"Tea Express"
In Russia, there is a rare opportunity to see the entire North Caucasus in one trip. In the 70s of the last century, a tourist train went along this route. Then there was a 40-year break, and only in April of this year the route was revived again. The train was called the "Tea Express" because it passes through the places where the Great Silk and tea way... The journey lasts five to six days.
Tea Express
What is the advantage of a rail cruise? At night, you sleep in a comfortable compartment. At this time, the train moves from point A to point B. In the morning you are served a hot breakfast. The train makes a stop and you go to explore new places for the whole day - sightseeing, tasting dishes local cuisine shopping. All day long you travel on a special bus with a guide. Lunch and dinner are provided at local cafes and restaurants. In the evening, return to your hotel on wheels and the train departs for your next destination. It is very convenient, because in this case you have a comfortable hotel combined with a vehicle, a cafe and a luggage room for things.
Hotel on wheels
The train starts in Sochi in the late evening. In the morning he arrives in the city of Nevinnomysk, from where tourists go on a bus tour of Karachay-Cherkessia. The next day, the train makes a stop in the city of Nazran in Ingushetia. Here the program provides for a trip through the picturesque mountains, and then the buses go to Chechnya, where you will see the evening Grozny in all its splendor. There the train is already waiting for tourists.
This is how guests are welcomed in Cherkessk
The next station is the ancient city of Derbent in Dagestan. The whole day is devoted to exploring its many attractions. On way back The Tea Express makes a stop at Mineralnye Vody in the Stavropol Territory. Here tourists visit Zheleznovodsk and Pyatigorsk. In the evening, the train leaves for Sochi. In different seasons, the route may change and include, for example, Kabardino-Balkaria or North Ossetia.
Ingush beauties
In any case, the excursion program is very rich. In Karachay-Cherkessia, there is an opportunity to explore the cities of Cherkessk and Karachaevsk, climb Dombai, and walk along the Teberda nature reserve. In Ingushetia excursion route passes through the Assinsky gorge, where the most famous sights of the republic are located - the medieval tower settlements Targim and Egikal, as well as christian temple Tkhaba-Yerdy, built in the 8th century. Tourists have the opportunity to visit Magas - the new capital of Ingushetia.
Night Terrible
Derbent "chupa-chups" (apples in caramel)
Dagestan tourist set
In Grozny, the Heart of Chechnya mosque and panoramic night view from observation deck one of the skyscrapers "Grozny-City". Acquaintance with Dagestani Derbent includes a tour of the Old City, a visit to the Juma Mosque, the Maiden Bath, the Museum of the History of World Religions and the Naryn-Kala fortress, from where the ancient city on the Caspian Sea coast opens in full view. Well, acquaintance with the resorts of Stavropol is not complete without visiting Lermontov places, tasting local mineral water and diving into thermal springs... So many fun in one trip!
Pyatigorsk - the estate of Ostap Bender
The railway tour costs about 17 thousand rubles. The price includes three meals a day, excursions, transfers, entry tickets, entertainment, water procedures in KavMinVody or ascent by funicular (depending on the chosen route). At the stops, you can taste typical Caucasian cuisine, wine, chacha and, of course, the famous Dagestan cognac. Travel allows you to fully appreciate the hospitality of the locals, which cannot be bought for any money, since it is provided completely free of charge!
The first cruise took place in April, the second in June. Now the program of the next railway voyage is being formed. Follow the news on the website http: // tea-express.rf/
There is hardly a person in Russia who would be unfamiliar with the feeling when a train conductor long distance wakes him up in the morning with the words: "Get up, citizen, your station."
On that spring day, "Your station" - the station Nevinnomyssk was common for all passengers of the "Tea Express".
