Excursions. Rest in the Elbrus region. Resorts, prices, interesting places Excursions in the Elbrus region
Polyana Narzanov in the Elbrus region (Russia) - description, history, location. Exact address, phone number, website. Tourist reviews, photos and videos.
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The Elbrus region is perfect for skiing, trekking, climbing and any activity that helps strengthen and heal the body. Among the numerous natural attractions of the area, one can highlight mineral springs that flow from the bowels of the earth and contain a large amount of useful substances. Not a single traveler will pass by the Narzanov clearing at the foot of the Cheget peak, located not far from the main highway on the territory of the tourist village of the same name (between the settlements of Terskol and Elbrus). To gain life-giving moisture, it is better to take a larger bottle with you, otherwise you will have to buy the container on the spot.
What to see
The Narzanov Glade is a small valley about 3 km long. It lies surrounded by green mountain slopes, crossing the mouth of the Baksan River. The gorge is lined with hotels for every budget and restaurants serving national cuisine. There is a network of hiking routes around, perfect for training before climbing Elbrus.
Heading to the clearing, you should pay attention to the stalls where they sell woolen items, mountain tea, honey, dishes, animal skins and other memorable souvenirs.
A narrow path leads to the mineral springs from the Central Square. The beginning of the path is marked with a sign, so it is impossible to miss the passage. A powerful stream of narzan bursts out of a metal pipe mounted on a boulder. Due to the high iron content, the stones flooded with water are painted a rich rust color, sharply contrasting with the greenery of the surrounding forests in summer and white snowdrifts in winter.
Some tourists not only fill bottles with water, but also manage to take baths here, although there are no suitable conditions for this.
While staying at the ski resort in the Elbrus region, I visited the Narzanov Valley, it is located on the border of the Stavropol Territory and the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. The place is very beautiful and there is a simply gorgeous view of the mountains. There are also many Narzan springs here. I will be happy to share my experience of traveling along this route.
By car
You need to travel only 30 kilometers to get from Kislovodsk to the Narzanov Valley. The journey will take approximately forty minutes. There are no gas stations along the way.
It is better to go through the village of Industry to the Kabardino-Balkarian ridge.
A very picturesque mountain road. On both sides there are very dense coniferous and deciduous forests, as well as rocky mountains.
I can’t call the road surface itself bad; of course, there will be broken sections, but nothing critical. Although it is practically empty, I don’t recommend driving too hard; there are a lot of small stones on this road. The windshield may be damaged.
On the way there will be one small village, Kichi-Balyk (this is Kabardino-Balkaria). After it, the road will become better, even bump stops will appear. About five kilometers before the final destination, a serpentine road will begin. 
Railway
It is impossible to get there by rail; it has not been laid to the Narzan Valley.
By taxi
Unfortunately, no regular buses go to the Narzan Valley. You can get there by any city taxi. The trip will not take more than 40 minutes. 
The cost of travel
On average, a taxi fare from Kislovodsk to the Narzanov Valley costs 800 rubles.
The name of the valley, located in the foothills of the Rocky Range of the Greater Caucasus, speaks for itself. Here, in a picturesque place along the Khasaut River, almost 20 sources of mineralized water of the Narzan type come to the surface. Their water belongs to the carbonic bicarbonate-chloride sodium-calcium type with mineralization up to 3.3 g/l and carbon dioxide content up to 2.2 g/l. Heavily carbonated with carbon dioxide.
The Narzan Valley is closed on all sides by high ridges. Its peculiar isolation and solitude, of course, affected the local atmosphere. The grandeur and inaccessibility of the mountains, the colorful carpet of subalpine meadows, forests of slender fir trees, the purest air - such places, as a rule, influence a person in the most favorable way, cleanse, inspire. And here they also improve their health. In addition, Elbrus is visible from here, and this is one of the best views of the famous mountain.
The path goes through the Narzan Valley to the warm mineral spring of Djily-Su, located at the foot of Elbrus. From here you can go to the waterfalls on the Khasaut and Musht rivers. Favorable climatic conditions allow you to make hikes and excursions to the Narzan Valley at almost any time of the year. There is also a tourist center of the same name, a cafe and a shop.
