Part 2: Dombay-Teberda-Shoaninsky temple-Sentinsky temple-Royal Gate-Lake Khurla-Kel.
Alexandrova Elena

We woke up in the hotel and were stunned by the amount of snow! Overnight, Dombay turned into a fairy-tale town, the kind depicted on New Year's cards. Perhaps for the first time this winter, we felt that there was very little time left until the New Year. In this weather, it’s good to sit in a cozy chair with a mug of tea and watch the snowflakes swirl outside the window.

And we had to go! According to the plan for today there were 2 ancient churches in the mountains and a tasting of local mineral water.

We wanted to take the ski lift to Dombay, but the hotel owner said that in such a snowfall we wouldn’t see anything interesting there. By the way, a few words about the hotel - we highly recommend “Old Maple”. Most a budget option, which we managed to find through the Internet in Dombay. They didn’t charge the children at all, the hosts were hospitable, small but cozy rooms lined with wood, modern bathrooms in the rooms, no one drove you at checkout time. We liked it so much that we came back here again at the end of our trip.

It was not possible to set off immediately because our spotted cars refused to open.

By the way, when you walk into a room wearing snow-covered boots, there are no dirty footprints left behind you - only water, which dries without leaving stains. For residents of big cities, this is almost a miracle.

And then another problem arose: Hunter’s radiator was leaking. In general, it was also leaking yesterday, but not so much, but today it became a real problem.

We fill a jar of the composition for repairing radiators RADIATOR STOP LEAK, we believed that it would help with difficulty. But the flow stopped

We leave the hotel, stop at the store for magnets and leave Dombay

The road is all snow and ice. Do you believe that yesterday there was no snow here at all and it was raining? We couldn't believe it

In fact, the mood at this moment was so-so: TagAZ was dismantled yesterday, we didn’t go through the pass, we didn’t climb Dombay, the roads were covered with snow... in short, we went to drown our grief in Narzan.

On the map in the Teberda area we had 2 Narzan springs marked, in my mind they should have looked like our holy springs - a spring gushing out from under the ground, perhaps ennobled with something like a bridge to make it easier to draw from, or a well, Imagine our surprise when, meandering through the outskirts of the city, we arrived at a fence behind which buildings could be seen. They decided, since they were already pinned down, not to retreat - they would kick us out, so they would kick us out and went into the territory of who knows what.

At first we mistook the gazebo visible on the left for a source with Narzan

But then we realized that the coordinates lead to this building

A sign on the door confirmed that the drinking pump room is right here and it works 3 times a day with long breaks, but we made it 15 minutes before the end of the next session.

We went inside - it was as if we had been transported 30 years ago, the interior and even the smell here was like something far away Soviet times. A girl in a white medical gown was sitting at the table and when we asked if we could get something to drink mineral water She only asked if we had any mugs with us and directed us to the sinks with taps.

The water here was warm and cold, you just open the tap, pour it into a glass and drink

Narzan tasted like an exhausted mineral water, and the warm one was not particularly warm, and the cold one was not particularly cold. But we still drank half a glass of both

Right on schedule, the water from the taps stopped flowing and we had no choice but to return to the cars. That's how we got stuck closed area, we went into some building, drank mineral water for free, and no one asked us anything or took any money.

Only at home we found out that this was the Federal State Institution tuberculosis sanatorium “Teberda”, and the water was wildly healthy because... is a medium-mineralized chloride-bicarbonate carbon dioxide with a high content of iron, silicon and boron ions.

While the cars were driving, they were covered in snow

We decided to try out the WINDSHIELD DE-ICER glass and lock defroster, provided by our sponsor Hi-Gear. It defrosts really well, but the effect doesn’t last very long

Then we decided to make our way to another Narzan spring, but again we ran into a fence. This time, the sign on it said that entry and passage here were prohibited, and trucks with huge bottles hinted in their entire appearance that mineral water was bottled here on an industrial scale. Well, I didn’t really want to.

