Golden autumn in the Caucasus. North Ossetia. Digoria, Dargavs, Tsei and more. I invite you to travel. Digorskoe gorge

06.01.2021

Photo: Alania National Park

One of the most beautiful corners of the Caucasus is the Digorsky Gorge in North Ossetia. People come here to learn mountaineering. In addition to natural hits, there are castles-fortresses and ancient burial grounds. In these parts you can engage in skiing, water and bicycle tourism.

Reserved Alanya

In North Ossetia there is a historical region called Digoria. It is located in the west of the republic, on the northern slope of the Main Caucasian Range. The area along the banks of the Urukh River has been inhabited since ancient times. It got its name from the ethnic group of Ossetians, who called themselves Digorians. It is in these places that national park"Alania". Digorsky Gorge can be called one of his hits.

The protected area appeared in 1998. It includes not only beautiful mountain landscapes, but also man-made sights - parking ancient man and battle towers. Since the whole territory is surrounded by mountain ranges, you can get here by a single road. She goes along the valley of the river Urukh. Mount Wilpata is considered the highest point of the reserve. Its height is 4646 meters.

A dense hydrographic network is formed by over 70 rivers and streams. The area is famous for its waterfalls. Some are over a hundred meters high! In Digoria there are many lakes of glacial origin with the purest water. The most famous include Fastagskoye, Mikelay, Gular and Donisar lakes. There are also those that appear in the summer during the melting of glaciers, and then disappear without a trace.

The climate in these parts is quite comfortable. It is caused by mountains that protect from the wind. Winter is mild. average temperature January is only -3.2°. Summer is long and not hot. The average July temperature is +20.4°. During this period, heavy rains with thunderstorms are possible. Precipitation in this area is mainly supplied by the Caspian Sea. The mild climate has attracted people here for a long time.

A visit to the past

Many historical monuments have been preserved in the valley of the Urukh River. The mountain village of Galiat is considered a man-made miracle. The houses here are built on flat mountain tops with sheer cliffs. They are very reminiscent of medieval castles in the mountainous part of Europe. Small fortresses, crypts, towers and rocks with petroglyphs have been preserved on the territory of the Alania National Park. Entire mountain villages are under protection. The famous "city of the dead" - Donifars - is located in the Digorsky Gorge.

In the villages of Matsuta, Dzinaga and Fasnal there are medieval above-ground crypts-tombs. They are towers. Alanian catacomb burial grounds are known in the village of Kumbulta. These burials are stone niches lined with cobblestones. In the village of Dunta, the circus monuments, which were installed in cemeteries, are interesting. Some have well-preserved images of people and drawings. And the highest residential, watch and battle towers can be seen in the villages of Galiat, Makhchesk, Kamata and Wakats.

On the territory of the reserve "Alania" many sanctuaries associated with pagan cults have been preserved. These include Lezgor, Sattay-obau, Gabon, Faron and others. The most famous sanctuary is Digori Izad. It is located in a rocky grotto near the village of Zadalesk. Archaeologists have found aurochs, deer, bison and chamois in Nemrog, which people once sacrificed to the gods.

Photo: Watchtower in the village of Donifars

Among the remarkable natural objects of Digoria, it is worth noting the mineral springs. The water in them is completely transparent and highly saturated with carbon dioxide. In fact, this is a natural soda. AT national park there is even an alpine swamp! It sounds very unusual, because swamps are associated with lowlands. Of the beautiful places, Akhsinta Canyon should be noted. A bridge is thrown over it, which was nicknamed "Devil's". The crossing offers a magnificent view of the Urukh River.

How to get there

By train or plane, you should drive or fly to Vladikavkaz or Mineralnye Vody. Minibuses go from here to the village of Chikola. Travels around Digoria usually begin from it.

The Digorsky Gorge in North Ossetia is one of the most beautiful and wild in the North Caucasus. It appeared under the influence of the waters of the Urukh River in the Rocky Range. The Urukh still flows below, and above the river, along a narrow ledge among the rocks, a road is carved out along which cars drive.

Conditions for recreation in the Digorsky Gorge are diverse. At different altitudes above sea level there are dry mountain steppes, moist forests, alpine meadows, forest-steppe zone, lakes, glaciers, streams, waterfalls.

There are opportunities for hiking ecological paths, you can engage in educational tourism, making excursions to different landscapes with their historical, cultural and architectural monuments, and engage in water slalom.

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Currently, you can relax here mainly in the warm months. In winter, during the season of heavy snowfalls, the recreation areas do not function, but the landscapes here are beautiful in their own way at this time of the year, and it will be interesting to see these places also in the winter months.