To visit the Caucasus Mining Waters and not go to the gray-haired giant Elbrus is the same as not being in the North Caucasus at all. However, many seasoned tourists will tell you exactly this if you dare to say that you have been to Elbrus and did not conquer it. You can read about climbing Elbrus from Mikhail in his Well, our ascent ended at the Mir station at an altitude of 3500 m, where you can climb without special equipment and even without special training.
We came to the Caucasus to get acquainted with its beauties, unfortunately, the acquaintance was in express mode and only one day was allocated to Elbrus in our schedule. On the same day we still had to climb Cheget and drink mineral water in the Narzan clearing.
Of course, even such sick and unprepared guys as we were, our hearts ached at the sight of this giant and the desire to rise surged in our chests, probably it is this feeling that attracts hundreds of tourists every year to the two-headed giant Elbrus.
How to get to Elbrus
In fact, the choice of transport is not great. The easiest and most convenient way is a personal car. But if you didn’t come to the resorts of the Caucasian Mineral Waters by car, then there is no other way to get to Elbrus other than using paid excursions. In the KMV, transport links between the attractions of the region are very poorly developed, but very well between the resorts themselves. For example, you will not have any difficulty moving between Pyatigorsk, Essentuki, Kislovodsk, Zheleznovodsk and Mineralnye Vody. An electric train runs from Pyatigorsk to Kislovodsk, and minibuses run very often to other cities. But when it comes to such sights as Elbrus, the transport system is powerless. Moreover, a taxi is also not an option; it will cost almost more than an excursion. Therefore, even those who go to climb Elbrus often use transfers from Caucasus travel agencies.
Excursion to the Elbrus region to Elbrus and Cheget
An excursion to Elbrus is an ideal way to see the mountains while spending a minimum of physical energy. Firstly, such an excursion can be booked in any city of the KMS and the bus will pick you up directly from the entrance to the sanatorium or from a pre-agreed place. Secondly, this pleasure is not very expensive, ranging from 1000-2000 rubles per person, depending on whether you pay for the cable car ride or not. Thirdly, excursion support in the Caucasus is very good. The guide will tell you everything, show you and take you where you need to go, and at the end of the excursion you will be taken to where you were picked up from. Excursions have only two significant disadvantages. You move in a group of people, this is not always convenient, especially when the group is large. The second disadvantage is that you are strictly limited in time, the guide will not give you a second of extra time, so if you want to enjoy the views more, take food with you. As a rule, the guide allocates 40 minutes for lunch, and a snack taken with you will take a minimum of time. This way, the time saved can be spent walking around the area.
We were in the Caucasus for 9 days and the excursion to Elbrus became an obsession. We didn’t want to leave the Caucasus without seeing the majestic Elbrus, but nature behaved in such a way that Elbrus simply did not appear on the horizon, and the forecasts were not encouraging. Thus, the excursion to Elbrus was gradually postponed until almost the last day of the trip. But our efforts and delays were not in vain, Elbrus heard us and the day of the trip turned out to be sunny and calm.
The bus picked us up from Essentuki and took us to Elbrus. True, the road still passes through Pyatigorsk, so Pyatigorsk is the optimal place from where you can go to Elbrus.
Glade Cheget and Mount Cheget
The first stop is Cheget glade. After all, our excursion covers two peaks at once - Cheget and Elbrus. Take care of this detail in advance; many travel agencies provide excursions only to one of the two peaks. We must admit that there is some common sense in this. If you are not going to climb to the very peak, but like us, just “ride the cable car” and “click pictures,” then it makes sense to focus your attention on one peak, although we won’t tell you which one, it’s a hard choice. 
It must be admitted that the infrastructure of the Elbrus region is developed at a very high level. You can come here wearing flip-flops and easily equip yourself for climbing, provided you have the money, of course. There is everything from equipment rentals and hotels to souvenir shops and cafeterias, groups gather here and guides are hired here. 
In the clearing there is a chairlift, which for 500 rubles takes us to the “Ai” cafe at a height of 2750 m and that’s it. That is, of course, the second lift should have lifted us even higher and for the same money, but it did not work, and the price remained the same. But the cable car that we overcame was enough for us. 17 minutes of horror and fear; as a person who is afraid of heights, this event seemed to me in exactly this light. The fact is that the cable car on Cheget is a chairlift, that is, you fasten yourself with a chain at your waist and dangle your legs the whole way, and the ascent runs through a very natural abyss, maybe this is exaggerated, but that’s exactly how I felt at that moment. Of course, I couldn’t take a photo of the ascent process; just at the moment of the ride, my grasping reflex was activated and I grabbed the handrail and couldn’t let go until my feet touched a hard surface. You will laugh, but on the way back, just at the moment when we were passing this unpleasant section with an abyss, the cable car was stopped and we hung in the air for another 5 minutes. These impressions were very strong. Having overcome these difficulties, we found ourselves on the site and a grandiose landscape spread out before us. 
