1. Midagrabin waterfalls. This unique valley of waterfalls is located in the upper reaches of the Gizeldon Gorge in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania. Falling from a great height, they give the impression of falling from the sky. The largest Midagrabinsky waterfall was called the Big Zaigelan falling avalanche. According to geological data, the height of the continuous fall of the water of this waterfall is 750 m.
Midagrabinsky waterfalls belong to the class of high-altitude waterfalls. According to the generally accepted classification of waterfalls, the famous Victoria and Niagara are latitudinal. Among the high-altitude climbers, Angel reigns in Venezuela 1054 m (according to other sources 979 m). The second highest altitude in the world is South African Tugela 947 m, the third Yosemite is 727.5 m in the USA. Big Zygelan is the first in Europe in terms of the height of the water fall and is one of the five highest waterfalls on the planet.

2. Dzivgis cave fortress. The pinnacle of cave architecture in Ossetia is the cave fortress hovering over the village of Dzivgis. Dzivgis is the first village located in the Upper Fiagdon basin, which has long been the center of the Kurtatinsky gorge. According to legend, the Dzivgis fortifications blocked the road to the Kurtatin Gorge for the Persian Shah Abbas, the same one who fought with the Georgian commander Georgy Saakadze. There were probably serious reasons to say so, since Dzivgis itself and the approaches to it from the North still surprise us with their inaccessibility.

3. Karaugom glacier. The Karaug valley glacier on the northern slope of the Main Caucasus Range, in the basin of the Urukh (Iraf) River, is the second glacier in terms of area and tongue length in the Caucasus. Its length is 13.3 km, area is about 27 square meters. km, the glacier descends to a height of 1820 m, giving rise to the Karaugom River. The Karaugom glacier has two icefalls. The upper one, the most powerful, breaks out through the narrow “gate” of the longitudinally lying Karaugomsky ridge, flowing from a grandiose firn field reaching a length of 12 and a width of 5 km. From the sharp ridge of the moraine, ice teeth and peaks, the so-called seracs, are clearly visible. This is the first, lower Karaugoma icefall, formed due to the rocks of Fastagdor, which met on the path of the icy river. The mighty Karaugom stuns and enchants, captivating with its pristine beauty. Ice and forest come together as closely as in any other ice region of the Caucasus.

4. Akhsinta Canyon. The main gate of mountain Digoria is the Akhsinta Canyon - a breathtaking sight! The waters of Urukh (Iraf), bound by rocks, literally fascinate with their wild, pristine beauty. Five kilometers of a narrow stone gap ends at the entrance to a huge, bright “hall” - the Matsuta mountain basin, named after the largest village here. The Akhsinta Canyon (Urukh Canyon) is sometimes called the Digor Gorge, which is a narrow deep gap cut through by the waters of Urukh in the Rocky Range. This place is the entrance to the Digor Gorge. The canyon once had a narrow path carved into the rock. Now the road passes through a tunnel, and the old one hangs over Urukh boiling in the abyss. Akhsinta Canyon is a real miracle of nature. On the scale of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, this is the same as the Grand Canyon of Colorado for America.

5. Dargavsky necropolis. Dargavsky necropolis (City of the Dead) is the largest in the North Caucasus (95 above-ground and semi-ground crypts). It is sometimes compared to the Valley of the Pharaohs in Egypt. People have long tried to unravel the mystery of the appearance of such a number of crypts in the mountains, and what people or tribe managed to create a monument so harmoniously integrated into the surrounding rocks, river, blue sky, green meadows? Unusual architectural forms in the poor Middle Ages gave rise to the most unusual assumptions about the original builders of the necropolis. They called Mongols, Nogais, and aborigines - Kobans. Scientists claim that the first builders were Alans, the ancestors of the Ossetians. Archaeological finds confirm that since the 6th century these places were densely populated by Alans.