This is just a small part of what is possible to visit and see in one of the wild gorges of the Caucasus.

Entry

When entering the Digorskoye Gorge, the main thing is not to slip through the Urukh Canyon Akhsinta (also called the Digorskaya Gorge). There is a major road bridge (in the common people Chertov). The bridge offers a stunning view - a height of 80 meters above the Urukh River, stop if it's not scary. Akhsinta canyon is the main entrance to mountainous Digoria. Good asphalt has been laid to the village of Matsuta, but further on there is a dirt road.

There are many beautiful places here. Here and there old buildings or ruins. It can be seen that people have been living in these remote places for a long time. One can note the Three Sisters waterfalls, which look especially spectacular from afar. Three streams fall from rocks at a distance of 150-200 meters from each other. The source of the waterfall is on the Taimazi glacier. Therefore, their official name is "Taymazinsky waterfalls".

They make an unforgettable impression of the fall height and beauty. Below, streams of water break on ledge stone pyramids. Over the years, water has carved many depressions in the stones, which are a real decoration of each of the waterfalls. Water falls into these recesses and in a moment splashes out of them in fountains. There is an excellent hiking trail leading to the falls. But the waterfalls freeze during the cold season.

Looking at the Digorsky Gorge on the map, you can immediately notice it distinguishing feature. It lies in the height of its location above sea level - about 2000 meters. Ossetians call the Digorsky Gorge "Country", because people with ancient history and original traditions passed down from generation to generation.

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Geographical characteristics of the Digorsky Gorge

Digoria is located in the south-west of North Ossetia, in its farthest corner. From the capital Vladikavkaz to the gorge, you need to drive three hours to cover a distance of 120 km. The Urukh River flows along the bottom of the Digorsky Gorge.

Conventionally, the whole area is divided into parts:

Stur-Digora (Ustur-Digoræ - "big Digoria");
Tapan-Digora (T'æpæn-Digoræ - "plane Digoria");
Donifars (literally - "side of the river");
Wallagkom (Uællagkom - "upper gorge").

First, an asphalt highway spreads over flat terrain before and for some time after the village of Chikola. And only after a while you realize that you are already in the mountains. A steep serpentine twists higher and higher around the grandiose rocks. It is not difficult to rent a holiday home in the Digorsky Gorge. People here have always been famous for their hospitality and respect for the traveler.

A new discovery awaits the traveler at every turn. The first to meet the traveler at the entrance to the Digorskoye Gorge is the Devil's Bridge. The height from its level to the bottom of the abyss is equal to the height of a 25-story building. In this place in 1919, near the bridge, Red detachments defeated the disunited White Guards of General Denikin.

It is from this passage that one can contemplate the whole perspective of the deep canyon Akhsinta, whose length is 5 km. In some places, seething springs and mountain streams break out from the mass of rocks. According to tourist reviews, the waterfalls are the pearl of the Digorsky Gorge, irrigating barren stones.
Soon Mountain landscape parted a little and a sunny valley opens up to the gaze. Above its banks you can see stone security structures and ancient settlements of the highlanders:

Donifars;
Lezgor;
Zadalesk;
Hanaz.

On flat pastures, you can still see large herds of horses. You can see such photos of the Digorsky Gorge on our website, and then take pictures of these beauties on your own during the hike.

Sights of the Digorsky Gorge

Zadalesk is now a residential village. Several families live here, and some stay in the gorge for the winter. The deserted streets of the village make you think that the inhabitants have left them. But in fact, everyone is busy with their own business, who tends herds of sheep, who makes cheese. No gourmet restaurant food can match the taste of these natural products grown in the purest air of the highlands. The weather in the Digorsky Gorge favors the cultivation of grain and the maintenance of small livestock.

Our adventure tours allow you to get a powerful boost of energy, improve your health and expand your horizons during outdoor activities in North Ossetia.

This article will talk about amazingly beautiful mountainous places, famous for numerous historical monuments and magnificent natural landscapes.

This unique natural monument is located in the Digorskoye Gorge. About the relief, sights and much more interesting will go speech in this article.

North Ossetia: general information

Alania (North Ossetia), belonging to Russian Federation, located in the north Caucasus mountains. The entire territory has an area of approximately 8 thousand square meters. km, and inhabited by more than 670 thousand people. Ossetians (approximately 53%) and Russians (30%) live here in the overwhelming majority. There are also Ingush and Armenians in the Republic. The administrative center of the Republic is the city of Vladikavkaz.