On the left are the snow-white slopes of Elbrus, on the right is the Semerka glacier, and wherever you look, there are mountains everywhere. 
It would be possible and necessary to go higher, but the guide allocates catastrophically little time. Is the height a little dizzying, or is it that such a chic view is so intoxicating? 
But even from the Cheget clearing, the view of the mountains is captivating and captivating. 
This is how we met Cheget, like most acquaintances in our lives, it was casual, I hope someday we will become friends. But it’s time for us, the schedule is inexorable, the owner of these places is waiting for us - His Majesty Elbrus.
Elbrus, cable car to Mir station
We pass the village of Terskol and find ourselves in the Azau clearing, where there are even more diverse establishments. The cable car here is more modern than on Cheget, it is a European pendulum, costs 600 rubles. per person. It lifts in two stages. From the Azau clearing to Stary Krugozor, and then to Mir station. Further to the “barrels” there is a chairlift, but it was already closed, so we were content with a height of 3500 meters. 
Thin streams emerge from under the melting snow; they descend to the foot of the mountain, there to unite with their brothers into a mighty mountain stream called Baksan. 
These are not just reels and hemp, these are tables and chairs, you can eat a sandwich while admiring the stunning panorama. 
Here at Mir station there is a memorial to the defenders of the Main Caucasus Mountain Range during the Great Patriotic War. 
Gray snow and brown stone create a feeling of unreality. It’s easy to imagine that there are several moons in the sky, and under your feet the earth of an alien planet. But this is not an alien planet, this is the majestic Elbrus. 
Looking at the cheerful bearded men in sunglasses and with backpacks, an irresistible desire arose to go with them to the sparkling peaks of Mount Elbrus. We were daydreaming, looking at the mountains, that we lost sight of time so much that we had to have lunch in a hurry, and without lunch we would go through the rest of the day hungry. 
The food in Azau, I must admit, is soulless. Edible, but not very tasty. We were unlucky with the shish kebab; as you know, locals don’t marinate lamb, they fry it right away, but in Azau they obviously didn’t have the freshest meat for tourists, so the lamb turned out to be tough. Lunch cost us 840 rubles. 
Glade of Narzanov, Elbrus region
Last stop, Narzan glade. It's very close, 10 minutes from Azau. We cross a small bridge over the Baksan River and find ourselves in a small clearing. 
Here, too, everything is equipped for tourists. Gazebos, barbecue yards, souvenir shops and the main attraction of this place are the Narzan springs. There are several of them, but the taste of the water from them is approximately the same. 
The Russian man is strong. The entire tourist bus drank from narzana in each of the four springs, and not a single passenger on the entire return trip, which was two and a half hours, asked to get out to freshen up. 
The nature of the mountainous area is unlikely to leave you indifferent. 
Djily-Su is an amazing place, which is located at the foot of the two-headed giant, the harsh and solemnly beautiful Elbrus. This corner of the mountainous country is perhaps the most interesting and mysterious of all that can be seen in the Caucasus. Here, mineral springs with healing properties come out of the ground. And according to legend, it was here that Iriy, the Slavic paradise, was located. According to scientists who have been coming here for several years, these mountains are ancient temple complexes, their age is about 5 thousand years, from the time of the ancient Russian people Ruskolan living in these places. Here, on the slopes of Elbrus, members of the research expedition discovered unexpected finds from the times of the hard times of the Great Patriotic War. This is exactly the place where Hitler planned, with trained mediums, to make contact with the Hierarchs of the Earth in order to receive confirmation whether he really is the Messiah. Based on the archaeological facts found, it is known that here was one of the centers of the revival of Aryan culture after the destruction of Atlantis. There is plenty of evidence for this.