6. “Frigate Castle” in the village. Khanaz. It is difficult to find a similar castle, which is located in the high mountain village of Khanaz, throughout the North Caucasus. On a high rocky ledge rises like a sailing frigate, a castle cutting through the air waves with its sharp stone bow. And if you imagine that you are not at an altitude of two thousand meters above sea level, but not far from the water, on a “frigate,” you can make out yards, sails, and portholes. And only when you “return” to the mountains do you notice that these are just stone details of a military fortification: loopholes, turrets, outbuildings. It is unknown - did the unknown architect see the sea? But in any weather - on a sunny day or in thick fog - the resemblance of the castle to a light sailing ship is simply amazing. The time of construction of the castle is the deep Middle Ages.

7. Church of Ualmasyg dzuar (Church of the upper tower).
There is no village nearby, only one ancient tower stands not far from this church, which, according to surviving legend, was erected by the Georgian Queen Tamara. This shrine is very revered among the people. For six centuries, in a modest church on a rock, a unique Orthodox icon of the Iveron Most Holy Mother of God was kept. One can only guess why the great empress of medieval Georgia sent this icon, the intercessor of all the Orthodox peoples of the Caucasus, to the Kurtatin Gorge? Perhaps the queen decided to reward the Ossetians for their loyalty to Christianity with a valuable gift. In 1783, settlers moving from the mountains to the plain, perhaps at the request of Bishop Guy of Mozdok, took with them the miraculous icon, and the church is still located on a rock, protected on the north side by the Tsaziukomdon river, and on the south by a battle tower.

Descriptions compiled according to G. I. Kusov and K. P. Popov, in the author’s processing by V. V. Dobronosova, member of the Active Committee of the North Ossetian Branch of the Russian Federation Cultural Foundation

Waterfalls are the most amazing and beautiful thing that nature has created. All over Russia there are many amazing and unique waterfalls, a visit to which will take your breath away, but you don’t want to leave.

Miracle waterfall in North Ossetia

The Great Zeigelan Waterfall is located in North Ossetia, in the valley of the Midagrabindon River near the village of Dzhimara. This waterfall is located high in the mountains and previously only local residents living in this area knew about its existence. Zeygalan is one of the pulsating waterfalls. The flow of its waters depends on the air temperature in the mountainous area. Zeygalan is full-flowing and very picturesque in the summer, and when cold weather sets in, the waterfall turns into icy splendor. Large and beautiful glaciers fall down from the mountains. Even when the weather is sunny and warm, clouds and clouds gather over the tops of the mountains.

There are no special roads to the waterfall, so to admire this beauty you need to walk several kilometers, fording mountain streams. But all these difficulties will seem like nonsense when you find yourself near the waterfall and can swim under its powerful jets of water, and the beauty of this place is simply breathtaking.

This waterfall is considered not only one of the largest in Russia, but also in Europe. There are always many people who want to admire the beauty of this place, despite the difficulties of the journey.

North Ossetia is considered one of the most beautiful republics, famous throughout the world for its majestic mountain peaks and waterfalls, so you should definitely visit these regions.

Today from the Caucasian mineral waters we are heading to the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania to visit the Tseyskoe gorge, look at the Skaz glacier, visit mountain waterfalls and swim in thermal springs. This pleasure costs more than others, 1300 rubles each. per person and the journey awaits us for a long time, instead of the usual two hours for all excursions, this one will take us three and a half hours one way. The tourist bus picked us up at eight o'clock in the morning and we set off.

Monument in the rock: Uastirdzhi - St. George

The road to the Tseyskoe gorge passes through the Trans-Caucasian highway - transkam, and at the very beginning of the Alagir gorge we stop. There is a massive monument to Uastirdzhi here. In Ossetian mythology, Uastyrdzhi is the main deity, the patron of warriors and men; under the influence of Christianity, he was transformed into the image of St. George, and the Digor dialect transformed the name of the character from Uastyrdzhi into Wasgergi - Saint (Uas) George (Gergi). 28 tons of metal, built into the rock above the transcam, along which the mountain river Ardon runs and smells strongly of hydrogen sulfide from nearby mineral lakes. For lovers of healthy lifestyle, camp sites are specially equipped on these lakes, treat yourself to your health.

