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The Alagir Gorge is a very remarkable and picturesque place. It is located on the territory of North Ossetia. This masterpiece of Nature once served as a fortress in ancient times. On its peaks there are still remains of fortifications:

• towers,
• fortress stone walls,
• protective ditches.

For a long time, mountain ledges were often used as fortresses in North Ossetia. The Alagir Gorge can therefore be called a southern outpost Russian Federation, indeed looking very much like a gate. It is from here that the route to the Near and Middle East lies; here lies the famous Trans-Caucasian Railway (Transcam).

Alagir city

Any trip to the Alagir Gorge begins from the small town of Alagir. Further the way goes through the mountains of the Alagir Gorge, and ends with the Nizhny Zaramag customs house on the border with South Ossetia. Adjacent to the Alagirsky gorge is the Tseyskoye gorge, in which the holy place of the Ossetians, the Rekom sanctuary, is located. It is not so far from the village of Buron, only 9 kilometers along a narrow road, which lies at an altitude of 2000 meters above sea level. The small clearing of the “Recoma of the Phases” itself, where the sanctuary is located, is covered from the north by a ridge, and is limited from the south by the river. “Phase Recommendations” is a landmark of the colorful Tseyskaya Valley, where southern pines grow.

The original history of the ancient Ossetians - Alans is connected with the Alagir Gorge. For a long time it was the starting point around which all local life, both economic and political, was seething. In the Alagir Gorge there are plenty of attractions at every turn. Our travel club “Otkritie” will help you choose unique adventure tours to unique places in the gorge.

The story of Alagir in stone

The memory of those ancient times remained in the form of sanctuaries and monuments that date back to the early Middle Ages. The most famous of them:

Nuzal Chapel (the oldest building in North Ossetia),
. Nuzal and Ursdon fortifications,
. Kassar protective wall,

There are so many attractions in these parts that you definitely need to make a list of priorities. And our tourist club “Otkritie” will help with this. With us you can choose any thematic excursions and unique author’s routes to the most interesting places.

The beauty of the mountain streets of Alagir

You can spend unforgettable hours walking around Alagir itself. It is very picturesque, its ancient streets, unusually shaped buildings - all this fascinates and puts you in a romantic mood. If you want to dine at a local restaurant, there are a great many of them, the tourist infrastructure is well thought out, there are small cafes, benches for relaxation, and souvenir shops everywhere.

The Alagir Gorge, a photo of which is presented on the website of our tourist club, is suitable for recreation at any time of the year. Contact the Otkritie tourist club if you want to spend your vacation in the Caucasus in an exciting and useful way.

Outside the city of Alagir begins Trans-Caucasus Highway(TransKAM) is one of the main roads connecting Russia with Transcaucasia.

The relief changes dramatically, the valley of the Ardon River literally in a matter of minutes takes on the outlines of a gorge, with high and steep cliffs. About five minutes from the city of Alagir, around one of the turns, a multi-ton statue of St. George (Uastirdzhi), whom Ossetians consider their main saint, is chained directly to the rock hanging over the road. .

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

From Buron the path lies west to the beautiful Tseyskoye Gorge. Here we turn right and, having crossed the bridge to the left bank of the Ardon, we begin our ascent along the road. At the first turn, on the left, there is a view of the confluence of the Ardona and Tseydon rivers .

The road begins to gain altitude, winding along serpentine roads. After 1 km. from the beginning of the ascent, the scree slopes are replaced by pine forest. In autumn, mushrooms appear under the trees. About the third kilometer from Buron, there is a spring to the right of the road. Here you can stop and relax, watching the magnificent panorama of the gorge and the Tseysky glacier . Moving further along the road, deeper into the gorge, we gradually go around the initial part of the Kalpersky ridge with the peak of the same name.

