sanctuaries - female and male. There is also a platform with magnificent views of the Skaz glacier.

Another iconic attraction of the Tsei Gorge is the three-kilometer Monakh Mountain. So unusual name it owes its shape to a human silhouette. You look - and it seems that there is not a mountain in front of you, but a tall and stately man, like a monk, in a hood. Many legends and traditions are associated with it. One of them tells about the tour with the golden horns, which took place in these parts. Many hunters tried to catch him, but no one succeeded. And once one desperate youth promised that he would catch the tour and give it golden horns to George the Victorious. The young man managed to defeat the animal, but he did not keep his promise and decided to keep the golden horns for himself. For this he was punished: he was turned into a rock.

Travelers enjoy admiring the waterfalls of the Tsey Gorge. The most popular and, accordingly, available are only two of them, with simple names Near and Far. By the first excursions are made all year round... The second - that's why it is distant - is perfectly visible at a distance, if you approach it by car from the side of local villages.

Where to stay

Tourists who are going to go to this for the first time ski resort are worried about possible placement difficulties. Still, Tsei is far from the "centers of civilization."


However, the fears are completely unfounded. Except mountains, snow and pristine nature it has its own tourist infrastructure, presented, in addition to ski bases with cable cars, several comfortable hotels. Thus, the "headache" of where to stay is removed by itself.

You can stay, for example, at the Tsei rest house, designed for 320 people. It is very well located - in a coniferous forest, which will provide the supply of clean and invigorating air 24 hours a day and exactly as many days (and even, perhaps, weeks) as you wish. Guests will be welcome at the Ossetia tourist base, the Goryanka hotel, and mountaineering camps, not to mention the numerous private hotels.

Directly in the village of Tsei, not far from the ski slope, there is the Skazka hotel. It offers a dining room, karaoke bar, swimming pool and sauna. The first night in a double room will cost 2500 rubles, then - cheaper, 2000 rubles. Junior suite apartments cost 3000 rubles per person on the first day of stay. Starting from the second day, you will pay less: 2500 rubles.



The lowest on the route is the "Vertical" hotel. Although it is located at a distance from the ski slope, it is the sunniest of all Tsei hotels. And the distance to it from the highway is easily overcome by car. Accommodation here is quite expensive, a double room costs from 4000 rubles per day. For the same room, but with increased comfort, you will have to pay 5500 rudders. Even more expensive - 6,000 rubles - accommodation in a double deluxe room.

Alp-camp "Tsey", located at an altitude of 2000 meters above sea level and suitable for youth recreation, is also popular with tourists. The camp complex includes two upper and lower buildings and four small cottages. In comparison with hotels, accommodation is cheap. Double and quadruple accommodation costs from 800 rubles per person per day. Double Room will cost a vacationer 1200 rubles per day per person.

How to get there

If you are in Moscow, you first need to get to Vladikavkaz, and best of all by plane, because it is faster that way. Flights from Vnukovo and Domodedovo are made daily to the airport of the capital of North Ossetia. The distance from Vladikavkaz to Tsei is relatively short, only 90 km.


Don't like planes? You can get there by train, which departs from the Kazansky railway station. An alternative to both modes of transport is buses. They drive off from the Shchelkovo bus station. Compared to airplanes, there is only one drawback: it takes longer to get there.

If you are in Pyatigorsk, then your trip to the Tseyskoe gorge, starting from here, will pass through cities such as Nalchik, Ardon and Alagir. From Alagir, you need to go to the Andon Gorge, where the Ossetian Military Road passes - it will lead you straight to Tsey. At the beginning of this gorge, there are many mountain springs with healing water, where you can stop and quench your thirst. The taste of the mountain water is unsurpassed and unique!

Closer than others settlements to the Tsei gorge is the village of Buron, located 20 km from Alagir (you need to move along the Transcaucasian highway).

Outside the city of Alagir begins Transcaucasian highway(TransKAM) is one of the main roads connecting Russia with the Transcaucasus.