Tseyskoye Gorge, North Ossetia

Near the village of Buron, where the mountain river Tseydon flows into the Ardon, the Tseyskoe gorge begins. Our path runs along a serpentine dirt road, and further along green mountain ranges, where the stormy Tseydon stream flows in a gorge, which takes its origins from the Tsey glacier. Here, as in every mountainous area, many mountain streams originate, which, accelerating and connecting with each other, turn into deep rivers: Ardon, Tseydon, Skazdon. Don is a word of Sarmatian-Scythian origin; in the Ossetian language it is preserved in the meaning of water, so here everything is extremely simple with names.

Having reached the Tsey ski resort, we found ourselves in a fairy tale. The fairy tale had a clearly Soviet connotation and time has not been kind to it.

The happy Soviet pioneer with Yesenin's appearance, having taken a step into the Soviet future, froze in an absurd pose for many years, and time was not kind to him.

Only recently has the Tseysk resort begun to revive.

Skaz glacier in the Tseyskoe gorge

Chairlift cable car for 200 RUR. per person takes us from an altitude of 2000 m, to the very tongue of the Skazsky glacier to an altitude of 2500 m.

On the right rises Mount Monk, whose height is 2990 m.

The climb is not steep and the calmest of those we encountered at the resorts of the North Caucasus. It takes about 12-15 minutes and during the ascent you can admire not only the Samara-made supports, but also the beautiful mountain views.

At the end of the climb, we find ourselves on a picturesque green hill, from which a wonderful view of the Skazsky glacier should open. But we were not very lucky with the weather and the sky was hidden from us by gray clouds.

The blue jeep left on the hill fit very picturesquely into the rocky green surrounding landscape.

In the lowland there was a cannon for forced release of avalanches. She is like the last frontier between man and the elements, always on guard.

But the most important sight is the Skazsky glacier.

Approaching the Skazsky glacier is very dangerous, it can disappear at any moment, or it can lie there for another hundred years, but in any case, the glacier is a very elastic substance of ice and rock. A glacier is not just a frozen snowball on a mountain slope, but a massive destructive ice mass with rocks frozen into it. As a result of the slow movement of the glacier, grooves and cracks are formed on the rocks; they are also called “ram’s foreheads”. Fragments of rocks sliding along with the glacier form the final moraine, on the basis of which this amazing grotto was formed. As the glacier slides, it melts, leaving behind ground rocks and clay; this natural formation is called a moraine. Moraine often forms ice grottoes.

On the left you can clearly see the Skazdon River, which takes its source under the grotto.

This is where our acquaintance with the Skaz glacier ended, but our excursion did not come to an end.

Literally half a kilometer from the Tseysky resort there is a private tourist center, it is still unfinished.

Having passed through its territory and paid an environmental fee of 150 rubles, we find ourselves in the forest. Our guide, represented by the owner of the camp site, leads us along the already worn path to the waterfall. The owner himself always leads excursion groups; he strictly ensures that tourists do not stray from the path, because brown bears live here.

Finally we emerge from the forest and find ourselves at the rocky shore of a waterfall. Now the stream is weak, it gains strength and moves stones only in the spring.

We make our way up the huge boulders to the steep slope of the rock from which water flows.
















After eating wild raspberries and mountain sorrel, we went back down to the camp site to a roadside cafe for a full lunch. The meal here is very good and does not put a strain on your wallet. Tsei salad, judging by what they brought us, is a summer salad with sunflower oil dressing and the addition of fried eggplants. The lunch in the photo is not ours; we devoured ours even before the idea of ​​photographing it came to mind. This is our neighbors' lunch.

