Tuesday 9th September – Moscow

Morning

• Arrive at your own leisure into Moscow . The largest and capital city of Russia is well connected with many European and Asian countries. Self-transfer to our centrally located hotel.
• Pre-tour meeting will be held at the lobby of our hotel at 8:00am to discuss the tour itinerary and to meet your fellow travellers and YPT guide.
• We’ll head out to explore Moscow, which still serves as the political, cultural, economic and scientific centre of Eastern Europe. The city’s name derives from the River Moskva.
• Staying true to YPT, we’ll do our classical tour staring off at the historic centre, Moscow Red Square. You’ll visit Lenin’s Mausoleum, see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Kremlin Wall Necropolis. We’ll get an epic group photo at Saint Basil’s Cathedral.

Afternoon

• Lunch in a local café. We recommend trying borscht, a traditional Russian soup.
• You’ll get to experience the Moscow Metro System. Its architecture is described as an “artificial underground sun”. It also doubled up as a bomb shelter.
• Fallen Monument Park. With the collapse of the USSR, thousands of Soviet monuments were destroyed or dispersed. Some of the most formidable ended up here. We’ll explore the park and look for the Stalin statue with the missing nose!
• For dinner at a local restaurant, we recommend trying shashlik. Moscow has a booming craft beer scene, so we’ll head to a local bar to sample some of it!
• Overnight stay in Moscow.

Wednesaday 10th September – Moscow – Train

Morning

• Breakfast at the hotel before we checkout.
• Continuing our Moscow exploration, we’ll visit GUM, the most famous department store in the Soviet Union. You’ll have the chance to purchase some souvenirs. There’s no shortage of controversial pro-Russian paraphernalia.
• Moscow boasts some of the best architecture in the World. We’ll take a walking tour to discover it and see mosaics, which were used to glorify Republics – propaganda which doesn’t fade away like a poster.

Afternoon

• Lunch at a local canteen before heading to the train station.
• We’ll pick up some supplies for the impressive train journey to Grozny. Noodles, gherkins, sausages, and pickled herring alongside Baltika beers is a popular choice!
• YPT loves epic train journey and it doesn’t get much better than this: 41 hours from Moscow to Grozny, passing through the quiet Russian countryside, as well as areas that were full-on war zones not so long ago. You’ll be assigned a bed in a 4 bed compartment with the group. If you prefer having your own cabin we can upgrade you for $275.
• Dinner and overnight on the sleeper train.

 Thursday 11th September – Train

Morning

• Breakfast on the train. Please purchase this the previous day or from the train’s hostess or steward, called provodnitsa/provodnik.
• Full day on the train. Your YPT guide will be at hand to keep you entertained and answer any questions for you about the upcoming itinerary.
• We’ll be making various stops along the journey. You can stretch your legs on the platform and purchase homemade food from locals.

Afternoon

• Lunch and dinner with the group at the restaurant carriage. You can opt for a few drinks while enjoying the vast scenery.
• Overnight on the sleeper train.

Friday 12th September – Grozny (Chechen Republic)

Morning

• Morning arrival in Grozny. The city, which translate to “fearsome”, is the capital of the Chechen Republic. We will be picked up by our local guide and transferred to our hotel for breakfast and a much-deserved shower.
• Tour of Grozny including the Heart of Chechnya mosque, locally known as the Akhmad Kadyrov Mosque, one of the largest mosques in Russia.
• We’ll continue to the monument to police officers, the memorial to victims of deportation and the “Alley of Honour”.

Afternoon

• Lunch at a local restaurant.
• We’ll continue our exploration with the Kadyrov Museum, Square of Journalists, Monument to the Dead Journalists, Monument of Nations Friendship, Putin Avenue, Manor House, the National Library of Chechnya, the Theatre and Concert Hall of Chechnya, the Akhmat-arena Stadium and the Mother’s Heart Mosque.
• The capital city of Grozny was completely rebuilt following the war and now looks like a modern metropolis. We take a slow walking tour of the city to get a feel of modern Grozny.
• For dinner, we’ll head to our favourite spot for shashlik. Vegetarian options are available.
• Overnight stay in Grozny.

Saturday 13th September – Grozny

Morning

• Breakfast at our hotel before we set out to discover the natural beauty of Chechnya.
• We’ll head to Argun Valley for a short hike. This is the first region where the Chechen people made their settlements. Around the river, there used to be many farms and houses. Unfortunately after the first and second Chechen War, many residents didn’t return.
• Visit the stunning Nikhaloi waterfall and the suspended iron bridge, 100 metres above the canyon).