The relief changes dramatically, the valley of the Ardon River literally for a few minutes takes on the shape of a gorge, with high and sheer cliffs... Five minutes from the city of Alagir, behind one of the turns, a multi-ton statue of St. George (Uastyrdzhy) hanging over the road is chained directly to the rock, which Ossetians consider their main saint. .

A few kilometers from the monument to St. George, next to the road there is a spa resort "Tamisk", near which there is a unique sulfur lake fed by a sulfur rivulet and, further, going into the ground .

From Buron, the path goes west to the beautiful Tseyskoe gorge. Here we turn right and after crossing the bridge to the left bank of the Ardon, we begin to climb along the road. At the first turn, on the left, a view of the confluence of the Ardon and Tseidon rivers opens. .

The road begins to gain height, winding along the serpentine. After 1 km. from the beginning of the rise, talus slopes give way to pine forest. In autumn, mushrooms appear under the trees. About a third kilometer from Bouron, a spring is found to the right of the road. Here you can stop and relax, watching the magnificent panorama of the gorge and the Tsei glacier . Moving further along the road, deep into the gorge, we gradually bend around the initial part of the Kalper ridge with the peak of the same name.

From the north, the gorge is closed by the Tsey mountains, from the south, the rocks of the Adai-Khokh spurs rise (4410 m.)... Huge boulders fill the Ceydon Valley. Among them, the cold, violent waters of the river rush with a roar. The forest will begin soon. Tsei's forests are amazingly beautiful. Mighty pine trees cover almost the entire gorge. Among the pines, there are dark green crowns of beeches, light ones - of limes and maples. Light streams of mountain streams murmur everywhere. The air is surprisingly clean, fresh and filled with the resinous smell of pine needles.

On the right, there is a turn of the road going into the forest. This road leads to the village of Verkhniy Tsey. Now it is not crowded, there are only a few houses left.

At the ninth kilometer, to the right of the road, on a huge boulder, a colorful portrait of I.V. Stalin is painted . The tourist and recreational zone of the Tsey mountain complex begins even higher.

On the left, in the direction of travel, through the pine thickets, one can see the Skaz glacier and ski slope on his moraine.

The most top seat accommodation in Tsey is the famous alpine camp Tsey, which receives tourists, climbers and skiers all year round . Above the camps, a spur of Adaykhokh - the Monakh rock - rises with a sheer wall. .

Chairlift stations are located at an altitude of 2000 meters .

Tseyskie cable cars, rise to a height of 2500 m. Above. lvl. sea, right above the boiling river Tseidon, to the tongue of the Skaz glacier, descending from the spurs of Adai-Khokh .

There are many glaciers in the Tseysky gorge, but only two large ones - Skazsky and Tseysky. Tseisky, in turn, has two branches in the upper reaches, the North and the South. The Tsei glacier is considered the second largest after the Karaugom glacier in North Ossetia. In total, 29 glaciers with a total area of ​​15 square meters are described in Tsei. km., of which 9.5 falls on the Tseysky glacier.

Since ancient times, the Tsei gorge was considered sacred and protected by the Ossetians. On one of the meadows on the left bank of Ceydon, you can walk along a narrow mountain path to the Ossetian pagan sanctuary "Recom", built about 800 years ago named . Outside the male sanctuary, heaps of animal horns are piled up, next to ritual tables, boxes for monetary donations . Nearby is a smaller female pagan sanctuary .

Winter Tsey, with its unique originality and grandeur, wonderful pine air, attracts thousands of people from all over Russia. Tseyskaya is very good and suitable for both beginners and professionals . The peculiarity of the main track is that it is quite long, but at the same time it is not very bumpy and steep. Experienced instructors will quickly teach beginners the basics of skiing and snowboarding, and the features of the track will help them quickly gain experience. Extreme skiers tend to ride off the main piste on steep and bumpy slopes. .

Today from the Caucasian mineral waters we are heading to the republic of North Ossetia-Alania to visit the Tseyskoye gorge, look at the Skaz glacier, visit mountain waterfalls and swim in thermal springs. This pleasure is worth more than the others, at 1300 r. per person and the journey is long, instead of the usual two hours for all excursions, this one will take us three and a half hours one way. A tourist bus picked us up at eight o'clock in the morning and we set off.

