Closer to space: what to do at Arkhyz resort in summer
Only mountains can be better than the sea, even if you can't ski or snowboard on them. Various surveys show that Russians' interest in summer holidays in the mountains has been growing in recent years. Investors feel this and try to offer tourists the most diverse leisure activities in the North Caucasus, even in summer. So, at the Arkhyz resort in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, you can get closer to space by visiting the nearby observatory, one of the largest in the world, or climbing to a height of 3,000 m. You can also see the oldest temples in modern Russia, test yourself on a mountain bike and just slow down surrounded by majestic landscapes. How to spend a summer vacation at a ski resort is in the Izvestia article.
How to get to Arkhyz
The beginning of the journey from Moscow to Arkhyz is very symbolic. This is a transfer from Pushkin (to which the name of Sheremetyevo airport is dedicated) to Lermontov (Minvod airport). Arkhyz from Minvod is still three to three and a half hours away by car. The logistics problem, which is traditional for mountain resorts, is promised to be solved here in 2029, when a brand-new airport opens near Arkhyz itself. But on the way across the land, the Caucasian Ridge grows literally before your eyes. Until, finally, the sugar loaves sparkle in the distance (one of them on the horizon is Elbrus). The snow from the local mountains does not completely disappear even by May.
It is between these peaks, near the Bolshoy Zelenchuk River, which is stormy after rains and snowfalls, that the Arkhyz resort is comfortably nestled. So far, travelers can come to two tourist villages — "Romantic" and "Lunnaya Polyana". But in four years, they promise to increase their number to four.
It is important not to confuse the resort with the village of the same name, which you pass on the road. These are two different locations: the resort has an exclusively organized vacation, and there is still a lot of spontaneous business in the village. Roman Kiranchuk, General Director of the Arkhyz resort, explains that the village is also being developed to make it safe and convenient. His master plan has already been developed. At the same time, it is planned to make an interchange and a bypass road — not in order not to show the village to those who are already going to the resort, but to avoid traffic jams, which are possible here, especially during the season.
What to do in Arkhyz in the summer
There is plenty to do in the Arkhyz mountains during the warm season, especially since the unique location provides this place with good weather. There are more than 300 sunny days a year here, the Internet writes, and clarifies that our month of May is the rainiest. But the forecast, apparently, is mostly wrong for the better — before our eyes, clouds cling to mountain spurs, roll over them, and there they fall asleep, like Lermontov, on the chest of a giant cliff.
This spring, at the highest point of the resort, the Abishira-Akhuba ridge, at the exit from the Orbita cable car, which comfortably lifts tourists to a height of 3,030 m, a tunnel had to be dug into a snowdrift as tall as a man and two meters long: abnormal snowfalls were not only in Moscow.
"Orbit" is an exclusively pedestrian entertainment, there are no ski slopes here. Although fans of skiing and snowboarding lick their lips on these slopes: they say, the snow is painfully good even in May, it is necessary to open them for skiing. And then, they say, the length of the trails is too small - "only" 30 km. The appetites of skiers grow while eating, but Arkhyz, despite the fact that this resort is only 10 years old, is already in the Russian top in terms of the length of the slopes. And, by the way, there are no plans to stop there: the plans for the development of the resort by 2030 are to increase their length to 57 km.
But now in the "Orbit" for tourists there is a mountain swing (over the abyss, of course) and a suspension bridge (also over the abyss). In good weather, you can see Elbrus, and also walk — only very carefully — to the picturesque mountain lakes.
By 2030, they promise, in addition to 57 km of ski trails, 93 km of ecotropics. There are also enough of them now — 44 km. You can go on a one-day hike or a long one. The beauty is incredible, but inaccessible in winter: you can't get through the cliffs through the snow to the lakes, and how can you not see the rhododendron blooming on the slopes in June and July! Even the locals, the Karachays, speak about this beauty with a sinking voice.