Now we went to the outskirts of Nizhnyaya Teberda to see the Sentinsky temple. We still haven’t managed to get used to the fact that stopping by the next interesting thing in Karachay-Cherkessia means breaking into the mountains. Sometimes there are even roads in the mountains, but no one drives on them in winter.

This is the road. It was especially fun for the leading car to walk: where are the holes, where are the washouts, what is the slope? Not a damn thing is clear, but given the constant rather narrow turns adjacent to cliffs of 100 meters, it’s invigorating

But the beauty around was unreal

At some stage we saw a temple on the mountain that we were going to

We followed the trail for quite a long time, until, looking at the map, we discovered that the church had remained to the side, and we stubbornly headed towards the ridge. We stopped to catch our breath.

The road we were traveling on is visible

The bird circled over us for a long time, probably waiting for us to kill ourselves so that it could then devour us.

Turned around and went in the opposite direction

They found the lapel, but were afraid to go - it was too snowy and narrow

We decided to walk 300 meters

Abandoned Sentinsky Temple

Agree, the temple does not give the impression of WOW, but that’s not the point appearance, and aged. It was erected in the first half of the 10th century. The building is made of sandstone blocks with lime mortar.

If you look closely, in addition to the inscriptions “Vasya was here,” you can see traces of frescoes from the 11th century

Next to the Sentinsky temple there is a stone mausoleum, also dating from the 10th century, presumably intended for the burial of the highest priestly ranks - unique for North Caucasus construction

Inside the mausoleum

Back to the cars

We descend from the mountains, Nizhnyaya Teberda is visible below

We went to Karachaevsk to meet the TagAZ crew.

The meeting was scheduled at the Central Cathedral Mosque, built in 2007

Sergei did not make us happy: after calling yesterday in the surrounding cities, the rear axle could not be found. Somewhere they promised to bring it to order after New Year's holidays, somewhere only the main pair and differential were available, but at a price higher than the price of the complete bridge. We decided that the front-wheel drive TagAZ would go to meet everyone New Year, and then, apparently, he will go home.

Today, before leaving the population and communications, we had to cross paths with another crew rushing towards us from Moscow. In the meantime, we decided to see another interesting thing - the Shoana Temple, located nearby on the spur of Mount Shoana.

We left the TagAZ below and drove up the mountain.

The Shoan Temple was built in the first half of the 10th century in the Byzantine architectural tradition

You can get to the temple itself by walking up a fairly steep slope.

To be honest, neither the Shoanin nor the Sentinsky temples made a special impression on me personally; they do not have the “spirit of antiquity” that I was so hoping to feel.

View from the temple to Karachaevsk

We made our way down to the cars in the dark, and because of my slippery boots, I walked the first third of the way on my butt. Then a strategy was developed: I, Yanka, Zhenya and Anya walked in a chain, holding hands.

Before we had time to go down to the foot of the mountain, an excited Seryozha called us on the radio - the cops came after us and now they are looking forward to our return.

The cops turned out to be a crowd of stern-looking Caucasians with machine guns under their armpits. They arrived in two cars, and now they were waiting for the third one - with the local police officer. It turns out he's kind of vigilant local I discovered a convoy of cars heading into the mountains at night and decided to report it. And because Local cops received information about the activation of armed gangs in the area, they are required to respond to every call. So they arrived.

When the district police officer appeared, an understanding had already been reached of who we were and why, there were no complaints against us. The district police officer copied the passport details of the senior group, found out where we were going next, and even called the district police officer of that district to warn that we were going to his territory, and we were good. To be honest, we didn’t know whether to be happy or sad that official structures were now aware of our maneuvers, but there was nothing to do.

We returned to Karachaevsk again

While we were visiting the last stores of the year, we were joined by Moscow Patriot with Oleg and Ksenia.

All together we went to the Royal Gate, not far from which we planned to celebrate the New Year tomorrow.