The morning began with a woman in a Russian Railways uniform, smiling and holding back some guilt for the early invasion, delivering a very nutritious breakfast. The volume of breakfast exceeded the size of the stomachs of most of the inhabitants of the train (the word "inhabitants" was not inserted by chance, for for the next four days the train became a home for tourists). And now we were all put on buses and taken to get to know North Caucasus... The tour organizers, who are familiar with the area firsthand, have provided a sinusoidal route. First there was a park, an ordinary park in the city of Cherkessk. And although it is clear that the designers, gardeners, carpenters, bricklayers and other workers of the city put their whole soul into the creation of the park, it was just a well-groomed city park. But after ... after the usual towns and villages for the inhabitants of central Russia, we were taken to the mountains ... Mountains! Mount Dombay, which is located in the Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia. Dombay met us with a small valley, completely surrounded by mountains. Relatively not tall, overgrown with forests and masses, from which the snow does not come down even in the midst of summer. The guide - not a young woman - lamented that the valley was too built up, but to me and my wife, who were there for the first time, these complaints seemed in vain. A small patch is built up. But wherever you look, the forest and the mountains are everywhere. My sense of smell was torn between two smells - completely clean air and mouth-watering breezes from the restaurant, where dinner was already awaiting us. As a well-mannered person, I obeyed discipline and pulled myself away from beauty for the sake of eating, which I still do not regret, lunch was hearty and tasty.
And in the afternoon, a more exciting part of the journey began. We were raised by cable car to the heights, from which the rocks no longer seemed so distant and gigantic, to a tiny island of a flat surface, where inexperienced skiers begin their way down and acclimatized yaks graze. But this was not the edge of our ability to touch the firmament. On another funicular, we climbed even higher - to places where snowboarding and alpine skiing the season is not important, there is always snow. When going up and down, my ears were constantly pinched, I was wildly frozen on the cable car, I got my feet wet in the melted snow when I wanted to touch the yak. But it was one of better days in my life, which I would never exchange for a century in warmth and boredom.
The day was drawing to a close. We were brought to the Teberdinsky nature reserve at the end of the holiday. There was a catastrophic lack of time for the reserve, so we limited ourselves to visiting the menagerie of the reserve. For me, a former young naturalist, the menagerie was common. You can say routine. But his wife, learning that for fifty rubles you can buy animal feed and feed them with impunity, was delighted. As a child, she ran between the enclosures, throwing over the hedge or holding out in her hand (depending on the danger of the beast) soaked gingerbread or cabbage leaf, or whatever else came across in the set that was sold at the entrance, which guaranteed safety for the digestion of semi-wild animals. In general, describing all four days of the trip, I would like to end them with a formulaic phrase: “tired, but satisfied”. So, tired, but happy, we returned to the train.
And in the morning we arrived in the city of Nazran. We, awakened, sluggishly moving along the platform were greeted. Moreover, the word "MET" should be written using only capital letters. Young dancers in national costumes demonstrated Ingush dances to us, young ladies in old costumes were serving cakes, of course, prepared according to local recipes. And the whole atmosphere and mood of the drummer forced the organizers and several tourists to start dancing. The organizers of the trip understood that one could only travel to the flat part of Ingushetia on a business trip, but in the mountainous part two eyes were not enough for me. I would like to see eyes on the back of the head and on the temples. In the mountains of Ingushetia, many historical and cultural monuments have been preserved, both of the late and early (which is especially important to me personally) of the Middle Ages. Like most of my compatriots, I am interested in how our ancestors lived centuries ago. Even if there are no mountaineers among my ancestors. But this is also my story. And the beauty of the landscape surrounding the monuments of antiquity is such that it is impossible to describe it. Just to return to the words that I would like to have even more eyes ...
But I have only two eyes that serve me well. And I feel guilty before the blind who will not be able to see what I saw on this trip.
Lunch in Mountainous Ingushetia. We were brought to the territory of the camp site so that we would not get hungry. And since there are a lot of us, and the base is small and the weather is chic, the tables were set under open air... Mountain air, Caucasian hospitality and a permanent holiday feeling. made me eat whatever was asked. Despite the fact that I, like a hamster, ate almost my own weight, I still went to the floodplain of a mountain river. It is cold, but I went into it with my feet. The girl guide Khava said about this river that it is insidious and that you cannot go deep into it, because the current does not coincide with the coordination of a person and it is very easy to drown in it. I'm sure of my vestibular apparatus, but I took the guide's words for dogma, because I really didn't want to swim in icy water.