The highlight of this summer season is the fourth stage of the Russian Rally Championship, which will be held at the resort from July 22 to 26. This level of racing will be held in the North Caucasus Federal District for the first time.
On the floor below the "Orbit", on the southern slope, in addition to the breathtaking views, there is a farm of alpacas — hungry for carrots, but generally absolutely good-natured animals, consisting, it seems, entirely of wool. Our domestic rabbits live side by side with them on the Alpachino farm, which for some reason also seem even more cute and touching against this background.
Alpachino Farm
You can watch the sunset from a special area on the farm — the golden hour is especially beautiful in the mountains. If you look a little lower, you can see the mountain bike trail, which is already being driven by adrenaline junkies. This area is developing in Arkhyz as well as ski holidays due to suitable conditions.
— It's high up here and therefore quite cool — it's good for skiing. The season is long, about five months — more than in the Alps, — says the head of the bike park Ivan Kunaev. — The entire Russian national team trains here, but those who have absolutely no experience can also come.
Except that here the length of the trails could be longer, but it's also a matter of time. And it's so good: more than 20 km of the route is enough for both mature professionals and beginners. They even opened a bike camp. They promise that during your stay there you can learn from scratch how to complete the routes of the first and second difficulty levels.
Getting lost in the timelessness
But first of all, Arkhyz is a mountain, and it is self—sufficient. Actor Vladimir Koshevoy, who came here in May to read Mikhail Lermontov's poems to the accompaniment of piano music, is sure that the mountains are not Lermontov's mountains at all. That, however, cannot be called their disadvantage.
"Time slows down here," the actor shares in a conversation with Izvestia. — It took only 15 minutes to climb the funicular, but it seemed to me like an hour. Those who want to get lost in this timelessness should go here. You turn in any direction and you are protected by mountains that rise and rise, higher and higher. And the thoughts here are clear, clear, calm, there is no anxiety at all. Some kind of absolutely outer space.
Such feelings, the actor says, exist only in the mountains. Probably, this is also the effect of the off-season: there are fewer people and fewer activities. But with the development of the resort, this "timelessness" will have something to fill. Koshevoy's visit with a poetic and musical performance is one of the first steps in the intellectual content of the Arkhyz resort. For example, the five-star Lazurit Hotel, located at the entrance to the village of Romantic, is going to open a library on one of the floors.
— So what, are people really going to read after snowboarding? — we ask the hotel manager with skepticism.
Actor Vladimir Koshevoy and pianist Platon Andreev at a performance at the Ullu restaurant
— You won't believe it, but yes: I personally watched how the guys sat with their books and rested after skiing! Nikita answers.
And for those who don't like books, he suggests going to the spa — to a warm outdoor pool.
And in August there will be music in the mountains — there will be several concert programs of the festival "Above the sound". Orchestra, French conductor Clement Nonsier, soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia Lyubov Aksenova, harpist Maria Fedorova, pianist Anna Tsybuleva. And all this is against the backdrop of mountains. With such plans, it would be good for the resort to get a good all-season concert hall with a grand piano — you see, and there will be no shortage of people in the off-season.
Moreover, the capital's high cuisine is already appearing here. There is a delicious Lezginka restaurant in the same Lazurite, but perhaps the main highlight is the Ullu restaurant, which has been operating in Moscow for almost a year, and now pampers tourists in Arkhyz.
From the Big Bang to ancient temples
And in any season, you should definitely go on excursions in Arkhyz. Surprisingly, it is in the Muslim republic that the oldest Christian churches in Russia are located — on the territory of the Nizhny Arkhyz historical and architectural complex. It was created on the basis of the Alan settlement, which existed near the Bolshoy Zelenchuk River, presumably in the VI–XIV centuries.
It is believed that the capital of ancient Alanya was here, near Bolshoy Zelenchuk. Their descendants include the Karachays, Circassians, Balkars, Ingush, and, of course, the Ossetians, who even "took" Alania as their republic.