The road turned out to be unexpectedly easy to pass and even our under-wheel drive drove along it without any problems.

Dinner near the Royal Gate

This was the first and, perhaps, only evening when we froze. The thermometer showed -17, the body apparently did not have time to adapt to our throwing from +10 to a specific minus, the children were freezing even in two jackets.

And in the morning, at a temperature not much higher, everyone was already quite warm and happy.

Today was the only day in 20 days, but we had a carload of plans for it.

Initially, it was planned that we would celebrate the New Year on the shore of Lake Khurla-Kel, but the road from here to the lake raised great doubts even when developing the route; with TagAZ, it seemed almost impossible. It was decided to first send one car there for reconnaissance, and only then, if the road was not terrible, to clog the convoy.

At the same time, a walking expedition set off in the other direction to look at the road to the pass, which we were going to take tomorrow.

Today, knowing only the coordinates, a Patriot from Moscow was supposed to join us; a control time was set at 16.00, after which if he did not appear, one of the cars would go in search and for communications (there was no communication here).

Those not involved in all these wonderful activities walked around the area, prepared dinner and prepared firewood for the festive night.

By the way, there was an ambush with the firewood - there were 2 chainsaws for the group and both did not want to work normally: one was dull, the other would not start

The guys had fun with chainsaws for half a day, but in the end they managed to cut some firewood

Everyone crowded into Igor’s car and set off to storm the road to the lake.

We arrived at the Hudes camp site, where we talked and looked at the life of a local huntsman named Khopai.

Khopai is also a UAZ driver, his goat is from 1980

Igor was dressed up in a burka and hat for a photo shoot

While we were walking, we met two cars from the Stavropol 4x4 club, which were rushing to the lake. We watched as the guys almost put one of the cars on its side in a rut washed out by a stream, and decided that it was better to continue on foot.

The road turned out to be very picturesque

And here is Lake Khurla-Kel. It is located in a natural basin and is surrounded by mountains. The age of the lake is about 15 thousand years, so it can be considered the oldest lake planets

Khudes is one of the countless mountain rivers in Karachay-Cherkessia. A flimsy bridge across the river runs between two sheer cliffs. This place is called the Royal or Wolf Gate. When it rains in the highlands, the Hudes River in the gorge turns into a torrent. The already flimsy bridge becomes completely dangerous, and you have to cross directly across a river boiling with bubbles. And this is also not the calmest path.

One day this stormy stream carried away and flooded a military ZIL. He was later pulled out, and he accompanied us part of the route from Karachaevsk to Elbrus. Another time, a raging stream washed away an ancient Karachay burial site located nearby. They say human remains were just lying on the surface. Someone picked up two small children's skulls and placed them at the foot of the Royal (Wolf) Gate. We took pictures of them. On the way back, when it rained again in the highlands, there were no more skulls. The mountain river carried them down, finally eroding both the ancient burial and the bridge at the Royal Gate.

We, with our butts tired from the horse saddle, did part of the journey through Karachay-Cherkessia in the cab of a ZIL, in the cheerful company of two Karachais. Along the way, we feasted on wild raspberries and drank beer. And what?! Our Karachay friends themselves suggested it and were the first to start drinking beer, although they are Muslims. They even drank while driving on dangerous mountain roads. Are we really going to sit next to each other sober?! At the same time, it wasn’t so scary. (You can read about a trip on a ZIL in our article.)

In general, Karachais drink little (less than most of our Russian friends). At least they're trying. Unless they are very tired and so that women do not see, and then men are very worried about their bad behavior.

But here’s the thing: it’s not every day that two cheerful tourists from Moscow appear in the driver’s cab. Moreover, Larisa, trying to morally support the guys on a hard day of work with tourists, and the jealous Igor, in the confidence that everything was fine, began to actively treat everyone to a large plastic bottle of beer bought by the guys in the village.