From the north the gorge is closed by the Tsey Mountains, from the south rise the rocks of the Adai-Khokh spurs (4410 m.). Huge boulders fill the Tseydon valley. Among them, the cold, furious waters of the river rush with a roar. Soon the forest will begin. The forests of Tsey are amazingly beautiful. Mighty pines cover almost the entire gorge. Among the pines rise the dark green crowns of beeches, the light ones of lindens and maples. Light streams of mountain streams gurgle everywhere. The air is surprisingly clean, fresh and filled with the resinous smell of pine needles.

There is a bend in the road on the right that goes into the forest. This road leads to the village of Verkhny Tsey. Now it is sparsely populated, with only a few houses left.

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

On the left, as you move, through the pine thickets, you can see the Skazsky glacier and the ski slope on its moraine.

The highest accommodation location in Tsey is the famous alpine camp Tsey, which welcomes tourists, climbers and skiers all year round . Above the camps rises a steep wall, the spur of Adaihokh - the “Monk” rock. .

At an altitude of 2000 meters there are chairlift stations .

Tsey cable cars rise to a height of 2500 m above. ur. sea, right above the boiling Tseydon River, 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. Tseysky, in turn, in the upper reaches has two branches, Northern and Southern. The Tseysky glacier is considered the second largest after the Karaugomsky glacier in North Ossetia. A total of 29 glaciers have been described in Tsey with total area 15 sq. km., of which 9.5 are on the Tseysky glacier.

Since ancient times, the Tseyskoye Gorge has been considered sacred and reserved among Ossetians. In one of the clearings on the left bank of Tseydon you can walk along a narrow mountain path to an Ossetian pagan sanctuary "Recom" built about 800 years ago . Outside the men's sanctuary there are piles of animal horns, ritual tables and boxes for monetary donations nearby. . Nearby is a smaller pagan women's sanctuary .

Winter Tsei, with its unique originality and grandeur, beautiful 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 route is that it is quite long, but at the same time not very bumpy and steep. Experienced instructors will quickly teach beginners the basics of skiing and snowboarding, and the features of the route will help you quickly gain experience. Fans of extreme skiing tend to ride off the main trail on steep and bumpy slopes. .

Location:

North Ossetia-Alania

Travel time:

20 minutes from Vladikavkaz

Peculiarities:

It combines completely different natural objects and attractions. It has its own city center - Alagir.

Pros:

Beautiful landscape, easy to get to.

Flaws:

The gorge is not intended for vacationers. There is a federal highway along it, and the only vacation spots are the Tamisk sanatorium. Or you can rent housing from local residents.

The Alagir Gorge is formed by the stormy Ardon River, which originates from the Main Caucasian Range and flows into the Terek. The Alagir Gorge is called the main gate of Transcaucasia, because the Trans-Caucasian Highway passes through it.

Attractions:

At the entrance to the Alagir Gorge, you are greeted by the sanctuary of Uastirdzhi (the patron saint of men in Ossetia). Above the gorge rises a rider on a steel horse, as if flying out of a steep cliff. The monument was erected in 1995.
These people.

Under the horseman there is a cauldron (altar), into which travelers throw money, asking for the patronage and protection of the saint on the road.

A stone table at which men, with pies and beer, pray to Uastirdzhi.

Ossetian Uastirdzhi is a synthesis of St. George and the Patron of Alans from Nart legends) And he is often called St. George, which is erroneous and sinful.

Alan Women's Epiphany Monastery

The monastery is still very young and has only seven monastery nuns, two nuns and three novices. The abbess is Mother Nona, a person of the kindest soul and strong faith) In the monastery there are pieces of the relics of the Holy Martyrs Princess Elisovata and nun Varvara, a list from the icon Holy Mother of God“The Queen of All”, who demonstrated her miraculous power. This icon, through Faith and prayers to the Most Pure One, heals even cancer patients.

75. Ancient village of Lisri in the Mamison Gorge

Alagir Gorge

The Alagir valley

The Alagir Gorge is a huge fortress with a developed system of defensive structures, castles, and watchtowers. This is the only place that Ossetians and their ancestors never left. It was here that, after the terrible disasters caused by the Tatar-Mongol invasions, almost completely destroyed, the descendants of the legendary Os-Bogatar, from whom almost all Ossetian family families descend, began to be reborn.