It was not enough for Ingushetia to part with us on the holiday of spring. Which in the valley of the Assa river surrounded us and the next point of the journey was the city of Magas. Magas is still a city under construction. But obviously it will be ideal, since it is being built in an open field and city planners are not constrained by anything. Our "Tea Express" was what is called the first sign and therefore a more or less important event in the life of the cities in which he stayed. And young Magas timed the city holiday to our visit. The holiday was called "St. George Ribbon Day" - a kind of eve of May 9. Responsible officials of Ingushetia, schoolchildren and grandfather, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War, addressed the tourists and residents of the city. When the veteran spoke, and he, first of all, dedicated his speech to the first-graders who stood opposite, his speech was that his generation defeated the abomination with a swastika in its head. And the kids were born and live in peace. I don’t know, maybe I was puffed up in Dombai, or maybe I saw a veteran against the background of a construction site and I was a Slav in a group of highlanders, but a tear came out. I really felt like a part of a Nation of many nationalities. The songs of the war years were still going on when we were seated on buses, since we also had a route to the city of Grozny.
We arrived in Grozny after dark. But the organizers intended it this way. For the locals believe that this city is the most beautiful in the night consecration. It is unlikely that a native of Moscow can be surprised by skyscrapers or illumination, but the patriot's heart began to beat evenly, despite the abundance of steps that had to be overcome. Exactly and measuredly, when I heard that, according to Western analysts, it will take at least 50 years to restore the city, and our Russia has not restored it in 10 years, but has rebuilt it an order of magnitude more beautifully. Let's use the words of Mayakovsky: "Look - envy!" At night we met our train. He dropped us off in Nazran, but came after us in Grozny.
It seemed that it would not be better. No, it’s possible. At 10 am our train arrived in Derbent. The arrival of the first Tea Express train was turned into a citywide celebration. The speech of the mayor of the city and other high-ranking officials of the Republic was simply lost in the host of hospitality of local residents: those who were obliged to meet us in the service and those who were simply nearby. Old Derbent is listed as a monument world heritage protected by UNESCO. And this is not the first city of monuments. Which I have visited. But this city is mine forever personal monument and I will definitely return to it. Old Derbent - aggregate medieval streets and modern cars, ancient buildings and air conditioners with plastic windows and satellite dishes. Historians are at war with local residents. So that they do not introduce modernization into historical monuments, and the inhabitants are people and they also want to live in comfort.
And although the city is officially at least two thousand years old, although it is clearly older, the foundations of times less ancient, but very dear to our memory, have been preserved in it. And the way will say that the city is stuck in the USSR and does not strive for further development... I will answer: “Thank you, Derbent people, for keeping the USSR, that you are simple and welcoming, that in your multinational city there is a healthy“ do not care ”about ultra-religiousness.
Derbent, in general, remained in my memory a city - a fairy tale and a city with words of gratitude unsaid by me. Thanks to the organizers, Thanks to the artists, Thanks to the schoolchildren who helped the organizers, Thanks to the cooks and waiters, Thanks and apologies to the staff of the Museum of World Cultures and Religions, she wanted to tell so much, but had to save time. But I will return to Derbent, I will definitely come back and listen to a full tour of the museum, the Naryn Kala fortress, and just along the streets of the Old City, which anyone will tell me about local having free time!
On the last day we visited Mineral water... Of course, an excursion to Lermontov's places, tasting the water, the taste of which does not give rise to doubts about the correctness of the name of the city: Zheleznovodsk. And swimming in thermal waters. Although we were in the south of Russia, but April 29th is still April, and the Ministry of Waters is not Tashkent and, moreover, not some kind of Dominican Republic. It was chilly outside in the evening, which added unreality to soaking in hot water in the open air.
P.S. Now, having discovered this site for myself, I looked through the photos from that trip and, in all honesty, I can say that the excursion was more interesting than many foreign trips. I strongly advise you to go.
And one more tip: the price can vary. Sometimes the state gives money to the organizers, which will reduce the price of the trip by about a third.
Arrival at Rostov-on-Don.
Transfer to the city Azov(39 km, about 50 minutes). There is a guide on the bus.