And if a cheerful blonde dangles an open beer in front of your nose, smiles and caresses you with oriental cunning, then it’s hard to resist. Therefore, a bottle of beer, like a red banner, was smoothly and indecently passed along a chain of four people back and forth.

We snacked on raspberries. In order not to have to worry about collecting it, the guys cut off large branches, red with berries and ruff with needles, and threw them on Larisa’s lap like a bouquet. Larisa squealed from behind the thorns on the raspberry branches, but her squeals were more reminiscent of a bird singing. The length of each branch with raspberries was enough from door to door, i.e. just across the cabin.

The meal process looked like this. Four people in the cabin (we believe that the woman is also a person at this moment 😉), huddled closely together, are driving along mountain roads in a military ZIL. Together, as if they were husking seeds on a heap, they eat raspberries from a large bush that occupies the entire cabin, at the same time sip beer from a passing bubble and laugh merrily. An unforgettable attraction, considering that on the huge boulders scattered along the road, the ZIL shakes a lot, and the people in the cabin are hanging out like Vanka-Vstanka! All this action is accompanied by a discussion of local traditions and photography.

So we made it all the way to the Tsar’s Gate in a ZIL, which everyone was very pleased with.

The road through the mountains and forests goes at a high altitude. And only completely at the Tsar’s, or, as they are also called, Wolf Gate, goes down to the river called Hudes.

Our Karachay friends didn’t talk much about the Royal Gate. They say that there are trenches left here, that there were very interesting ones here historical events, and there are ancient burials, but, unfortunately, we could not find out anything about them. If any of our readers can tell us anything, we would be very grateful.

Here are the “gates” themselves – rocks with a passage between them.

Khudes River from the bridge over the Royal Gate.

The bridge over Khudes will not support a heavy ZIL, so we ford across the river bed. At that time the river was shallow and it was quite easy to cross. The driver told us that during the flood he accidentally sank his ZIL here. They pulled them out the next day with tractors.

This is what it looks like from the back of the gate. The rock in the gate passage is crumbling badly. Huge stones fall off from it. The caring hands of locals are trying to support the natural landmark with sticks and tree trunks. How effective this is is debatable.

Trees look at the traveler from above from the cliffs.

AND Mountain road, and the bridge over Hudes itself left a very good tourist impression. It is beautiful, exotic, and uncrowded. And the cheerful company of our Karachay companions made the trip emotionally pleasant and warm.

Electronic media « Interesting world" 06/17/2013

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I continue the story about the trip around the Caucasus, now the final part is about the difficult road to the high mountain lake Khorlakel...

2. Having said goodbye to the group of cyclists, we set off towards the village of Khasaut

3. They say it is late spring in the Caucasus this year. I don’t know how true this is, but I hear it too often :)

4. The forts of the Bermamyt plateau were covered with dense thick fog, we are somewhere there

5. Heavy rains occurred this week and the road was washed out in places. We look and carefully check those places that raise doubts.

6. There’s a path going uphill - that’s where we should go

7. Driving on AT tires is still a pleasure. With a smile, I say hello to all those who like to argue on Twitter that there is almost no difference between AT and MT

8. The road is a little rusty, where possible, we go around on the grass

9. Slowly, but still climbing up

10. At some point, it’s no longer possible to crawl up even on the grass, although the tires already have 0.6 atmospheres.

12. We drive into a heavy cloud - visibility is minimal, the temperature drops to 11 degrees

13. Some flowers unknown to me, but they look beautiful among the general grayness

14. The fog is getting stronger

15. There is a difficulty in finding the road - I have two tracks downloaded a long time ago. I don’t know which one is more correct, and I’m tormented by doubts. Sometimes a GPS track is not only a help, but also unnecessary doubts :)

16. Part of the road was washed away by a mudflow. Apparently, the GAZ-66 clearly passed here, but dug up heavily in the lowest place. You can hoist it, but only with extension cords and only by power poles, which is not entirely good. We begin to look closely at how best to get through.

