Russia

Itinerary

• Days 1-2: Mineralnye Vody (Russia), Pyatigorsk

  Landing in Mineralnye Vody, transfer to your hotel in Pyatigorsk, one of Russia’s oldest health resorts and the administrative center of the region encompassing the North Caucasus republics. Visit the mud baths in nearby Essentuki and the tomb of Russian Romantic poet, writer, wit, and soldier, Mikhail Lermontov.

  HIGHLIGHTS

  • Pyatigorsk, administrative center of the North Caucasian Federal District
  • Essentuki mud baths
  • Grave of Mikhail Lermontov, killed at the age of 26 in a duel with another soldier at the foot of nearby Mt. Mashuk
• Days 3-5: Tsey, Nalchik, Vladikavkaz (North Ossetia)

  Enjoy a thrilling demonstration of proficiency in the wielding of the shashka, the original Circassian saber. Then drive to the mountain resort of Tsey, admiring some of the most spectacular scenery in this region, with craggy peaks, waterfalls, and medieval stone defense towers. Visit the sacred site of Rekom in the Tsey Valley, honoring the most important of the old gods of Ossetia, Uastyrdzhi. Explore the necropolis of Dargavs, sometimes called the “City of the Dead” because of its resemblance to a village of stone houses. In Vladikavkaz, capital of North Ossetia, enjoy a cooking class and sit in on a rehearsal of a traditional dance ensemble.

  HIGHLIGHTS

  • Nalchik, capital of the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic
  • Off-road drive up the dirt track to Zgid Pass, at 6,500 feet
  • Sacred site of Rekom, honoring Uastyrdzhi, god of men, warriors, and travelers in the mythology of Ossetian folk religion
  • Necropolis of Dargavs, nearly 100 medieval tombs and crypts built of stone with stepped slate roofs
  • Vladikavkaz, capital of North Ossetia and the terminus of the Georgian Military Highway
  • Local bazaar, cooking class, and traditional dance rehearsal
  • Performance by vocal ensemble
• Days 6-7: Ingushetia, Grozny (Chechnya), Lake Kezenoy-am

  Enter the Russian Federal Republic of Ingushetia, a gorgeous mountain region and the smallest of the Russian republics populated mainly by the indigenous Ingush people, who have close ties to the Chechens. Grozny, the ravaged but rebuilt capital of Chechnya, is today a bright place featuring a handsome new mosque, a renovated church, and a pleasant downtown filled with shops and restaurants. Take a night walk around the modern city and meet with one of the city’s traditional singing ensembles to hear their songs. Admire alpine Lake Kezenoy-am, the largest lake in the North Caucasus.

  HIGHLIGHTS

  • Beautiful mountainous Ingushetia, whose people are Sunni Muslim
  • Grozny’s central mosque named in honor of Akhmad Kadyrov, the first President of the Chechen Republic
  • Performance by traditional singers
  • High-tech new Haja Aymani Kadyrova Mosque
  • Lake Kezenoy-am, set at 6,000 feet, and shared by Chechnya and Dagestan
• Days 8-10: Gunib (Dagestan), Kubachi

  Drive into Dagestan, the biggest and the most diverse of the North Caucasus republics, with more than 30 languages spoken. Stop at a mill that produces urbech –made of sesame, pumpkin, and flax seeds. In a series of villages, visit pottery studios, a workshop where women make sheepskin robes for shepherds, and the homes of jewelry makers. Experience Dagestani hospitality in a rustic homestay in the village of Kubachi.

  HIGHLIGHTS

  • Dagestan, the biggest of the North Caucasus republics, spread along the Caspian coast
  • Lunch in a private village home
  • Gunib, where Imam Shamil, the 19th century leader of the Chechens and Dagestanis, surrendered to the Russians after a 25-year struggle
  • Artisan workshop visits
  • Homestay in Kubachi
• Days 11-14: Derbent, Makhachkala

  A city of some 120,000, Derbent is the southernmost city in Russia. It is set on a narrow lowland along the Caspian Sea with the Caucasus Mountains barely two miles away. The massive UNESCO-listed Naryn-Kala Fortress dominates the old city. Built by the Sassanian Persians in the 5th century, the immense Naryn-Kala Fortress was in continuous use until the 19th century. Visit the Juma Mosque, built over a Christian church in the 8th century when the Arabs first arrived. Continue to Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, a modern town on the Caspian Sea with a lively beach scene.

  HIGHLIGHTS

  • UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the “Citadel, Ancient City, and Fortress Buildings of Derbent”
  • Juma Mosque, said to be the oldest in Russia
  • Lunch in the home of a pigeon-breeder
  • Dagestan Museum of Fine Art