Visit local history museum for an additional payment of 180 rubles... There is so much in the exposition! Skeletons of huge prehistoric animals, stone Venus, patterned ancient dishes, things from the times of Peter I and items from the times of the Great Patriotic War.
Addition to the main exposition - Exhibition ancient products of pure gold (entrance fee 120 rubles)... They were forged by masters from a tribe of warriors - Sarmatians. The finest metal patterns, rich horse ornaments, women's jewelry, tableware are worth seeing.
The total duration of a tour of the museum and exhibition is about 1 hour.
A short walk to the observation deck overlooking the Don. Time for photography.
A short drive to the rampart.
Walk along the bulk rampart. This rampart is all that remains of the once powerful fortress, rebuilt for centuries according to the latest science and technology of those times. A great place to relax, reflect and take pictures against the backdrop of the cannons and the Don.
Dinner in the restaurant "Fortress Val". Included in the tour price.
Transfer to Rostov-on-Don (39 km).
Stop at the monument "Tachanka-Rostovchanka"... The inscription on the plaque reads: “1918. Dedicated to the legendary 1st Cavalry Army. The monument was erected in the year of the 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution ”.
Bus sightseeing tour of Rostov-on-Don: a walk along the Don embankment, the Armenian district of Nakhichevan, the "Fallen Warriors" Memorial on Karl Marx Square and stele "Liberators of Rostov from Nazi invaders", Cathedral Square.
Walk along the Don embankment. For Rostovites, this is a favorite vacation spot. The townspeople are anxious about their embankment. A huge number of different sculptures on the most unexpected themes are installed here. Day and evening music, dancing and fun reign here.
Boarding buses. Moving to Nakhichevan-on-Don- the region of Rostov-on-Don, formerly a separate city, in which the Armenian diaspora lived (2 km).
Familiarization with memorial complex"To the fallen soldiers" on Karl Marx Square and stele "Liberators of Rostov from Nazi invaders".
The end of the excursion program is at 17:00.
17: 00-19: 10 Free time - uh then the opportunity to dine and enjoy a walking tour of Rostov-on-Don. Recommended to visit Cathedral Square- the most old square cities. On the square - Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and a monument to St. Dmitry. To get off at Bolshaya Sadovaya, leading directly to the station, walk along the pedestrian Cathedral lane, which starts immediately from the Cathedral Square. There are coffee shops and restaurants in the lane. Down Bolshaya Sadovaya half an hour walk to Rostov Glavny station. You can easily get to the station by public transport- any bus goes there down Bolshaya Sadovaya. We recommend purchasing food for dinner on the train.
19:00-19:15 Group gathering in the square in front of the building Rostov-Glavny railway station... Boarding the train.
Departure from Rostov-on-Don to Nazran.
Traditional program
Moscow - Rostov-on-Don - Nazran - Vladikavkaz (+ overnight at the hotel) - Grozny - Derbent (+ overnight at the hotel) - Caucasian Mineral Waters - Moscow
There is an opportunity to join the express train at stations convenient for you: Ryazan, Voronezh, Liski, Rostov-on-Don, Nevinnomyssk, Armavir, Caucasian Mineral Waters.
The Tea Express invariably passes through the most interesting sights of the North Caucasus.
Tour program:
1 day Departure from Moscow to Rostov-on-Don *. 2nd day. Rostov-on-Don / Azov
Arrival to Rostov-on-Don.
Boarding the bus.
Transfer to the city of Azov (39 km). There is a tour guide on the bus.
A visit to the local history museum - for an additional fee (180 rubles). The exposition contains the complete skeletons of giant prehistoric animals, weapons and jewelry of desperate warriors - the Sarmatians. It's amazing how their harsh morals did not overshadow the artistic talent of the representatives of this ancient culture... The finest patterns for metal, gold filigree jewelry, chalcedony tops of sword hilts - what this original people did not leave behind. The museum possesses a collection of ancient dishes from different cultures that will make any modern housewife envy.
The museum has painstakingly, with love and respect, collected items from the times of the Great Patriotic War... All of them were found or preserved in difficult times for our country.
The duration of the excursion around the museum is 1 hour.