Thermal springs, North Ossetia

The last stop today is the thermal spring. The water temperature in such a source is 50 degrees Celsius. There are many such sources in North Ossetia, and we cannot even say with certainty where we were taken. This is a private territory and it is guarded accordingly: a huge alabai, automatic gates and broad-shouldered bearded men will scare away anyone. However, by the time we visited the source, we were already quite tired and were no longer able to adequately perceive reality. Entrance to the territory is paid 150 rubles. The infrastructure of the tourist complex is also much inferior to Ausheger, although everything is quite well equipped. There is a place to eat and change clothes.

The excursion turned out to be very difficult, the journey took about eight hours in total, and we arrived home after midnight. Therefore, our impressions of the excursion are very ragged, also because we went to a resort that remained in the Soviet Union. Surrealism was awakened by this explosive combination of unbridled wild nature and once majestic man-made structures that have fallen into disrepair. Such a contrast evokes an involuntary thought that the brighter and more majestic the nature, the faster the paint crumbles from the columns of the palace of culture.

But if you take your eyes off the deserted houses, a completely different landscape will appear. It's quiet here. There is no such silence in the city, where else if not here, you need a break from civilization. The pleasant aroma of herbs, the rare mooing of cows or the cry of a donkey is carried by the wind there, to the tops of the rocks, where this cry is lost, dissolves and disappears. And the mountains, like soldiers on duty, are majestic and harsh and will never allow themselves to move while they are being looked at.

Before this trip, I had never heard anything about these waterfalls. And that in North Ossetia there is the highest waterfall in Europe, called Zeygalan. It is worth noting that Zeygalan is considered the third highest waterfall, after Niagara and Victoria.

In total, there are 13 small waterfalls on the mountain slopes, in addition to Zeygalan.

Having looked from afar, we were invited to go up to Zeygalan. I’ll probably curse myself all my life now for not getting up to the very end (I didn’t get there quite a bit, thinking that I had already photographed everything I needed.)


Not to say that the road up was easy. The path lay through a stormy stream of water.


At the beginning of our journey, Zeygalan waterfall looks like this. The waterfall is located high in the mountains and therefore has a pulsating character. Its flow depends on air temperature. The highest flow occurs in July-August. During the cold season, the melting of the glacier located at altitudes of about 4000 m above sea level practically stops and only ice deposits on the rocks remain in the place of the waterfall.
By the way, the territory where the waterfall is located is in the border zone. Therefore, before you go to admire the rushing water, you need to get permission from the border guards.


Photo from a different angle.


What a handsome guy, huh?


Even here you can feel the icy breath of water that originates from the glacier.


The natural beauty of these places is enchanting.


Shortness of breath tormented me a little, and I trudged down, constantly turning around.


The fog and clouds cleared, revealing the magnificent Midagrabin Valley.


The sun's rays also reached Zeygalan.

I will definitely come back here and walk this path to the end.


There is nothing more beautiful and beautiful than living nature.

General partner of the blog tour - OJSC "Resorts of the North Caucasus"
Organizer - Association of Journalists of the North Caucasus with the support of the office of the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the North Caucasus Federal District
Communication partner - Megafon
Partners: Ministry of Tourism, Entrepreneurship and Investment Policy of North Ossetia-Alania, Media Association of the North Caucasian Federal District and CSKP "Caucasus".

The idea to visit these lands was born by chance, while browsing some website with a selection of picturesque photographs from different parts of Russia. I was then very interested in the information about the supposed the highest waterfall in Europe called Big Zeygalan. At that time, I could not even imagine what kind of nature was hidden in the territory of North Ossetia; after 30 minutes of searching on the Internet, I already knew where I would spend my upcoming vacation.

North Ossetia (Alania) is the oldest cradle of Christianity. In the first millennium BC, the territory of South-Eastern Europe and Central Asia was inhabited by tribes of Iranian nomads - Scythians, Sarmatians, Saks, Massagetae, who in the first century BC united under a new name - Alans. And in the 9th century. The Alan state was formed, which included the territories of the Central Caucasus and the Cis-Caucasian Plain.