A reminder that the highlands were once bustling with life are the countless ruins of villages, for example, in the Zaki and Mamison gorges. Time has left no trace of many of them. In the upper reaches of the Alagirsky gorge there are also the so-called “Three Tears of God” - brother-sanctuaries, especially revered by the Ossetian people, erected in hard-to-reach gorges marked by God: Rekom in Tseyskoye, Sidan-Mykalgabyrta in the Sidan gorge (a small branch of the Kassar gorge) and Tarangelos in Mamison .

The Alagir valley is an enormous fortress with developed system of protective shelters, castles and watchtowers. This is the only place which hasn’t ever been left by Ossetins and this is the place, where the descendants of the legendary Os-Bogatar, the forebear of the majority of Ossetin families, reappeared.

Countless ruins of the villages remind us about life, wich used to see the in highland, for example in Zakka and Mamison valleys.

In the upper parts of the Alagir valley you may fi nd socalled “Three tears of God” - the sanctuaries of three brothers highly respected by the Ossetins. Those three sanctuaries (Rekom in Tsey valley, Sidan-Mykalgabyrta in Sidan valley and Tarangelos in Mamison valley) were erected in valleys which had been marked by God and diffi cult of access.

75, 76. Ancient village of Lisri in the Mamison Gorge
77. Transcam
78, 80. Winter in the Alagir Gorge
81. Village of Kholst. In the background - Tsei glacier and Mount Wilpata
82. Mount Kariukhokh massif
83. Holy Ascension Cathedral in Alagir
84, 87. In the village of Arkhon
85, 86. Arkhon Gorge
88-91. Zakka River Valley
92-93. On the slopes of the Mamison Gorge
94, 105. Ursdon-Dagom medieval fortress
95. Villages of Zgil and Kaliat early in the morning
96. Medieval towers of the village of Zgil against the backdrop of Mount Kozykhokh
97. Sculpture of Uastirdzhi at the entrance to the Alagir Gorge
98, 99. Monuments to Kosta Khetagurov in the poet’s homeland in the village of Nar
100. The grave of Kosta Khetagurov’s mother - Maria Gubaeva
102. Watchtower in the village of Donisar
103. One of the towers of the Ursdon-Dagom fortress
104. Snow-capped mountains of the Main Caucasus Range
106. The only wooden church of the Holy Trinity in North Ossetia near the village of Verkhniy Tsei. Built in 1868
107. In the village of Verkhny Tsey
108. River Tseydon and Mount Monk
109. Winter road in the Tseyskoye Gorge
110. Rekom Sanctuary in the Tsey Gorge
111. Women's sanctuary of Mada Mairam
112-113. Sanctuary of Raga Uastirdzhi
114. Tseysky glacier, view from the Rodina pass

76. Ancient village of Lisri in the Mamison Gorge
The ancient village Lisri in the Mamison valley

77. Transcam
Trans-Caucasian highway

78. Winter in the Alagir Gorge
Winter in the Alagir valley

79. Afsati - patron of wild animals
Afsati is the guardian of wild animals

At half past eight we made a short stop at the sanctuary of St. George Uastirdzhi.

The sanctuary is new, built in 1995; before that it was located above a cliff in the narrowest place of the Elkhot Gate. During the construction of the highway, the 14th-century sanctuary was dismantled to be reassembled in a new place, but apparently they forgot to make drawings. It took more than 40 years for a similar complex to appear in these places again.

There must be a watchman here somewhere, but we didn’t see anyone; not one Ossetian would raise his hand to do mischief in a place that is sacred to all Ossetians.

From here you can see a panorama of Dzhimarai-Khokh, one of the highest peaks of the Caucasus.

By 9 am we entered Alagir. Is not Big city of 20 thousand population. Among others, this city is known as the birthplace of Stanislav Cherchesov, at various times a football player and coach of FC Spartak, goalkeeper of the Russian national team and the Soviet Union.