Afternoon

• Picnic lunch. We’ll stop at a small store to pick supplies and enjoy the beautiful nature.
• Walk amongst the 42 crypts and the two pillar-shaped altars. Look around the Ushkaloi twin towers, the Phakic medieval castle and the local history museum. Take in the stunning scenery and medieval architecture and the general mysteriousness of the City of the Dead!
• We’ll take the scenic route back to Grozny stopping on the way at various sites of beauty.
• Dinner and overnight in Grozny.

Sunday 14th September – Grozny – Starogladovskaya – Grozny

Morning

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• We head first to the National Museum of Chechnya, the main museum in Chechnya. This museum houses fascinating artefacts from Chechen history. We’ll also learn more about the historical struggles of the Chechen people.
• Head on to the beautiful village of Starogladovskaya, where Leo Tolstoy – who was fond of the Caucuses – wrote The Cossacks and Hadji Murat. We’ll visit the Leo Tolstoy Literature and Ethnographic Museum.

Afternoon

• For lunch we have a genuine highlight. We’ll have lunch in a remote village with Cossacks, learning about their cultural heritage while being served traditional dishes and homemade wine!
• We’ll take the scenic drive back to Grozny stopping on the way at various sites of beauty for photographs as well as a few rest stops.
• Dinner and drinks in Grozny.
• Overnight stay in Grozny.

Monday 15th September – Grozny – Lake Kezenoy-am – Grozny

Morning

• Early morning start with breakfast.
• We’ll out to Lake Kezenoy-am. We’ll make a stop in the town of Kharachoy and pass through the scenic Andean ridge where we can see classic North-eastern Caucasus mountain scenery.
• Next, we will visit the spectacular Lake Kezenoy-am. This is the deepest lake in the Caucasus Mountains and one of the most beautiful places in the region. We will take our lunch break here as well as offering lots of time for pictures and additional activities.

Afternoon

• Drive to Khoy, the Village of Guards, and wander around the medieval settlement.
• Once again, we take the scenic drive back to Grozny, taking in the natural beauty of the region.
• Dinner at our favourite Chechen restaurant.
• Overnight stay in Grozny.

Tuesday 16th September – Grozny – Lake Galanchozh – Grozny

Morning

• Early morning start with breakfast before we head out.
• Today, we’ll be travelling to the Urus-Martanovsky District. As the journey is mountainous and remote, we’ll be taking 4WD to drive up to the mountains.
• We’ll make plenty of rest stops along the way until we reach Lake Galanchozh. Those brave enough can take a dip in the chill water.

Afternoon

• Picnic lunch at the beautiful lake.
• Next, we’ll visit old medieval settlements with defensive towers. Around the surrounding areas are burial grottos.
• In 1944, Joseph Stalin approved Operation Lentil, where Chechens and Ingush were deported to prison camps in Central Asia. We’ll visit the ruins of Khaibakh village, where around 700 villagers were massacred.
• We’ll take the scenic journey back to Grozny.
• Dinner at a local restaurant. We recommend trying barsh, similar to the Scottish haggis.
• Overnight stay in Grozny.

Wednesday 17th September – Grozny – Ingushetia (Republic of Ingushetia) – Armkhi

• Early morning start with breakfast before we check out.
• We’ll drive to the Republic of Ingushetia, the scene of some of the fiercest fighting during the war of independence. On our way, we will drive through the spectacular Dzhejrakhsk canyon for some breathtaking views.
• Visit the memorial complex of victims of repression in Ingushetia. This is an extremely interesting complex in true Soviet style. Head to the Magas Towers and drive through the Cey-Loamsk pass (2200m) to the observation platform, taking in more jaw-dropping scenery and medieval buildings scattered in these mountain lands.

Afternoon

• Explore Tkhaba-Yerdy Church and the surroundings. This church dates from the 8th-10th centuries and is one of the oldest Christian churches in Russia. We’ll then head on to the castle complex of Vovnushki, one of the ‘Seven Wonders of Russia’. This castle had defended the residents for centuries until Stalinist deportations emptied the local population.
• As it’s our last night together, we’ll have dinner with the locals in Djeirakh village – serving a selection of meat, salads and homemade chepalgash. As it’s a Sufi community, it’ll be a dry night.
• Overnight stay in Armkhi.

Thursday 18th September – Ingushetia – Armkhi – Vladikavkaz (North Ossetia–Alania)

• Breakfast at our hotel overlooking the beautiful mountains.
• We’ll check out and head to Vladikavkaz – the capital city of North Ossetia–Alania, arriving at 10:30am.
• Tour concludes. YPT can arrange additional nights in Vladikavkaz and airport drop off for a fee. We are more than happy to provide advice for ongoing flights. You can complete your Caucasus adventure and continue onwards on our South Ossetia National Day and Abkhazia National Day Tours, contact us to join the waiting list.

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