The baptism of Alania took place 72 years earlier than the baptism of Rus' and played a positive role in the development and strengthening of Alan statehood. Thus began the “golden age” of Alanya, which lasted until the arrival of the Mongol-Tatar hordes in 1238 - 1240. Alanya suffered devastating damage several times. It all started with the invasion of the Tatar-Mongols under the leadership of Batu Khan (grandson of Genghis Khan). At that time, Alanya had problems within the country (there was no clear vertical of power), as a result of which the state simply could not unite efforts in a timely manner and resist the powerful and well-organized army of the invader .

The enemy at that time was well prepared for the main goal - the siege and capture of the main citadel of the state, the capital of Ossetia - the city of Magas. The throwing weapons did their job, the city was destroyed, and the Tatar-Mongol military leader ordered the right ear of every resident of the city to be cut off - as a result, 270,000 ears were collected. The destruction of the capital of Alan, the city of Magas, put an end to the existence and development of Alanya as a state. At that time, it was the largest defeat that changed the balance of power in the region and priorities in the politics and culture of the North Caucasus.

The remnants of Alan moved to the mountainous area, where they continued the family line, preserving the traditions of the Ossetian people. But the real disaster for Alanya was the invasion of Tamerlane (in Persian “Timur-e lang”), aka “Amir Timur”, which translates as “Lame Timur”. In 1362, he was wounded in battle, as a result of which he lost two fingers on his hand and received a wound to the kneecap on his right leg, leaving him lame for the rest of his life. But these injuries did not stop him from destroying peoples, destroying cities and wiping out entire states from the face of the earth, leaving behind pyramids of the heads of defeated warriors, because at that time he controlled one of the most powerful armies in the world.

In 1395-1400 Timur's army dealt the final blow to Alanya. The bulk of the population was destroyed, some were captured and killed, the best forces of the Ossetians died in battle, and the remnants were taken by Timur to China.

We will begin our journey by visiting the famous city of the dead in the Caucasus - Dargavs, located in the Gizeldon Gorge. This complex consists of several dozen stone crypts, which today are a historical architectural monument under state protection.
Rabiniragh is the local name of the ridge on which the historical and archaeological complex City of the Dead is located. The size and location of the family crypts on the hill reflect the financial status and status of the family.

We arrived in Dargavs an hour before opening; it was a cool, sunny morning. The gate was open, but there was no one around. The sign at the entrance indicated some kind of symbolic fee; having decided not to waste time waiting, we entered the complex, hoping to pay for the visit upon leaving. After walking around the territory, we headed towards the exit, suddenly a question sounded behind us: “Did you like it?” I was so impressed that I didn’t even notice the elderly man watching us from the shadow of the gazebo. The old man smiled and asked where we came from.

After a short dialogue we introduced ourselves: “My name is Chermen,” he said. We shook hands, after which he inquired about the purpose of our visit. In response, I took out 4 pages from the folder with the listed places that we must definitely visit (there was one place and its GPS coordinates per line). Chermen became interested and began to study our plan with attention. After which he grinned and said that he would help us find some places in the gorge, since we, even knowing the coordinates, would hardly be able to do this. And as it turned out later, he was right.
Well, of course, we simply could not refuse such a “gift of fate” as exploring corners of nature of incredible beauty, accompanied by fascinating stories and memories of a person who lived in these parts all his life. You will not find such information in any guidebook.

Follow me,” said Chermen.
- Do you see this plain and the river flowing through it? It is called “Giseldon”, which translates as “Gisel” - red and “Don” - water. “Red water” - that’s what Tamerlane’s warriors called it when they received a fierce rebuff from the Alans; after the battle, for several days the water in the river had a bloody tint.

We got into the car and headed towards the Koban Gorge, the same one where the legendary Koban culture developed at one time.
Along the way, Chermen told the story that relatively recently people came to the village and asked questions related to the history of the formation of this village and region, and were also interested in some Ossetian surnames. They introduced themselves as members of some community and said that they wanted to write material on this topic. According to Chermen, there were even foreigners among them. The old man invited them into the house and showed them a book that he had compiled on the basis of the knowledge that had come down to him from his ancestors, the genealogies of the families that inhabited the village. I don’t think it’s worth saying that she was very valuable to him. The guests asked for a book to write the material and promised to return it. Out of the kindness of his heart, Chermen believed, but it turned out that he was in vain. After a long time, when the old man realized that the guests had acted dishonestly, he took up writing another copy. A terrible act on the part of young people. Chermen talked so captivatingly that I forgot about our visit plan.

