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RussiaWhat to Expect and Is It Worth Visiting
Alibek glacier - the lowest located and accessible to tourists in the form of a one-day hike glacier in the area of Dombay. To see it and even walk on snow and ice in the summer, you will not need any special equipment or climbing experience, although it will take a lot of strength. It is located at the end of tourist route "Alibek Gorge" through the Teberdinsky nature reserve, and is usually visited together with Alibek waterfall and Turi Lake.
True, there is one feature when visiting it. Officially, visiting the glacier is not included in the tourist route, and theoretically it can not be visited. If you are found near him by the Border Patrol, you face an administrative fine of 500 rubles or a warning.
Due to global warming, the glacier is melting, and each year retreats by 8 meters. A hundred years ago, the territory on which Turya Lake is located was occupied by ICE, and today subalpine meadows bloom here. From the waters of the glacier, by the way, the Alibek waterfall and Turye Lake were formed. But even taking into account the reduction in size, its dimensions are impressive: an area of about 975 hectares, an ice depth of up to 60 meters, a length of 4.5 kilometers.
You need to take water with you on a hike to the glacier (not necessarily a lot, you can get water from mountain streams along the way), preferably trekking poles, good hiking shoes, sunglasses, a headdress. Light warm clothes will not hurt,because the glacier is very cold.
Important! At the checkpoint at the entrance to the Reserve and in the border zone, you must present a Russian passport, birth certificates for children. Citizens without documents are not allowed.
Attention! Climbing the glacier is dangerous, you can fall. It is also dangerous to climb directly from the edge of the glacier up to Turi lake, it is better to move away from it by about 300-500 meters.
🕐 Working hours
entrance to the trail through the checkpoint of the Reserve from 08:00 to 18:00, It is better to visit from May to September.
💵Entrance fee / ticket price
to access the lake, you need to pay 200 rubles for the entrance to the tourist route to the reserve, children under 7 years old-free of charge. Entry to the route by car - 200 rubles.
🚶 How to get there
the glacier is located 8 kilometers from the center of Dombay, the height difference to its border will be more than 600 meters (glacier on the map. To get to it, you need to take the Route "Alibek gorge" in Teberdinsky nature reserve. It will take 6-12 hours to overcome it on foot along with the Alibek waterfall and glacier (in both directions). Part of the way can be overcome by Jeep (offered at the entrance to the Reserve or in the city as an excursion), then you will save almost half the time, but the cost of the trip will be about 1000 rubles per person, or 4000 for the whole car for 4-6 people.
Theoretically, you can get from the checkpoint to the alplager "Alibek" 4 kilometers and by car. Personal transport is easily passed at the checkpoint, only you need to enter it into the contract drawn up at the time of payment. From the checkpoint you will have to go on a very bad rocky road, which not every driver and car will master. But during our visit, local residents passed here even on modern "Lada" and foreign "puzoterki". If you can not get your car directly to the Alpine camp, you can leave the car earlier, but be sure to remove it from the road, because there are large all-terrain trucks. Directly at the Alpine camp, the car can be easily left free of charge at one of several sites.
Route description: from the center of Dombay you need to get to the checkpoint at the entrance to the reserve (Checkpoint at the entrance on the route map. Here you need to pay for the entrance to the route, and then follow the dirt rocky road to the alplager "Alibek" (4 kilometers). After the camp there will be a border checkpoint where documents will be checked. Immediately after the border point there will be a fork with signs, and there will be two options:
- To Turi Lake. This is an easier route, especially on the descent, but also longer. Along the way, you will need to cross several bridges over mountain rivers, one of which is heavily damaged (as of 2021). But in general, a well-marked trail leads all the way to the lake. About 200 meters before the lake to the glacier on the left there is a path sharply down into the glacier.
- To Alibek waterfall. If you go to the left, then after 800 meters you will get to the Alibek waterfall. From the waterfall you need to go a hundred meters downstream to the bridge, cross it, and then return to the waterfall again and go up the steep slope to the left of it holding on to ropes and ropes. Further along the river you can walk to the border of the glacier. You can go back the same way, or go up to Turi Lake and go back along the route to it.