17. I’m looking for alternatives, my dad dragged stones into the truck track, and the Ford is just waiting

18. As a result, I did not find an alternative and my father’s work with stones was not in vain. We passed carefully, skidding a little afterwards, on the rise. By the way, this is a picture illustrating the fact that real hardcore jeepers don’t wear boots, only trekking boots, only hardcore ones!

19. By the way, there are a million roads here. Our route ran approximately right here in 2013, and from here there is also a turnoff to the road Narzanov Valley - Djily Su

20. I don’t know what to say about the fog - on the one hand, it hides gorgeous views from us, and on the other, it adds charm to even simple landscapes

21. Shepherds drive their flock. Judging by the oncoming truck, there shouldn’t be any further difficulties.

22. The rain doesn’t bother us yet, although it could start pouring at any moment.

23. Rocky Ridge. If I'm not mistaken, then somewhere there is the Kodori Gorge

24. Bechasynsky cheese factory, from here you can go to Gumbashi, but we have already gone there. We are going in the other direction - the destination is Lake Khorlakel

25. The road has become much better, the speed has increased and we need to pump ourselves up.

26. Mastercraft Courser A/T 2 tires are the cheapest tires that could be bought in Vladivostok last year. It's funny, but the entire pickup service drives around Moscow in the same ones, but in 35" size :)

27. I have a good compressor, but I do not install it permanently. Probably because I can’t afford two yet and it’s easier for me to have a mobile option.

28. Just a view from the mountain. Just beautiful

29.

30. They stood here for a long time and waited for the field, which was going up. By the way, an interesting point: I remember that a car going uphill has an advantage, for all clear and logical reasons. But last year, a local jeep driver expressed emotion and rudeness to Vitalik vit_erofeev that we, like, were deer and should have let them through, since they were coming down the mountain! Vitaly was so crazy about this logic that I didn’t even object to anything.

31. Sometimes beautiful views open up

32. But this does not last long and everything immediately becomes clouded. I will come here again and most likely more than once

33. Finally, the Royal Gate appeared - a cut passage in the rock and a gigantic wooden bridge

34. Then we looked at the clock and wisely decided to have a snack. This is real authentic cheese, bought from my grandmother in Khasaut - it’s crazy how delicious it is!

35. Remember one rule - you need to have lunch by the hour, and not “when we get to the point.” Because sometimes you don't know what's waiting for you around the corner.

36. Photo of the gate and the car for scale - an amazing sight, I tell you!

37. The climb was difficult. Large stones and green ruts. Apparently, just recently a group of comrades on Simex got up after the rain and left a good rut where it could be cut. But it’s dry here and therefore it’s possible to walk, although it’s not easy for me.

38. At the top is an abandoned camp site. It is difficult to say how long it has been abandoned and whether it has ever functioned. But judging by the remains of food and drinks left behind, someone was here recently

39.

40. Alpine lake Khorlakel - height 2065 meters. The shore is swampy, you can only swim from the bridge.

41. We rested and decided to go down. Going down is easier than crawling up on the main 3.7 pairs, so there are even a few pictures

42. As always, there are two options: either the photographs don’t convey it, or fear has big eyes :)

43.

44. 10 minutes after we descend, a tropical downpour will begin and last for several hours. Even below, roads and dirt will be washed away, a powerful mudflow will flow from the mountains into the Khudes River. Probably, the decision not to stay on the lake overnight was made correctly :)

45. We go back

46. ​​Then we drove long and slowly to Elbrus. For some reason, I wasn’t smart enough to remove the streams of liquid mud that Niagara Falls In some places it poured onto the road, and when they realized the rain had almost stopped.

47. And in the evening we were already sitting in a hotel room in Karachaevsk and devouring triple portions of food. The route was completed and we, pleased with ourselves, planned to head home tomorrow.