Stop here! - Chermen commanded.
We got out of the car. Our guide reminded me that we were approaching the place marked on the plan, and, smiling, asked if I could find it with the help of my navigator. I felt the catch right away, but still tried my luck. The GPS sensor showed that we were exactly in place, but what kind of fortress could there be here?! On one side there is a plain, on the other there is a steep cliff. It is clear that you need to look at the rock.

We looked with four eyes, but could not find the so-called Fortress of the Bloodline, it merged so much with the environment, or, at least, I imagined it differently.
Chermen, watching us, realized that the process would be long and showed us exactly where we needed to look.

And here’s an unexpected turn: indeed, a barely noticeable “extension” was visible on the rock. According to legend, this fortress was built by a guy who was declared a blood feud for his action. There are many versions of which one, but the most popular is, of course, love: he fell in love with a girl whom he could not marry because of his social status.

Deciding on a desperate act, he stole it. The fate of the girl is unknown, but the guy was injured. For a long time he hid in this fortress, they even tried to take it by storm, but, firing back, he managed to defend his fortress. For a long time, his relatives brought him water and food, but one day he left the fortress for the purpose of hunting, at that moment he was tracked down and the path to retreat to the fortress was cut off. Since the forces were superior, and having a large amount of ammunition, the pursuers, after a short battle, shot the guy, losing one of their own.

In general, blood feud is a common custom in the Caucasus, when retribution was mandatory for the murder or injury of a person. Chermen told us the story of how in his youth he was appointed by the elders to the role of “negotiator” in order to reconcile two families that were at war over the accidental death of a girl due to the negligence of a guy. Chermen managed to convince the girl’s relatives to stop the persecution, but it was very costly for the other side; they gave up almost half of their property and livestock to settle the conflict that arose.

By that time we were already at the observation deck overlooking the Koban Gorge.

There is a children's camp here, but since it was morning, the children were apparently resting. Chermen decided to give us a tour and showed us the place where an electric winch was previously located for lifting heavy loads or goods purchased in other villages. The angle of inclination is high, and delivering goods from neighboring villages by other means was very labor-intensive. For this purpose, they built a structure whose functionality was supported by only one person. Everything was fine until the accident, one day the cable broke, the trolley with the cargo fell down, and there were no casualties. Therefore, it was decided to abandon this method of delivering goods, the equipment was dismantled, and the rails were overgrown with grass.

“We have to go,” Chermen said and headed to the car. We headed back towards the “city of the dead”.
- Why were people previously buried in crypts, and not interred? - I asked.
– One of the main reasons is lack of space. If everyone were buried on the plain, then small areas would be occupied by cemeteries over hundreds of years, and agriculture and cattle breeding are the main activities for which flat terrain is desirable.

According to archaeologists, burials in the “city of the dead” date back to different eras - from the 14th to the 19th centuries. Local residents have fresh memories from their ancestors about the plague epidemic that raged in the mountain gorges at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries and claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people. As a result of the epidemic, the population of Ossetia decreased from 200 thousand at the end of the 18th century to 16 thousand by the middle of the 19th century. Ossetians as a people found themselves on the verge of extinction. In order not to infect their neighbors, the sick, whole families with children in their arms, went into the crypts, where they died. Those who remained healthy left the gorge and moved to other regions.