A short walk to the observation deck overlooking the Don. Time for photography.
A short drive to the rampart.
Walk along the bulk rampart. This rampart is all that remains of the once powerful fortress, rebuilt for centuries according to the latest science and technology of those times. A great place to relax, reflect and take pictures against the backdrop of the cannons and the Don.
Lunch at the restaurant "Fortress Val". Included in the tour price.
Transfer to Rostov-on-Don (39 km).
On the way back - check-in to the "Tachanka-Rostovchanka" monument. The inscription on the plaque reads: “1918. Dedicated to the legendary 1st Cavalry Army. The monument was erected in the year of the 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution ”.
Bus sightseeing tour of Rostov-on-Don.
Walk along the Don embankment. For Rostovites, this is a favorite vacation spot. The townspeople are anxious about their embankment. A huge number of different sculptures on the most unexpected themes are installed here. Day and evening music, dancing and fun reign here.
Boarding buses. Moving to Nakhichevan - Rostov-on-Don region, formerly a separate city, in which the Armenian diaspora lived (2 km).
Acquaintance with the memorial complex "Fallen soldiers" on Karl Marx Square and the stella "Liberators of Rostov from Nazi invaders".
The end of the excursion program is at 17:00.
Free time. This is an opportunity to dine, make the necessary purchases, enjoy a walk in the center of Rostov-on-Don. We recommend visiting Cathedral Square - the oldest square in the city. The Old Bazaar is also located here, which is also interesting to look at. Other attractions of the square are the monument to St. Dmitry and the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To get to Bolshaya Sadovaya, take a walk along the pedestrian Cathedral Lane, which starts right from the Cathedral Square. There are coffee shops and restaurants in it. It's nice to drink freshly made coffee while sitting on a comfortable bench in this cozy alley. We recommend purchasing food for dinner on the train.
The Rostov-Glavny railway station, from which our train departs, can be reached on foot - the path along Bolshaya Sadovaya will take about 30 minutes (3.5 km). Those who want to get to the station by public transport can easily reach it from the place where the excursion program ends by bus. Any bus will do.
In the evening, the group gathers in the square in front of the entrance to the building of the Rostov-Glavny railway station. Boarding the train. Departure from Rostov-on-Don to Nazran.
Attention! Those who wish to join the trip to Rostov-on-Don should take into account that the excursion day in this city is not included in the ticket price. Day 3. Ingushetia / North Ossetia-Alania
Breakfast on the train. Included in the tour price.
Arrival to Nazran.
Boarding the bus.
Transfer to the Memorial of Memory and Glory (6 km). There is a tour guide on the bus.
Memorial complex to victims of repression is nine watchtowers located in a group, close to each other, and braided with barbed wire. The architecture of each tower is special, because each of them symbolizes a certain segment of the past, and the construction traditions have changed over the centuries. These structures remind that the history of the Ingush people is rooted in antiquity. All this leaves an indelible mark on the soul. The memorial was erected in memory of the expulsion of the Ingush in 1944 to Northern Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
Transfer to Magas - the capital of Ingushetia, to the 100-meter Tower of Concord (7 km). Climbing it is made at will, for an additional fee (50 rubles). From the observation deck, the view opens up to the very horizon!
Transfer to mountainous Ingushetia (73 km) with one stop, during which you can wash yourself with water from a mountain spring.
Visit to the medieval tower city of Egikal. The legends say that it was from here that the settlement of the Ingush began in ancient times. In the late Middle Ages, Egikal was the cultural, political and economic center of mountainous Ingushetia. The city, where people lived for hundreds of years, was deserted during the Great Patriotic War.
Lunch in the mountains. Included in the tour price.
Observation deck at the Tsey-Loam Pass. A stunning view of the Assin Valley opens from the height of Mount Tsey Loam. It is considered sacred by the Ingush; in the old days, pagan rituals were held here.
Boarding buses.
Transfer to Vladikavkaz (32 km).
Check in hotel.