48. The next and last photo from this trip on a flash drive is ours camping near Shestakovo, which is not reaching Voronezh.

The next day we were at home. Short trip- only 7 days and 6 nights, but so many emotions and impressions! Having the opportunity to hit the road spontaneously and without prior preparation is priceless.

Total mileage according to GPS for the period, km 3688.28
Travel time 62h 33m
Average speed, km/h 50
Max. speed, km/h 123

The trip track, as always, is here

I want to tell you about another ride to the Royal Gate. This was the first long trip new car, so to speak, we tested it in extreme conditions, and also on this trip our girl received her first injury.
So, four crazy crews, despite the rainy weather, set off towards Karachaevsk.

Having passed the Gum-Bashi pass, the weather smiled at us, the rain suddenly stopped and we realized that we had not left in vain. We got to the turn into the Khudes River gorge normally and boringly, asphalt, however...
We crossed the first bridge without incident, as it was in fairly good condition. On the second bridge, our friends had to strain themselves, because... the bridge was narrow and in poor condition. And the width of the wheels of their car fell right into the ambush points. And only our Dudusya flew between the holes with the breeze :).

Turning around a bend, we suddenly almost collided with a live column of armored vehicles, represented by a herd of yaks.

We drove further without incident, there were some ambush spots and I really regret that we didn’t take a photo. Well, there will be a reason to return... And here is the purpose of our trip - the Royal Gate. Behind them came the road to Lake Khurla-Kol, a track of category TR-2, and even steeper after the rains. We haven’t gone there yet, it’s a pity for Dudusechka, she’s still in stock with us :)

Some were preparing sausage, others were taking pictures of nature and their cars on the bridge

Suddenly, two fancy jeeps drove up to the bridge from the side of the lake, which naturally were stopped and interrogated about the passability of the road to the lake.

Alas, they were unable to get to the lake, because... It rained and the road was very washed out. For now, Lake Khurla-Kol is out of reach for us(((.
And this is our merry bunch

The weather made its own adjustments to our vacation; it began to rain and we had to quickly turn around. But... we didn’t get any adrenaline and it was decided, despite the beginning rain, to go back through the Bechasyn plateau. Our poor Dudusya, she didn’t even suspect what awaited her ahead...
So we moved along the serpentine towards the Bechasyn plateau

Slowly but confidently, Dudusya overcame the climb with obstacles in splendid isolation, as the very self-confident and sophisticated jeeps abandoned us and only encouraged us over the radio with shouts - “Dusya! Dusya!”
And so, our Dusya crawls up the rise and sees such a picture... Delika slid into the ravine and sat down rigidly on her belly...

They shoved him by hand, he’s sitting there dead...

We decided to pull. And since Padzherik flew forward with the winch and did not respond to our swearing on the radio, the rescue operation had to be put on our “girlish shoulders”..., our poor girl (((

And here my pilot makes a huge mistake - he pulls the Delica without tension, with a sharp jerk and without putting a cable arrester on the dynamic. And our Dudusya gets hit in the teeth with a bolt from a jackal

As a result, the grille is broken and the radiator frame is bent. It was lucky that the bolt did not hit the radiator, otherwise the further journey would have had to be made on the tie; the shuckle turned out to be defective in the thread. So take your choice of means of rescue more seriously.
Next, we were faced with a road along a plateau, with rain and mud. But in the infrequent openings, we still stopped to take photos of the amazing nature that surrounded us.

We are approaching civilization..., Pyzhik is a scumbag

This is how our Dudusya got out onto the asphalt, with a knocked out tooth.

I would like to show those who want to go to the Royal Gate or Lake Khurla-Kel the bridge in its current state. After heavy autumn rains, it collapsed and it is not yet known whether it will be restored.
For now, crossing the Khudes River is only a ford, the depth of which depends on the weather.

Almost each of us would like to extend summer, which always seems short and ends so quickly. But why should we see it off with sadness instead of celebrating its continuation? Life happens not only when the sun is shining and it’s time for vacation. Life happens on weekends too.