“You need to go to the next place yourself,” Chermen said. Next in line was the main attraction of today and at the same time what inspired this trip - Big Zeygalan. As it turned out later, in order to get to the waterfall you need to get a pass to the border zone. He is being discharged to a military unit in the Karmadon Gorge. There is only one road leading there – it’s hard to get lost. The military unit was not crowded; one contract soldier was walking around the area with a machine gun at the ready. We explained the purpose of the visit, he asked for passports. After 20 minutes I brought out the documents and ready-made passes. It turned out we were lucky, the commander of the military unit was at his place, and, as I understood, only he has the authority to issue passes to this zone; in other cases, it is necessary to order in advance. We had to quickly return to the checkpoint, since the sun was already about to set.

When we approached the checkpoint, a young guy slowly came out to meet us, an AK was hanging around his neck, and his hands were resting on a machine gun.

“Please show me your passes,” he said, not yet approaching the gate. The checkpoint consisted of two gates. After checking our documents, we were allowed in by opening one gate, after which the border guard closed it, and the car was blocked at the checkpoint.
- “Open the trunk.” Our car (a station wagon) was packed to the very roof. We prepared for the trip thoroughly: the car was “charged” for several days of autonomous life. Seeing the tent, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, bottles of drinking water, he asked if we planned to stay overnight.
“No,” I said, we will definitely come back today. - We have already booked a hotel in Vladikavkaz.
“Great,” he said with relief, “Moreover, I recommend that you return before sunset.”
“Okay,” I replied, fully understanding the basis for his recommendation.

While planning the route, I came across advice that “you need to watch the sunset” already at your place of residence; at a minimum, you should go out onto the main road. It is very unsafe to stay in the gorge overnight. These are precautions for tourists in this area.
A metallic clang brought me back to reality - the lock behind us clicked, locking the second gate. All. We are located in the border zone, we are separated from Georgia by the Caucasus mountain range, there is not a soul here. The road smoothly goes deep into the gorge, internal feelings were mixed: on the one hand, concern about what these uncontrolled territories are famous for, who lives here and what they do. But there were 1,800 km of travel behind us, and I couldn’t afford to just turn around a couple of kilometers before the object that inspired our trip.

On the other hand, amazing nature, silence, and the feeling that there are only the two of us left in this world. Our path lies deep into the Genaldon Gorge into the valley of the Midagrabindon River to the highest waterfall in Europe - Big Zeygalan. There were only a couple of kilometers left to get to it, we drove the main part, but a few hundred meters before the waterfall the mountain river washed away the road. Our car is low-slung and it is unlikely to pass here, I did not try, the risk of breaking the engine crankcase on protruding stones is too high. We walked the remaining distance.

Having left the checkpoint, we met the only ones who do not require passes. The unique beauty of the mountain slopes, illuminated by the rays of the setting sun, the amazing silence and the distant sound of the river allowed us to feel truly at one with nature. Such surrounding views make your head spin.

There are several different waterfalls in the gorge; our goal is Big Zeygalan, which translates as “falling avalanche.” Its height is more than 600 meters, but it is not known for sure, because... No one has yet managed to measure it. It is considered the highest in Europe and the second largest in Russia (after the Talnikovsky Falls on the Putorana Plateau, in the north of Eastern Siberia). The waterfall is “fed” by a glacier located at an altitude of more than four thousand meters above sea level. High mountains are often covered with clouds, so from the outside it seems as if water is flowing out of the clouds.

The roar of falling water from such a height should be heard several kilometers away, but there was silence, only to the side, in the background of the surrounding nature, was the distant noise of the stream. By mid-September it freezes, leaving only an icy trail on the rock. That's why we saw the biggest icicle. Unfortunately, we did not have the opportunity to admire the power of water flying from a height of more than half a kilometer and then breaking into small splashes on the rocks. But, by the way, in the photo it looks like a real waterfall. Very few tourists had a chance to see streams of falling water from the cliff, given the little-known nature of this area and its inaccessibility. Since Zeygalan is fed by water from the melting glacier, in scientific language it is also called “pulsating”, because the water drops only in the summer months.

The sun was already setting behind the mountain slopes. This was a sign that it was time for us to go back. At the end of this bright day filled with new impressions, nature gave us an unforgettable sunset in its beauty.

[i]Photo and text: Vitaly Brekhin