For a long time, Balkars, Karachais, Kabardins came here and returned not only having gained health, freed from many ailments, but also rejuvenated - quick in their movements, youthfully dexterous and vigilant. The famous scientist A.P. Gerasimov, who carried out excavations in these places in 1910 and discovered a fairly large stone bath with an outlet, wrote about carbon dioxide mineral springs located on the northern slope of Elbrus near the mouth of the Birzhanly-su river at an altitude of 2380 meters above sea level. . It is no coincidence that in the legends about Djily-su, the definition of “living water” is often found - the same one from fairy tales that renews and restores the joy of life. It is appropriate here to cite the legend that Ismail Urusbiev told to topographer M.K. Golombievsky: “This legend tells that between the peaks of Elbrus, below the saddle, there is a spring with warm water coming out in two streams, one of which gives living water, the other is dead. This spring is guarded by a special kind of eagle, which first blows a snowstorm on anyone daring who climbs to the top, and if this does not force him to return, pecks out his eyes.” And further: “The source of Djily-su is very similar to the famous Narzan in Kislovodsk, only it is warmer than Narzan by 7 degrees. In the summer, many sick residents flock here. Bathing takes place in two pits, the upper one is for women, and the lower one is for men.”
And here’s what the famous popularizer of travel in the Caucasus, S.S. Anisimov, wrote when he visited Djily-su in August 1913: “The largest of the Elbrus glaciers, Ullu-chiran, has one of the most original bridges in the world: between rocks made of volcanic rocks, constricting river flow Malki fell and got stuck with a huge piece of the mountain. Malka rages and roars below, and blue gentians (gentians), white daisies, purple scabiosa and many different alpine flowers bloom brightly all around.
Malka, having escaped from the volcanic rocks, falls 40 meters down with its entire flow. There is a cloud of spray around the waterfall, and rainbows play in the sun. A little lower on the green mountain cape there are carts, tents, huts made of branches. There are people under rocks and in caves. This is a resort camp around the famous “Hot Narzan”, born in the still uncooled lava masses of Elbrus. Near the river bank there is a small swimming pool lined with stones. Narzan “boils” in it and pours over the edge in a whole stream. This is the famous “Hot Narzan” with a temperature of +23 according to Reaumur. It is also known from medieval Georgian collections - “Karabadini”.
It is known that until mid-1909 there were three outlets of warm mineral water, and in one of them it rose under the influence of gas in a griffin-shaped cap about half a meter high and about a meter wide. Subsequently, a powerful landslide blocked all three exits and ONE of them, the left bank one, died, since the Malka River laid its channel there. “Currently there are four springs in operation, one of them is warm with a temperature of 22.4 degrees, forming a reservoir from which a stream flows.
There are two more springs located 120 meters below Jila-su: one on the right bank of the Sultan-Gara-su river, the other nearby. They are also called Misost-Narzan - after the name of the Kabardian who showed the sources to researchers. And also a source located 3.5 kilometers from the main warm Narzan, below the mouth of the Kara-Kaya-su river, manifested by three griffins with a temperature of 9 degrees.”
On a mountain journey, on a journey among the grandiose nature, there is only one concern and one stimulus for your mood - this concern and this stimulus - the weather. The weather is good - you are cheerful, you enjoy yourself to the point of enthusiasm. A constantly changing kaleidoscope of wondrous beauties attracts all your attention. It’s as if the past and future don’t exist; you live only in the present moment. And at this present moment, your existence is filled with nothing but soul-elevating contemplation.
The northern slope of Elbrus has always attracted the attention of scientists: it was from here that the first conquerors of the snow giant from the famous Emanuel expedition climbed to the top; Academician G.V. Abikh in 1874 published in Tiflis the work “Brief information about some little-known mineral waters on the northern slope of the Caucasus”; scientist A.P. Gerasimov, author of a number of scientific works (“Research on the northern slope of Elbrus”, “North-eastern foot of Elbrus”, “Report on the study of the watershed between Malka and Mush-tom”), described the consequences of the catastrophic mudflow of 1911, blocking the Djily-su mineral springs.
Today it is generally accepted that the formation of the Elbrus volcano and its active life began about 4 million years ago, and ended 4.5-5 thousand years ago; no traces of major natural disasters were found on the northern slopes of Elbrus during the same period.
