At all times, the Caucasus Mountains have been the center of attraction for tourists, a place that gives tremendous emotions and breathtaking landscapes, where you can test yourself for strength or just enjoy the silence and beauty of the surrounding area. Sightseeing and thematic excursions in the Caucasus have become more and more popular in recent years.
The Russian part of the Caucasus is located between three seas, and itself is divided into three regions. Each of them has its own attractions and monuments. The most attractive is the Western Caucasus, where the largest number of tourist bases and so-called alpine camps are located. In winter, ski tourist centers are actively working, their location is the villages of Arkhyz, Krasnaya Polyana, Dombayskaya Polyana.
Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe, and other five-thousanders are located in the Central Caucasus region. The region of the Eastern Caucasus stretches from Kazbek to the Apsheron Peninsula. Here, too, there are mountain peaks exceeding 4,000 meters, labyrinths of gorges and mountain ridges.
Excursions to holy places in the Caucasus
It is clear that not all tourists who dream of visiting the Caucasus are ready for ascents and set themselves the goal of conquering mountain peaks. Some of the guests of the region prefer introductory, sightseeing and thematic excursions. In the mountains of the Caucasus, there are many ancient Christian churches and monasteries that are of interest to tourists. One of the routes involves acquaintance with ancient religious buildings. The route lasts about 15 hours (during daylight hours), the cost is from 2,000 rubles per person.
Temples are located on the territory of Alania, three of them belong to the Nizhnearkhyz settlement - North, Middle and South temples. The latter is also known as Ilyinsky. Two more places of worship can be seen along the way - Shoaninsky and Sentinsky temple complexes.
Amazing Alanya
A sightseeing tour across the territory of Alanya will last at least 12 hours and will empty the wallet of a curious guest by 2,500 rubles (or 2,000 rubles if the company is more than 10 people). In the program of the route: amazing natural landscapes, for example, the Karmadon and Fiagdon gorges; historical and cultural objects (the monument to George, installed on the top of the cliff); Christian shrines.
On the way, tourists will visit many interesting religious buildings, for example, the rock fortress, which is located in the village of Dzivgis, or the largest in the republic, the Holy Dormition Monastery.
Beautiful Dagestan
Another republic occupies the territory of the Caucasus - Dagestan; it also offers interesting sightseeing and thematic trips to ancient cities and picturesque surroundings. Derbent and Makhachkala enjoy the greatest attention of guests, the cost of excursions is about 3,500 rubles, the duration is 3 hours.
In Derbent, a trip to the historical sights of the city and acquaintance with the citadel "Naryn-Kala" is offered. The lighthouse is considered one of the most interesting monuments of the city. Derbent has always been a seaport, while its water area is far from ideal. It is not known how the ancient navigators and merchants who came to Derbent by sea were guided, but this path became much easier in the middle of the 19th century, when the lighthouse was erected. The simplest building in a century turned into a unique monument of the history of the city, now it is included in all sightseeing and thematic excursions.
The Juma Mosque became the second popular attraction of Derbent (and for some, on the contrary, the first), it is considered the oldest in the territory of both Dagestan and the Russian Federation. It was erected in 734, when there were already religious buildings of Muslims in the city. Time did not spare them, but the Juma Mosque looks quite decent today, it recently took its place among other UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The house of Peter the Great, as a museum object, appeared in Derbent not so long ago, although the famous politician graduated from one of his campaigns here and even stayed for several weeks. Moreover, the emperor spent the night in an ordinary soldier's dugout. In memory of this amazing event, a pavilion was built at the beginning of the 19th century, a commemorative inscription was installed above the entrance. The pavilion was found by historians, it is well preserved and required only a small restoration, today it is part of the museum complex, it is a very visited place.
A walk in Derbent cannot be complete without a visit to the most famous museum, the expositions of which tell about the ancient traditions of carpet weaving in Dagestan, about other popular crafts and arts in the past. In addition to carpets, there are ceramic and metal products, these are weapons, household items of ancient inhabitants, but they look like real works of art.
