GOURMETS IN THE CAUCASUS

Morning.

Reception at Mineralnye Vody airport.

Transfer to Pyatigorsk.

It is only one place in the world where mineral water of different composition is produced in a small area.

Here we can feel the taste and flavor of the health

Ethnic lunch with Cossacks.

Cossacks are people inhabiting the Stavropol Territory for hundreds of years. In the past they used to be brave warriors and experts in fancy riding. Their descendants keep the traditions of their ancestors.

Walk around Pyatigorsk

Tour to Pyatigorsk Tsvetnik (Parterre) Park. The park is a historical place, as well as the heart of the city. There is the most important sculpture emblematic of the city- the eagle holding a snake in its claws.

Visiting potable well room, tasting natural mineral water. Touring Pyatigorsk Proval, a lakelet of bright blue color in the midst of a rock massif.

Dinner in Pyatigorsk. Accomodation in the Mask Hotel 4* or equivalent.

The hotel has 100 rooms of the categories, such as: standard, de luxe and suite. Each room has the area of not less than 26 square meters.

Breakfast

Transfer to Shato Erken

Shato is a modern amenity making the dreams of wine-drinkers come true. You will get acquainted with the castle and taste local wines.

Lunch

Transfer to Upper Balkaria.

Master-class in lamb roasting.

You will be able to take part in cooking ‘Ucha’ dish. According to the old surviving technology, the lamb is roasted in a special stove or a grill.

Imagine that: the whole lamb will be cooked according to an old recipe.

And you will be able to participate in this national sacrament in the open air.

Dinner al fresco with the main course of Ucha.

Overnight at a hospitable guesthouse.

Breakfast. Transfer to Blue Lakes

There are incredibly beautiful lakes in Upper Balkaria. Their water is crystal clear with color changing from soft-blue in clear weather to azure in other weather conditions. The still water surface seems to be frozen up in puzzling and mysterious beauty. Legend has it that the lake occurred as a result of a dragon’s fall being defeated by the national hero, the ancestor of the modern North Caucasians.

Transfer to Vladikavkaz.

Lunch and ossetian master-class

Ossetian pies serve as a culinary landmark of Ossetia. You will wonder why you didn’t bake them before, as it’s so exciting and delicious too! The traditional lunch is followed by a culinary interactive session.

Vladikavkaz city tour.

On the left bank of the turbulent Terek River you can find a Sunni Mosque (Mukhtarov Mosque), built 109 years ago. The guide will introduce you to the biography of Kosta Khetagurov, the Ossetian poet, playwright, publicist and artist.

Brewery tour

If you want to get the full taste of Ossetia, you should visit one of its best city breweries.

The beer ripens in oak casks which gives it rich flavor. After touring the enterprise, you can taste Ossetian beer and enjoy your dinner in cosy atmosphere of its bar.

Dinner

Accommodation in the Alexandrovski Hotel 4* or equivalent.

The hotel is located in the historical part of Vladikavkaz, in its city center. The hotel is named after one of the great Russian tsars, Alexander II. There are rooms of standard, de luxe and suite categories. The area of each room is not less than 20 square meters

Breakfast

Ingush people refer to themselves as ‘galgays’- people of towers. The last residents left the tower city at the time of repressions during the Great Patriotic War.

Transfer to Mountain Ingushetia

Excursion to the tower complex. With the outbreak of the Mongol invasion, the route of the Great Silk Road was plotted again, through the mountains. The tower town of Egikal is a witness of those distant times.

Touring apiary - the place where honey is gathered. You will have an opportunity to see a bee garden in the mountains of Ingushetia and get familiarized with the local beekeeping practices shared by the owner.

After the apiary, you will experience the importance of being a guest in the Caucasus. At lunch hosted by the local Ingush family you will try Ingush national food.

Tsei-Loam Pass

Beautiful view from the observation deck and a short walk

Transfer to The Grozny

City tour in the evening Grozny. You will visit the beautiful mosque "Heart of Chechnya" and you will see the city from a bird's-eye view from one of the tall buildings of Grozny City.

Dinner. Accommodation in the Grozny city****, Local Hotel**** or equivalent

Breakfast at the hotel.

Sightseeing and walk tours.

Grozny is a city-phoenix revived from ashes after so long-run war.

The Grozny Tower was erected in the beginning of the 19th century. You can see the

spiritual heart of the city- the Mosque “Heart of Chechnya”. From a distance it resembles a fragile flower and bewilders by its architecture grandeur in close-up.

Lunch

Transfer to Dondi Yurt. It’s an open-air museum of national artefacts and natural wonders. All exhibits can be picked up and touched. They have personally been collected by the owner Adam Satuev.

Dinner with master class in cooking ‘shashlyk’, the local equivalent of shish-kebab.

The world-famous Caucasian shashlyk is particularly prepared and grilled meat. It will hardly leave anyone indifferent due to its flavor and fragrant smell! In the suburbs of Grozny, you will be offered a master-class in cooking a perfect Caucasian shashlyk!

You will have a unique opportunity to get the «shashlik» recipe straight from the source

Transfer to Grozny

Breakfast

Transfer to Sulak canyon

The Sulak canyon is impressive even in photos, though no photos can convey the feeling of breathtaking while standing at the brink of the abyss. No wonder, as it is one of the deepest canyons in the world - with a depth of 1,920 meters! Furthermore, it’s deeper than the famous Grand Canyon on the Colorado Plateau.

Lunch served with fresh river trout in a cosy place.

Transfer to the Makhachkala.

Walking by the Caspian sea.

Dinner of national cuisine

Accommodation in the Central City Hotel Makhachkala

It is the coziest hotel in the city offering the most convenient location.

Breakfast

Derbent is a nice and the oldest city in Russia.

It’s 5,000 years old. Its main attraction is a citadel of Naryn-Kala. Welcome to the history!

Excursion to Naryn-kala citadel.

It’s an ancient fortress in the upland part of Derbent, connected to the Caspian Sea by double walls, designed to block the Caspian gates to Persia. The sea part of the wall goes 500 meters into the sea, thus locking the entrance to the harbor. Naryn-Kala is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, with good reason.

Old city

On request, you can take a walk along the old streets-magals, visit Djuma-mosque, and observe the combination of the ancient and more modern buildings.

You can also drop in the grocery market to buy cheese, dried fruits, urbech, honey and jam.

Lunch of national cuisine at the restaurant ‘Great Silk Road’ with a shish-kebab and tasting Derbent wine and cognac.

Excursion to the legendary enterprise of Derbent- Derbent cognac distillery!

It’s history started from the decree of Peter I and since the mid-19th century till present the plant has been producing various alcohol products.

We hope the history of the beverages as well as their tasting will not leave you untouched.

Return to Makhachkala

Gala night with dinner and the performance of collective national dances. (Famous caviar degustation is optional)

Transfer to airport. Departure