Archyz

Arkhyz is a small village in Zelenchuk district of Karachay-Cherkessia with a population of about 500 people. Not far from this village there are several places that I suggest you to see on this tour.

Excursion to Arkhyz usually begins in the morning about 9 o'clock in the morning, it is possible earlier or later and ends somewhere in 19-00 - 21-00 p.m. This whole day tour!

From the cities of KMV to Arkhyz to go about three to three and a half hours. Beautiful, picturesque road, will please you with its wonderful views. From the cities of the Caucasian Mineral Waters, there are three types of highway to Arkhyz. All of them intersect in the Kumysh village and from there there is already one single road to the village of Zelenchukskaya, and then turn into the mountains and drive along the gorge of the Bolshaya Zelenchuk river to the village of Arkhyz. The first road is a flat road, through the capital of Karachay-Cherkessia - Cherkessk and then along the gorge of the Kuban River to Kumysh aul. The second road through Kislovodsk, then to the Eltarkach pass to the city of Ust-Dzhegut and along the Kuban River to Kumysh. And the third, probably the most picturesque road, through Kislovodsk, the Gumbashi Pass and go down from the pass to the city of Karachayevsk and there is another 15 minutes drive to Kumysh Avenue. At the pass "Gumbashi" there is an observation deck, from where in clear weather you can see a snow-covered chain of mountains - the main Caucasian ridge and Elbrus - the highest peak of the Caucasus. The height above sea level at the Gumbashi Pass reaches 2060 meters.

The village of Arkhyz itself is not particularly remarkable, except that beautiful views open around and many cafes. The first place where we will go with you is the new ski complex "Romantic". Here, on the new gondola-type lifts built here by the French company POMA, you can climb to a height of 2240 m above sea level. From here there is a picturesque view of the main Caucasian ridge, the valley of the Arkhyz River and the highest point of Arkhyz - Mount Pshish, 3790 m high.

Then you can have a snack and go to the Lower Arkhyz settlement. Here was the capital of the ancient Alan state - the city of Maas. There are also three Christian churches. They were built by masters of the Byzantine school in the middle of the X century, several decades before the appearance of the first Christian religious buildings in Ancient Russia. At the moment it is considered the oldest temples in Russia. However, in connection with the annexation of Crimea in 2014, historians had new discussions on this topic. Let historians argue and we move on.

The next place we can go is an interesting pilgrimage site. Here in 1999 the rock face of Christ was found. It is located on Mtseshta mountain, opposite the Lower Arkhyz settlement. The researchers noted the similarity of the image with the face on the Shroud of Turin and with the icon of the Savior-Almighty in the Sinai Monastery and expressed the opinion that Lik is a “contemporary” of the Alan Diocese and dates from the X-XII centuries. Pilgrims visiting this place also believe that it is an ancient image, and some even believe that it has a non-man-made origin.

Please note that the rise to the face of Christ is not easy. A total of 526 steps will have to be climbed and the same number down.

The cost of the tour is 13000r per car.

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