Evening walking tour along Aleksandrovsky Prospekt. On the left bank of the turbulent Terek River is the Sunni Mosque (Mukhtarov Mosque), built 109 years ago. Night illumination helps to see the details of the facade of the building. This is the beginning of a walk around the city. Let's continue our acquaintance with Vladikavkaz, crossing the bridge to Aleksandrovsky Prospekt. There are cafes, restaurants and pubs on Aleksandrovsky Prospekt, many of which serve national Ossetian dishes. We recommend that you return here after the tour and have dinner. Tram rails laid along the entire length of the avenue, which makes it seem narrow. While walking around the city, the guide will acquaint you with the biography of Kosta Khetagurov, an Ossetian poet, playwright, publicist and artist. During his lifetime, he was dearly loved by the Ossetians, and today his poems are included in the golden literary fund of Russia.
The walk along the avenue ends at Shtyba Square. From here you can see the bell tower of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is 200 years old. On the other side of the river is a brightly lit monument to the twice Hero of the Soviet Union, General of the Army, cavalryman Issa Pliev.
Overnight at the hotel. 4th day. Chechen Republic
Breakfast in the hotel. Included in the tour price.
Boarding buses.
Transfer to Grozny with a stop (110 km). There is a tour guide on the bus.
Sightseeing bus and walking tours... Grozny is a phoenix city, revived from the ashes of such a distant war. Fortress Groznaya was erected at the beginning of the 19th century. 70 years after its foundation, the Church of the Archangel Michael was built with public donations. After the war, the city was rebuilt. The temple, destroyed by the war, was restored, services are regularly held here. Opposite the temple is the Grozny-City high-rise complex. From the observation deck of one of them, from a bird's eye view, the city is visible at a glance. The spiritual heart of Grozny is the Heart of Chechnya Mosque. From a distance it resembles a fragile flower, but from a distance it delights in the grandeur of its architecture.
Dinner. Not included in the tour price.
Memorials to the victims of deportation and the killed employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. A visit to the Akhmat Kadyrov Museum - for an additional fee (120 rubles). In addition to national household items, it contains a collection of paintings by contemporary painters. Each of these pictures is some kind of story, often happy, but sometimes sad to tears.
Boarding buses at 18:00.
Transfer with one stop to the hotel "Zhuravli" (180 km). The hotel is located on the shores of the Caspian Sea in Dagestan. The beach adjacent to the hotel is very clean, of fine light sand. We recommend a walk along the beach and a photo session at dawn, before breakfast.
Dinner at the boarding house "Cranes". Included in the tour price. Day 5. Dagestan
Breakfast in the hotel.
Boarding buses.
Transfer to Derbent with one stop (120 km). There is a tour guide on the bus.
Derbent - oldest city in Russia. Its history has been going on for 5000 years, but it hasn't changed that much during this time. All the same walls of limestone - or Dagestan stone, as it is called here, all the same calm, hospitable residents.
Excursion to the citadel of Naryn-Kala. The walls, built several millennia ago, are definitely worth touching. This fortress is part of the defensive structure of the ancient Persians. An indelible experience guaranteed!
Boarding buses.
Short drive to the restaurant.
Dinner. Included in the tour price.
Free time or a walk around the city with a guide (optional). Take a look at the local city market, go to shops, wander the streets, imbued with the spirit of antiquity and national friendliness! Shop in memory of Derbent: Kubachi jewelry, honey, urbech, spices, bright scarves.
We recommend purchasing food for dinner on the train.
Boarding the buses at the agreed place at 17:30.
Transfer to Kizilyurt to the train with one stop (190 km). Boarding the train at 21:00, departure to the Caucasian Mineral Waters. 6th day. Caucasian Mineral Waters
Arrival at the resort of Caucasian Mineral Waters by 10:30.
Boarding buses. A light breakfast on the bus will save you time and see more interesting places on this day. An approximate set - drinking yoghurt, a juicer baked in the early morning, banana and juice - is included in the tour price.
Transfer to Pyatigorsk to the Tsvetnik park (20 km). There is a tour guide on the bus.
Excursion to the Pyatigorsk park "Flower garden". Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov often walked here. V high point the symbol of the city is installed in the park - an eagle tormenting a snake. To view the sculpture, climb the ancient stone stairs. Eagle Playground is famous for the smell of hydrogen sulphide, which penetrates from cracks in the rock. But from here a lovely view opens up, which means that you will get interesting photos!