— Later in our tour, the word "presumably" will very often occur, — warns Ruslan Chagarov, deputy director of the complex. And immediately shows the remains of a mysterious structure: presumably an observatory. Someone laid out stone walls here a long time ago in a circle with a diameter of 80 m. The structure is definitely not defensive, but both the first and last rays of the sun fall on this place.
The Alans converted to Christianity in the early 10th century and built three stone churches even before Christianity split. Now the buildings have been slightly restored, but they were originally preserved in very good condition, although they survived the invasions of the Mongols, Tamerlane and other shocks: judging by the drawings of archaeologist Dmitry Strukov at the end of the 19th century, even the roof did not collapse for so many centuries — only densely overgrown with vegetation...
The Middle temple on the territory of the Nizhny Arkhyz historical and architectural complex
This area is also heavily overgrown with legends. Near the Northern Temple, for example, there are round stone balls in the rock. These are natural mineral formations, nodules, but tourists have many versions of their origin, so the Nizhny Arkhyz complex is already tired of mysticism and specially placed an information plaque next to them with a bold note at the bottom: "There is nothing supernatural about the origin of nodules, such formations do not represent a scientific mystery. The balls were not grown by ancient people, they are not volcanic bombs or traces of fireballs." Next to the "volcanic bombs" there are many pyramids — flat stones are laid on top of each other by tourists, sometimes disassembling historical masonry for this purpose. The staff of the complex do not understand why either.
Paradoxically, the site of the scientific triumph of Soviet astronomers is adjacent to the ancient settlement and ancient temples. In the mountains above the Nizhne-Arkhyz historical and cultural complex, at an altitude of 2,100 m, there is a Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Until 1993, it was the largest in the world, and now it is one of the largest.
In the mid-1970s, they were able to raise a huge radio telescope there. Gennady Valyavin, director of the SAO RAS, who disguises his PhD in physics and mathematics as an Olympic athlete, explains that, in fact, this is an eye with a lens with a diameter of 6 m. The larger this "mirror" is, the further we see the universe. Sometimes retired military men come here for an excursion — old generals with strategic thinking. They see a huge telescope under the dome and exclaim, "Wow, what a cannon!" But for military purposes, this "cannon" is useless: it has cosmic farsightedness, it will not be possible to consider something dangerous in Earth orbit.
— The closest stars that we can effectively observe with this telescope are five to six light-years away from us — Alpha Centauri, Proxima Centauri. The light from them takes five to six years to travel, meaning we see them as they were a few years ago. The farthest objects we see are 12 billion light-years away and 12 billion years ago. Our telescopes are a real time machine," says Gennady Valyavin.
Tourists will not be able to see the universe as it was shortly after the Big Bang: the radio telescope does not use images, but numbers. But if you arrive in August in good weather, you can look through optical telescopes at the Perseid meteor shower. And also, be sure to listen to fascinating stories about the Universe from local researchers.
— So, I need 15 minutes, — warns Gennady Valyavin tourists. — So it all started 13.8 billion years ago...
Gennady Valyavin, Director of the SAO RAS
The observatory is a truly unique place, but it, just like the Alan temples, must be preserved. We had to do this in the 1990s, when they were "trying to arrange a bandstand here" ("We kicked everyone out," explained the director of the SAO RAS). We have to do this now.
— The problem is that the bench is already empty, — Gennady Gennadievich suddenly justifies his tracksuit with a football metaphor. — There are no young people. Rather, there are enough qualified young specialists, but we cannot accept them: the salary is too small.
The proximity to the observatory, by the way, was directly reflected in the Arkhyz resort — all the names are somehow connected with space. The exception is the village of Romantik, but this is excusable, it was the first. And now just like that: the Moonlight village, the Orbita, Northern Lights, Milky Way, Soyuz and Apollo cable cars. So it would not be an exaggeration to say that the rest here is exclusively cosmic.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