The largest cities in the region are Beslan, Mozdok and Alagir. Since 1991, North Ossetia has had the status of a Republic that is part of the Russian

Forests occupy one fifth of the territory, and they are mainly broad-leaved (hornbeam, beech, linden, ash, alder, oak, maple).

Mountain range of the region

Let's take a brief look at the mountain range of these places before we find out what it is - the Digorsky Gorge.

North Ossetia in the west has a border with Kabardino-Balkaria, with Stavropol Territory- in the north, and in the east - with the Chechen Republic and Ingushetia. Its southern territory borders on Georgia.

The whole republic is located in the foothills of the Greater Caucasus and on its northern slope. The northern territories were located on the Stavropol Plain, the southern ones - on the Sunzhensky and Tersky ridges. In the southern part of the region, the Lateral and Main ranges of the Greater Caucasus are located. The highest point is Jimara Peak (altitude 4780 m). The Ossetian plain extends into the central part of the North Caucasus. The low mountain ranges mentioned above rise from it, and behind them is the Mozdok Plain.

In the Ossetian mountains there are eternal glaciers, the largest of which are Tseisky and Karaug. The highlands are crossed by numerous Kasarsky, Dargavsky, Kurtatinsky, Alagirsky, Kobansky, Tseysky. Digorskoe gorge also belongs to them. Along them and their lateral branches are the beds of mountain rivers of glacial-snow origin and connecting at the exit from the mountains with large full-flowing Ardon, Urukh, Kambileevka.

Features of climatic conditions

The climate in these places is temperate continental. On average, January temperatures reach -4 °С, and in mid-summer - up to +22 °С. In total, about 800 mm of precipitation falls annually.

The zone of North Ossetia is marked by increased seismicity. Also in the mountains there are quite frequent descents of powerful snow avalanches, numerous mudflows and rockfalls occur. Strong hail is often observed on the foothill plain. It causes great harm to the Republic.

In any case, North Ossetia (Alania) is very popular among tourists and vacationers.

The most beautiful and farthest from the city of Vladikavkaz (120 km) is the Digorskoye Gorge, located in the west of North Ossetia.

It is located in the basin of the Urukh (Iraf) River, whose tributaries originate in the realm of huge centuries-old glaciers and ancient snows. The rocky ridge, in which the gorge was formed, is located parallel to the main ridge.

In Digoria there is a wonderful national natural Park"Alania". Depending on the height above sea level, here you can find either moist forests or magnificent ones. There is also a forest-steppe zone, glaciers, lakes, waterfalls, streams.

Like all North Caucasus, Digorskoe gorge abounds with amazing historical and cultural monuments.

Facts from history

The narrowest point of the gorge is Akhsinta, which is a natural fortress. It should be noted that its walls have repeatedly saved local highlanders from enemies.

There is another interesting point. On the site of the villages of Lezgor, Donifars, Nar and Zadalesk, there was the 2nd defensive line (Matsuta center). On the watchtowers, on the hills, in case of any danger, wet straw was lit. Thanks to the resulting smoke, the news of the threat quickly spread throughout Digoria.

Watchtowers and family towers have been preserved in many parts of Digoria. Some ancient dwellings have also remained here, especially in the villages of Dzinaga, Kamunta, Moska, Dunta and Odola.

Rest in the Digorsky Gorge: attractions

As a rule, a trip to Digoria usually starts from the village of Chikola. Due to the large distance from major settlements and due to the lack of a good road, people come to these places to rest not for 1-2 days.

In general, you can relax in these places only in summer months, and in winter time it is better not to go there, as heavy snowfalls prevail during this period. However, it is worth noting that the landscapes in the gorge are beautiful at any time of the year.

Let's take a short excursion on the way to the gorge. After the first village, the road along the plain leads through the village. Ahsarisar. Its name translates as "the height of military prowess." It is named in honor of the fact that in ancient times the Alans heroically fought in these places with the Tatar-Mongols (Timur's troops), who tried to penetrate deep into the gorge.

Further, the road passes by the village of Kalukh and stretches to the very foot of the Skalisty ridge. In these places, not far from the tunnel, there is the Akhsinta Canyon, through which a concrete bridge was built, nicknamed by tourists "Devil's". This bridge offers a magnificent view of the Urukh River, the forest in the western part of the gorge and the streams descending from steep walls, flowing from karst sources.

North Ossetia has many not only historical monuments, but also natural attractions. The Digorskoye Gorge is famous for one of the most magnificent and largest glaciers - Karaugomsky, which is the second largest in the entire North Caucasus.