The Komsomolets cinema is unlikely to cause anything other than despondency.

Across the road is a bust of Stalin and Army General Georgy Khetagurov.

Alagir, by the way, does not mean “Saint George” (alla Geor), but “Upper Ossetia”, which for me personally was surprising))

We spent half an hour here. There was enough time to walk around the perimeter of the territory of the Holy Ascension Cathedral, as well as go inside. Here I first came across a commemorative 10-ruble coin measuring 2 cm (without an external disk).

The cathedral was built as a church-fortress and had not only cultural, but also military significance. The height of the fence wall is 2.1 meters. The wall has three massive entrance gates and five defensive round towers.

The height of each tower reaches 8 meters.

An interesting cathedral, built in the Byzantine style in the 50s. XIX century. In the outlines and architecture, it’s a stretch to guess Russian Orthodox Church.

From here we enter the Alagir Gorge along the Trans-Caucasian Highway. Although no, before that we spent another half hour looking for where to stock up on “liquid bread” at the manufacturer’s price, and we found it. Why does anyone go to the mountains...

A 10-minute drive from Alagir, right behind Tamisk, there is another, perhaps the most famous sanctuary of St. George - Nykhas Uastirdzhi.

Here the glorious hero, breaking out of the depths of the rock, riding a gigantic horse trampling a snake beneath him, hangs over the road as if frozen in a jump.

The sanctuary, like the temple, appeared in the middle of the 19th century, but the statue was installed only in 1995. The weight of the statue is 28 tons, and the height of only one horse’s head is 6 meters. This is the largest equestrian monument in the world.

Uastirdzhi - patron of men, travelers and warriors - main character and a deity in Ossetian mythology, often mentioned in the Nart Epic. Under the influence of Christianity, Ossetians over time began to associate Uastirdzhi with St. George the Victorious, but is revered by both Christians and Muslims. In general, according to our guide, the difference between Christians and Muslims is only in the first toast, the former drink to Christ, the latter to Allah, the second toast of both is to St. George and then everything is the same.

And this large bowl is just a piggy bank for collecting donations for the maintenance of the sanctuary.

Here we stayed for about 40 minutes to have breakfast with the scraps we had brought with us, and I didn’t have much time left to climb the path to the top along the cliff.

Ardon runs below - "Mad River".

In half of the sources the gorge is referred to as Ardonskoye.

Here through the passes you can get to. In general, a very interesting village, along the road there is a barrier wall 3 floors high, which either protects local residents from the road, or the road from local residents, but the impression is somehow surreal.

Top view of the village of Buron.

There is a quarry behind the village. The feeling is that a small scree at the top of the quarry is capable of burying not at all small excavators and dump trucks swarming below. I wouldn't want to work in such conditions.

By the way, behind Buron there is the Zaramagskaya basin, which is called “Toiletia,” but we don’t need to go there. Then the road goes to the Roki tunnel in South Ossetia, and after crossing the bridge to the left bank of the Ardon, we begin our ascent to the Tseyskoe gorge.

The Tseyskoe gorge is so grandiose and magnificent that it undoubtedly deserves a separate story, so we will skip it here, and to complete the story about the Alagir or another Ardon gorge, we will finish the story the other way.

On the way back, from the right side of our minibus we could see the Zaramagskaya hydroelectric power station under construction. Work on the construction of the hydroelectric power station began in June 1976. According to the plans of the Ministry of Energy, the station should be launched in 2017.

And this is the Tsallagov tower in Nizhny Unal.

The Unal tailings dump is a special complex. structures and equipment for the storage or disposal of mineral processing waste from the Sandon deposit of lead-zinc ores, called tailings.

Here the journey could have been considered over if our guide had not been too lazy to buckle up at the border post between North Ossetia and Kabardino-Balkaria, where we had to stand for another half an hour. I returned back closer to 7 pm.