Boarding buses.
Short drive to the foot of Mashuk mountain.
Further, the program to choose from:
Option I: ascent to the top of Mashuk mountain by a pendulum cable car - optional, for an additional fee (360 rubles). Mashuk is one of the laccolithic mountains located in a chain. Once upon a time, boiling magma in this place broke through the earth's crust and thus formed separate mountains. If you are lucky with the weather, from Mashuk you will see other Laccoliths and the city below. Although it is pleasant to spend time on the mountain without contemplating the views - the air is clean, it is quiet and calm around. At the entrance to the cable car, enjoy a freshly prepared barbecue or drink coffee while standing between the pine trees at the top.
For those who wish, for an additional fee, a tasting of cheeses and wines is held on this mountain (450 rubles). You can dine there at the same time.
After climbing Mashuk and tasting, pick up at the bus at the agreed time and a short drive to Lake Proval.
Option II: lunch (not included in the tour price, the recommended place is the Kanatka cafe, located nearby) and then walking tour with an accompanying person to Shameless Baths, a cup of coffee in a coffee shop and a visit to Pyatigorsk Proval - a small lake in the middle mountain range... An icon of the Holy Healer Panteleimon is installed in a rocky niche above the water. The lake is not easy. It is filled with hot aquamarine underground water. The bright color is due to the content of hydrogen sulfide and special bacteria in the water. The smell in the cave is strong, but quite tolerable.
Option III: at the discretion of the traveler. Meeting at the bus at the agreed time and a trip to Proval.
Connection with the group at Proval and boarding the bus.
Transfer to Essentuki to the St. George nunnery (41 km). Among the shrines of the temple there is a particle of the relics of the patron saint of the monastery, George the Victorious, as well as a particle of his tunic.
Boarding buses.
Short drive to temple complex price Essentuki. Here, on the Mount of Resurrection, is the world's only giant statue, created Orthodox Church... The sculptural image of Jesus Christ is placed on a stone, the symbol of the Earth, and the stone itself lies on the roof of the chapel. The construction was carried out with donations and lasted two years. On the territory of the complex there is a children's Sunday school and three chapels built in honor of the Holy Trinity, the Dormition of the Mother of God and the Prophet Elijah.
Boarding buses.
Transfer to the village of Suvorovskaya (35 km). Visiting the thermal pools - for an additional fee (350 rubles).
Swimming in hot, warm and cold pools with thermal water. Outdoor pools. Bathing is a pleasure that is useful for healing the body. Body and soul instantly throw off all worries, makes every moment of life happy! The effect lasts a whole day after bathing. The total time spent in the bath is 1 hour, including bathing time - no more than 15 minutes. Water comes from a well with a depth of 1253 m. It is rich in silicon, iodine, potassium, bromine and other trace elements. Beneficial substances rejuvenate the skin and restore tissue elasticity. For a lasting effect, you need to take baths daily for a week and drink water three times a day before meals. We recommend that you bring your swimwear, slippers and a towel.
Boarding buses.
Transfer to the city of Zheleznovodsk (36 km).
Gala dinner at the city boarding house. Included in the tour price.
Boarding buses.
Transfer to the railway station of the city of Caucasian Mineral Waters (23 km), boarding the train. Day 7
Early morning (about 4:00 - 6:00) - arrival in Rostov-on-Don, at the Rostov-Glavny railway station.
Evening (about 21:00) - arrival in Moscow, at the Kazansky railway station.
* This program is preliminary. The organizers reserve the right to replace excursion blocks with similar ones without changing the main points of the train route.
The tour price includes:
- travel by train;
- transfers according to the program;
- meals according to the program (4 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 2 dinners);
- excursion service;
- two nights in hotels.
It is additionally paid:
- meals on the routes Moscow - Rostov-on-Don and on the way back, Mineralnye - Vody-Moscow;
- tickets to museums for an additional fee;
- visiting the Suvorov springs;
- tasting on Mashuk;
- services not listed in the program.