Monument in the rock: Uastyrdzhi - St. George

The road to the Tsei gorge passes through the transcaucasian highway - the transkam, and we stop at the very beginning of the Alagir gorge. The massive Uastirdzhi monument is located here. In Ossetian mythology, Uastyrdzhi is the main deity, patron of soldiers and men, under the influence of Christianity, he transformed into the image of St. George, and the Digor dialect transformed the name of the character from Uastirdzhi into Wasgergi - St. (Uas) George (Gergi). 28 tons of metal, embedded in the rock above the transkam, along which the mountain river Ardon runs and smells strongly of hydrogen sulfide, from the nearby mineral lakes. For lovers of healthy lifestyles, there are specially equipped tourist centers on these lakes, so you can get well on your health.





Tseyskoe gorge, North Ossetia

At the village of Buron, where the mountain river Tseidon flows into the Ardon, the Tsei gorge begins. Our path runs along a serpentine dirt road, and further along the green mountain ranges, where in the gorge flows a turbulent stream of Tseidon, which originates from the Tsei glacier. Here, as in every mountainous area, many mountain streams originate, which, accelerating and connecting with each other, turn into full-flowing rivers: Ardon, Tseidon, Skazdon. Don is a word of Sarmatian-Scythian origin, in the Ossetian language it has been preserved in the meaning of water, so here everything is extremely simple with the names.

When we reached the Tsey ski resort, we found ourselves in a fairy tale. The tale had a clearly Soviet flavor and time did not go to her advantage.

A happy Soviet pioneer with Yesenin's appearance, having taken a step into the Soviet future, froze in an absurd position for many years, and time was not favorable to him.

Only recently the Tseiskiy resort began to revive.



Skaz glacier in the Tsey gorge

Chair lift of the cable car for 200 r. per person takes us from a height of 2000 m, to the very tongue of the Skaz glacier at an altitude of 2500 m.



On the right rises Mount Monk, whose height is 2990 m.

The ascent is not steep and the calmest of those that we had to meet at the resorts North Caucasus... It takes about 12-15 minutes and during the ascent you can admire plenty of not only the pillars made in Samara, but also the beautiful mountain views.



At the end of the ascent, we find ourselves on a picturesque green hill, from which a wonderful view of the Skaz glacier should open. But we were not very lucky with the weather and the sky was hidden from us by gray clouds.



The blue jeep left on the hill fit very picturesquely into the stony green surrounding landscape.



A cannon for the forced descent of avalanches is located in the lowland. She, as the last frontier between man and the element, is always on guard.

But the most important sight is the Skaz Glacier.



Approaching the Skaz glacier is very dangerous, it can come down at any moment, or it can lie for another hundred years, but in any case, the glacier is a very elastic substance of ice and rock. The glacier is not just frozen snow on a mountain slope, but a massive destructive ice mass, with rocks frozen into it. As a result of the slow movement of the glacier, furrows and crevices are formed on the rocks, they are also called "sheep's foreheads". Fragments of rocks, sliding along with the glacier, form the final moraine, on the basis of which this amazing grotto was formed. Sliding, the glacier melts, leaving behind crushed rocks and clay, this natural formation is called moraine. Morena often forms ice grottoes.





On the left, you can clearly see the Skazdon River, which originates under the grotto.





This was the end of our acquaintance with the Skaz glacier, but our excursion did not come to an end.

Literally half a kilometer from the Tseiskiy resort there is a private hostel, it is still unfinished.

After passing through its territory and paying an environmental fee of 150 rubles, we find ourselves in the forest. Our guide, represented by the owner of the camp site, leads us along the already trodden path to the waterfall. The owner himself always leads the excursion groups, he strictly monitors that tourists do not stray from the path, because brown bears are found here.



Finally we leave the forest and find ourselves at the rocky shore of the waterfall. Now the stream is weak, it is gaining strength and rolling stones only in the spring.



We make our way along huge boulders up to the steep slope of the cliff, from which water flows.
