Elbrus is at a resting stage, but residual volcanic processes in the cooling magma chamber are observed, as indicated by numerous mineral springs having temperatures of up to 24 degrees. Among them are Djily-su - carbon dioxide and salt-alkaline, concentrated in an area not exceeding a square kilometer. There are 9 of them here. And each one helps against one disease or another.
The healing power of the springs is truly amazing: the body is literally freed from toxins before our eyes, internal energy increases day by day, well-being improves, vitality rises, vision becomes sharper.
“Djily-su springs, thanks to the carbon dioxide and other components dissolved in them, have the peculiar properties of activating the function of thermal and suppressing the function of cold receptors of the skin, which allows taking baths at a low temperature with a comfortable state of health for patients (even the elderly) with improved thermoregulation processes, stimulation of metabolic processes (especially carbohydrate), respiratory function of the body, normalization of the activity of internal organs and reduction of muscle and joint pain, increasing the physical activity of patients.”
And one more quote: “The water of the Djily-su mineral springs is a complex dynamic system containing carbon dioxide, mineral and organic substances in a dissolved colloidal state. ...As underground carbon dioxide waters move to the surface of the earth, the pressure decreases, and eventually a state occurs when part of the carbon dioxide dissolved in the water begins to be released from it into the atmosphere in the form of numerous bubbles, giving the water of the Djily-su springs the appearance of a “boil.” .
Not only mineral waters have a healing effect in Djily-su, but also the amazing microclimate that distinguishes this tract - it is a kind of natural inhaler, where the air is truly sterile, filled with negative ions, where nature appears in all its pristine grandeur.
Very close to the springs is the Sultan Falls - an amazingly beautiful natural monument, 40 meters high (according to other sources, somewhat lower - about 30). The Kyzylkol River (this is the name Malka bears in its upper reaches, originating from the Ullu-chiran glacier), having cut through the lava ridge, falls down from a height of many meters, connecting with the waters of the Birzhanly-su River at the point where the warm Narzans emerge.
A little further is the second waterfall, a swift narrow stream falling from a 27-meter height into a narrow gorge. And a little lower (about a kilometer) into Malka from a vertical wall consisting of columnar crystals of solidified lava, a powerful white-foamy stream flows from a height of 24 meters into the Karakayan-su glacial source. Sprays of water constantly hanging in the air, sparkling rainbowly in the sun, allow you to swim on a hot day without even entering the icy, seething plunge pool.
Immediately behind the Sultan waterfall is an amazing, miraculous work of nature - a stone bridge across the river, going down to which and stepping on it, you experience a whole range of human feelings - fear from the ardent, wild power of the stream raging below, delight from the primordial nature and grandeur of what is observed.
If you rise above the springs, you will see a stunningly beautiful view of the Malki River valley. On the side is the “Kala-Kulak” beam, better known among tourists under other names - “Gorge of Castles”, “Valley of Castles” - exotic stone pyramids created by nature itself, formed as a result of the erosion and weathering of ancient lake sediments, really resemble man-made castles of the most bizarre shape .
A little more - and the same high-mountain plateau of Irakhyn-syrt opens, which is located at an altitude of 2598 meters above sea level. In 1829, it was here that the famous expedition of the cavalry general, hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, commander of the Caucasian defensive line, Georgy Arsenievich Emanuel, set up his camp, who undertook his campaign with the goal of “collecting accurate information about this country, about the height of the mountains crossing it, about the direction and the depth of the valleys, about its wealth and forests, pastures, minerals and other works of nature...”
And now let’s return to the site of Emanuel’s expedition. On the right side of it, after crossing the river, at a distance of less than a kilometer there is another amazing spring, called “silver”, indicated on the maps as the outlet of an underground river. Its temperature is constant - just above zero, the source itself pours out from the bowels of the earth from the second half of summer for several months and has amazing power. First of all, its water does not deteriorate, no matter how long it sits, and not at all because silver ions are dissolved in it - quite the opposite: they are not there. Well, the main thing is that after swimming in it, you seem to become younger and gain a second wind.
Long walks in picturesque surroundings help to gain vigor and a positive attitude, and the bustle of everyday life no longer seems so significant compared to the eternal beauty of nature. Complete solitude helps you re-understand the meaning of your life, return to the origins of your own soul, feel your purpose, so we can confidently say that Jily-Su is a magical country that heals not only the body, but also the soul.
