My friend Vitalik continues to travel around Russia and recently visited Ingushetia. As I said, he does not have a blog, so the guest post is not for advertising his resource, but simply to share his impressions. By the way, can we make a separate section here, where other people will publish similar stories? I do not mean in the form of guest posts (when I edit and filter), but just a separate feed. And then you can select the best and announce it for everyone. What do you think? Someone else will write there?
I have long wanted to visit the notorious «resorts of the North Caucasus», for the development of which fabulous money is allocated in our country. And here is a low-cost airline «Victory» opened flights to Vladikavkaz. Taking a short vacation, we went on a small tour of the Caucasian republics, one of the points of which was the mountainous Ingushetia.
Brief geographical information. The Republic of Ingushetia is the smallest constituent entity of our country (slightly larger than Luxembourg), one half of which is on the plain, and the other is separated from it by a high mountain range and is located in deep gorges between it and the Main Caucasian ridge. It was precisely the narrow, easily blocked gorges that at one time helped the residents to successfully fight off the invasion of enemies, which made it possible to practically preserve many objects of the Middle Ages..
The content of the article
- one How to get there
- 2 Armkhi ski resort
- 3 Tour of the gorges, attractions
- 4 Recommendations for visiting Ingushetia
- five Prices and travel budget
How to get there
It is a stone's throw from Vladikavkaz to Ingushetia - less than an hour's taxi ride from the city center along the Georgian Military Highway. But there are nuances.
At the exit from the federal highway, at a traffic police post, surrounded by car tires, like a checkpoint from news about the Middle East, we were stopped, the driver (who had prudently removed the checkers from the roof) was taken away. «The protocol is not enough for us, - he later says. Need to sign, they say». As a result, the driver got away from the protocol quite easily in a few minutes, and we managed to drive another five hundred meters. Further, the gorge is blocked by a huge gate with border guards at the entrance. They took the passports, asked where we were going, for what purpose, if we were carrying anything prohibited (I wonder what can be generally prohibited from being transported to Ingushetia ??). We rewrote the data, let it go. After another 10 minutes we arrived at the tourist complex «Armkhi».
Armkhi ski resort
Armkhi is the only ski resort (and generally the only resort) in Ingushetia. There is a cable car, two tracks plus one training, a swimming pool and other entertainment such as a rope town and mountain bike trails. A normal restaurant worked only at the top station of the cable car. As we were assured at the reception, the cable car will work until the last guest. Yeah.
The cable car, as it turned out, works until 18-00. As an excuse, it should be said that we arrived in the off-season - mid-April - and were practically alone at the base..
In the fight against hunger and the prospect of climbing more than 350 meters (for comparison, this is the height of the largest skyscraper «Moscow City) defeated hunger. Only 40 minutes of ascent and 1780 snow-covered steps - and we are at the goal. I must say, the goal did not disappoint - the restaurant cooked deliciously and rather inexpensively. A specially invited chef from Azerbaijan himself served the dishes and talked about them.
Tour of the gorges, attractions
The next day we planned to dash through the gorges and, possibly, climb some kind of mountain. In the evening I asked the guy at the reception where I could go or go nearby.. «And tomorrow from nine there will be a guide», - speaks - «He will tell everything».
The guide was not there either by nine in the morning or by ten, despite all the assurances at the reception. Only after my request to call a taxi, the guy nodded and dialed the number, but obviously not a taxi, but to hint «guide», that if he does not come right away, then we will do without him.
The guide was also a young guy in the nine, who, obviously, knew his country very well and could answer any question, but he himself told very little, like such a bored taxi driver at a long distance. Well, according to the traditions of the Muslim part of the Caucasus, he told all this only to me, sitting in the front seat, regardless of the fact that he could not be heard from behind (where his wife was located).
Despite all this, our four-hour trip was not boring. We managed to visit the high-mountain passes (sorry, the weather did not allow us to see Kazbek), descend deeply into the gorges, examine the remains of the recently inhabited tower towns, get into the most ancient Christian temple on the (official) territory of Russia, after taking the keys from the local resident, as well as see the original ancient fortress «Vovnushki», carved into the rocks at the entrance to one of the gorges. And this despite the fact that we did not see everything on the way. Remained, for example, the sacred mountain of base jumpers Tsei loam and several particularly well-preserved tower complexes. But all this would have taken more than one day, which we no longer had in stock.
Returning, we (somewhat recklessly) decided to walk to the neighboring village of Beini, which was located on the opposite side of the gorge and was clearly visible from the hotel. It is reckless - because, although the distance in a straight line seems to be quite small, in fact, it is necessary to do about 400 meters vertically down the serpentine (and this is several kilometers of serpentine), and then not less upward. It is fortunate that the locals are quite willing to hitchhike. To be sure, I still recommend ordering a taxi for a small fee..
Recommendations for visiting Ingushetia
In conclusion, what other recommendations for visiting can be given:
- It is better to travel in the summer (May-September). In mid-April, when we were there, snow had just started to melt in the middle mountains. In summer, everything around will not be withered yellow, but pleasantly green, with beautiful mountain flowers..
- Also in the summer you can climb the Stolovaya mountain (the hiking ascent just starts from the village of Beini), from it, in good weather, a magnificent panorama opens up: from one side Vladikavkaz is visible on the plain, from the other - the Main Caucasian ridge.
- I recommend getting from Vladikavkaz by taxi. There are also buses, but quite rarely. If you are driving your own car, I strongly recommend that you get a booking confirmation for at least one day from the database. «Armkhi» - printed paper will help in communication with border guards and local gayts.
- Two or three days, apparently, will be enough to get a proper impression of this small mountainous country, although, of course, you can wander here with tents for at least a week..
- For those spoiled by the service, you need to be ready for its Caucasian version. This is when, when asked to change the room with an inoperative light, you with ostentatious «Sorry, I took the wrong key», give a room key with the same problem, and a taxi driver whom you call in advance needs to be additionally woken up in the morning. The Ingush are very optional in their promises. However, in other respects it is quite a benevolent and pleasant contingent in communication, in no way similar to those about whose adventures on the plains are told a lot. Apparently, this is because here, in the mountains, they are in their natural habitat.
Prices and travel budget
Flight: Moscow-Beslan, 10.000r for two round trip by low-cost airline «Victory». The airport in Beslan is located 20 km from the center of Vladikavkaz, so it is advisable to order a Beslan taxi at the airport, they will take you to the city for 350 rubles. Taxi from Vladikavkaz to «Armkhi»- 600r car. You can still fly to Nazran, but it will be expensive. Generally before «Victory» and Vladikavkaz was an expensive route, everyone flew from Minvod, it will be further away.
Accommodation: double room in a hotel in «Armkhi» costs 2.300 rubles. Breakfast is included, but in a Caucasian way it is poor: a choice of porridge or omelet, plus tea. The prices in the restaurant are not high, a check for two with food from the belly and homemade wine is 1.500 rubles. We just called the hotel, they say - now there are places, there is no need to book. In general, there may not be places during the season, you need to advance. There are also guest houses with all conveniences, but the prices were not recognized.
Excursion: 2.000r car, 3 hours plus 500r, if with arrival somewhere else.