After eating wild raspberries and mountain sorrel, we went back down to the camp site to a roadside cafe for a full lunch. The meal here is quite good and does not lean on the wallet. Tseyskiy salad, judging by what they brought us, is a summer salad with sunflower oil dressing with the addition of fried eggplants. The dinner in the photograph is not ours, we ate ours even before the thought of photographing it came to mind. This is our neighbors' lunch.

Thermal springs, North Ossetia

The last stop today is thermal source... The water temperature in such a source is 50 degrees Celsius. There are many such sources in North Ossetia, and we cannot even say with certainty where they brought us. This is a private territory and it is guarded accordingly: a huge alabai, automatic gates and broad-shouldered bearded men will scare anyone away. However, by the time we visited the source, we were already pretty tired and were no longer able to adequately perceive reality. The entrance to the territory is paid 150 rubles. The infrastructure of the tourist complex is also much inferior to Aucheger, although everything is pretty well equipped. There is where to eat and change.



The excursion turned out to be very difficult, the road took about eight hours in total, we arrived home after midnight. Therefore, our impressions from the excursion are very ragged, also because we went to a resort that remained in the Soviet Union. Surrealism has awakened precisely this explosive combination of unbridled wilderness and once majestic man-made structures that have fallen into disrepair. Such a contrast evokes the involuntary thought that the brighter and majestic nature, the faster the paint crumbles from the columns of the palace of culture.

But if you look away from the desolate houses, a completely different landscape opens up. It's quiet here. There is no such silence in the city, where else but here, you need to take a break from civilization. The pleasant aroma of herbs, the rare mooing of cows or the cry of a donkey is carried away by the wind to the tops of the rocks, where this cry is lost, dissolves and disappears. And the mountains, like soldiers on guard, are majestic and harsh and will never allow themselves to move while they are being watched.

Cable car in the Tseyskoe gorge (North Ossetia, Russia) - detailed description, location, reviews, photos and videos.

  • Tours for the New Year in Russia
  • Last Minute Tours in Russia

Tseyskoe gorge is a place of stunning beauty, with snow-capped peaks, turbulent mountain rivers and waterfalls, dense coniferous forest, alpine lawns and the cleanest air. And in winter this place turns into a famous ski resort with the upper point of descent located at an altitude of 2.5 km. Naturally, without the cable car, both skiers in winter and ordinary tourists in summer would not be so comfortable here. For lovers alpine skiing this is an indispensable help, since the slopes of Tsei are steep enough, and it would be critically tiring to stomp uphill with skis on foot. But the cable car of the Tsey Gorge is used not only in ski season... In the summer, it turns into one of the local attractions. Indeed, only traveling by cable car, you can see such beauty from above: Kalperovsky ridge, Tseysky, Monakh mountain, the tongue of the Skazka glacier and the glacier itself in the distance.

Only traveling by cable car, you can see such beauty from above: Kalperovsky ridge, Tseysky, Monakh mountain, the tongue of the Skazka glacier and the glacier itself in the distance.

The upper point, which can be reached by the Tsey cable car, is the Green Hill. In fact, there are two cable cars in the gorge: one-chairlift and two-chairlift. The lowest stations of both are at an altitude of 2000 m, the highest - at 2500 m. The length of the route is more than 1.5 km, which the cable car passes in about 20 minutes. Downstairs there is a climbing camp and several cafes. The line is laid directly over the Tseidon River and the Skaz Glacier, one of the two largest in Tseya, and a cable car ride - The best way examine it.

At the top of the lift of the cable car, there is a modern artillery piece, at the sight of which some tourists begin to think a lot of bad things - in fact, it is used to shoot at the peaks to prevent large-scale avalanches from spontaneously descending. From here you can walk along the mountain ridge of about a kilometer to see the majestic glacier with its waterfalls in all its glory and the top of Aida-Khokh, or even Tsey-Khokh, if the sky is clear. In the spring, the road passes blooming rhododendron meadows.

Practical information

The cost of lifting on a one-chair cable car in the Tseiskiy gorge is 100 RUB with skis, a subscription for the day is 700 RUB. The cost of ascent on a two-chair cable car is 150 RUB with skis, ascent and descent without skis is 300 RUB.

Prices on the page are for September 2018.