We were incredibly lucky with the weather, especially with the lighting. These views are like something out of a fairy tale. I myself fill my “Book of Fairy Tales” with illustrations.
We rush non-stop towards Psebay. At the checkpoint in Solyony they stop us and very meticulously inspect the car for any alterations. We don’t have anything like that, so “Have a nice trip!” and we rush on. But they didn’t rush far. Heaps of cars along the side of the road and crowds of people offering to buy mushrooms from them makes me believe that we can be lucky in this matter, although Sergei resists and does not react to my sending him to the forest to buy mushrooms. “Yes, everything was already assembled before us, did you see how many cars?!” I saw it...go, go, look))
After 10 minutes, Sergei comes running with mushrooms. I grab a bucket and my daughter and I run away again into the forest. After 20 minutes they return with a bucket of honey mushrooms. Miracles...we are never mushroom pickers, just “sympathizers”, but here it is) I’m already wondering what I’ll do with them in the forest, it’s good that I at least took a frying pan))
There is only one bucket in the car, so we jump into the car and rush on. Refueling is standard in Zelenchukskaya. There we managed to pour more gasoline into our dented tank than into the undamaged one, craftsmen, however))
Karachaevsk and here is my favorite Kuban Gorge.


I really like it. By the way, communication there disappears almost immediately as soon as we leave Karachaevsk.
Stop near the bridge towards the Daut Gorge. We haven't been there yet, we need to fill this gap, but next time.


Our path lies to Lake Khurlakol.
In front of the village In Elbrus we cross the bridge across the Kuban; here, at the confluence of the Khudes tributary into the Kuban, there is the Karchi stone, a local landmark. In publications of the 19th and 20th centuries, it was suggested that this was a meteorite; this theory is still popular among tour guides and in guidebooks. However, modern research established the igneous origin of the stone.
On the right bank nestled a village of identical wooden houses under tiled roofs.


There are signs warning you that this is private territory and all around there are apple trees hung with their fruits. Autumn, harvest time.
The road is sandwiched between the river and the rock.


Then the road will change banks several more times.


Wow, what concern does this sign have for lumberjacks in the middle of the forest and far from the roads.


Along the way we collect hazelnuts.


And then begins a smooth climb up the right slope over the rocks approaching the river.


The views are amazing, thanks to the sun.


Below you can already see the Royal or Wolf Gate.

We pass the gate. Our goal is Lake Khurlakel. The lake is called differently: Khurla-Kel (Khurlakel), Kurla-Kel (Kurlakel), Kurly-Kel (Kurlykel) and words consonant with them.
We move through the left tributary of the Khudesar river. Chuchkhur.


Outside the gate the road gradually worsens. We drive without stopping to the old sawmill. There is a sign where to go to the lake.


Then the road goes up. The road, of course, is atas. On large stones, stone ledges. We drove here in the dark five years ago... we drove through it somehow calmly and easily. And now…

We got stuck in a traffic jam.


A little more and we leave the forest area into a clearing.


We drive through a strip of forest along the shore of the lake and come to a clearing in front of the lake. There is also an attack here...to the people...
The buildings that we saw in 2012 and the stage that was built for Sofia Rotaru (according to stories, she was brought for the birthday of some official who was celebrated in this wonderful place) burned down, what did not burn was taken away for firewood. We stopped, got out, looked around and somehow felt completely sad and sad, and offended for this place. I remember we were here alone and we were scared to spend the night in the silence that was there.
However, all is not lost. We get into the car and drive to the other side of the lake, where we find beautiful place for camp
We were alone there. It was so funny, it seemed like there were a lot of people, but we were alone))


When it got dark, the opposite shore was like the Gelendzhik embankment: music, multi-colored lanterns-reflections, swearing and the sounds of splashing people. Yes, for dinner we had mushrooms, fried, with potatoes)))