The Caucasus Nature Reserve is an amazingly beautiful place and, concurrently, a large natural site occupying the territory of three subjects at once: the Krasnodar Territory, the Adygea and Karachay-Cherkess Republics.
Imereti lakes are the "pearl" of these places. In total, there are 120 reservoirs in the reserve, the largest of which is Lake Bezmolviya (mirror area is almost 200 thousand m 2) . This natural complex was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999.
Imereti Mountain Knot
Until recently, not all fans of extreme sports knew what the Imereti Lakes are, where they are and how to get to them. And this is not surprising, since for a long time they have not been fully studied, and to some of them the path is not only not close, but also dangerous.
For the first time, some of them were mapped back in 1905, but it was completely wrong, therefore, geographers and researchers of the Caucasus Nature Reserve had to do all the work again. For the first time about the Imereti beam was mentioned by N. Ya. Dinnik. According to him, the name was given by the Imeretin ethnic group, who in those days often drove their flocks to graze on the slopes of the mountains.
An interesting fact is that 3 rivers with the name “Imeretinka” are immediately registered in the reserve:
- One of them is the well-known route through the Caucasus Nature Reserve, the right tributary of the Zakan River.
- The second is the right tributary of another river - Urushten, which begins its journey from Mount Marble.
- The third is again the right tributary, but already of the Belaya River, which begins on the western slope of Abago-Atamazhi.
The right tributary of the Zakan River established its origins in a huge lake circus at the foot of the Granitnaya peak (height 3211.8 m). It is limited by two ranges: on the right side is the spur of the Granitnaya mountain, which is called Imeretinsky, and on the left, the Ozerny, which is the watershed of the Imeretinka and Tsakhvoi rivers.
Imereti Valley is the most beautiful corner of the Caucasus Nature Reserve. Here lakes, waterfalls and mountains are constantly alternating, forming amazing landscapes.
Lake of Silence
Any trip to the Imereti Lakes is planned with a mandatory entry to Lake Silence. This is the largest reservoir of the Caucasus Nature Reserve. It was conveniently located in a large circus at an altitude of 2530 m. For a very long time, people ignored this place until in 1963 a special expedition was organized to study it. It was then that it received its official name Big Imereti Lake.
The second name - Silence - was given to him with a light hand by a researcher at the Caucasian Nature Reserve, botanist and researcher K. Yu. Golgofskaya. She was struck not so much by the beauty of the reservoir, as by the silence surrounding it, strikingly different from the constantly rumbling Imeretinka river.
The first time he approaches the moraine, which closes the entrance to the lake, he always stops - so unexpectedly an unusually beautiful reservoir appears before the travelers. It is not alone, as it is connected by a small and shallow channel with the bay, which can easily be ford. Since all excursions to the lakes of the Caucasus Nature Reserve begin in August, when they are free of ice, the depth of many of them is much less at this time of year.
To get to the Imereti Lakes (Lake of Silence, for example), travelers have to walk many kilometers and climb to a height of 1000 m or more. During the 15 km path to this reservoir, people can get acquainted with all the tiers of the reserve from dense forests and thickets of tall grass to alpine meadows, and if you go even higher, then to snowfields and rocks.
On the route "Cordon Zakan - Imereti Lakes" tourists expect such majestic beauty as waterfalls. On the way to Lake Silence, there are two of them - in the upper cascade is a 60-meter cascade, and in the lower - a 120-meter giant.
Bush lake
Perhaps the deepest body of water in the Caucasus Nature Reserve can be called Lake Bush, located at 2817 meters high between two peaks - the Geographers of the Kuban (3212.2 m) and Bush (3119.8 m). Its depth is 24 meters, and the shape is a broken elongated oval in which there are both bays and rocky capes.
Many Imereti lakes are surrounded by glaciers, which feed them with their waters when melting. Bush Lake is no exception. Its glacier descends to the water itself, filling the reservoir with bright blue water, which does not change color even in cloudy weather.
The name of the lake was given by the researcher Efremov, who studied the Imeretinka river and its lake circuses. It was originally named after George W. Bush, but the final name was given before the release of the book-photo album “Kuban from Above”, where it was already dedicated to the researcher of the Caucasus, botanist N. A. Bush.
Celestial Lake
Many reservoirs of the Caucasian reserve received independent names, but the Imereti Lakes were called in a completely different way. Where are they located, near which mountain or beam, this is the name they were given. For example, the Celestial Lake was discovered under the Celestial Pass, but it just so coincided that with its location at an altitude of 2850 m it earned such a name.
It is located between two mountains of approximately the same height - Granitnaya (3211.8 m) and Bush (3119.8). The pass itself leads to the Svetly River, which is the left tributary of the river. Damhurz.
Around the lake "crowded", like formidable giants, the walls of rocks, which in several places are cut by snowfields. The shores of this lake are considered impassable, and stones often fall off the nearest rocks and fall into the lake, so close attention is required here. It does not have the desire to stay for a day and take a breath, the area is very unfriendly around, although Lake Celestial itself is very beautiful.
Chocolate Lake, Riviera and Geographers
Sometimes, researchers at the Caucasus Nature Reserve used associations to name the Imereti Lakes. The description of Lake Riviera is consistent with its characteristics. Located at an altitude of 2655 m, it has pebble beaches typical of the sea coast. Hence the name Riviera. The lake itself is small, only 7000 m 2 , but convenient for a halt, and the sun illuminates it longer
Lake Geografov is located 73 m above the Riviera, and its water area is larger - 10 000 m 2 , but above all there are two Chocolate Lakes. The first is at 2871 meters with an area of only 3800 m 2 . His name corresponds to the pass of the same name that separates the valleys of the Damhurts and Imeretinka rivers.
The second is Malaya Shokoladnoye, which has an area of only 500 m 2 , but is located even slightly higher - 2906 meters above sea level.
Big Yukha Lake
The second name of this karst reservoir is Tsyndyshkho. It is located at the source of the Juha River at an altitude of 2709 m. The peak of Olikovtsev hangs directly above it. It is the fourth largest in the Caucasian reserve after Silence, Kardyvach and Inpsi. Its area is 75,000 m 2 and a depth of 17 meters.
With its outlines, it looks like a big round fish, the tail of which is a small bay, from where one stream originates, and the second same brook flows to the east. After several kilometers, they merge together and flow into the Yuhu River.
Not far from the Big Yukhinsky Lake is its small twin (an area of 9500 m 2 ), which is separated from the "elder brother" by only a few hills and a height of 2630 meters.
Humanoid Lake, Oblivion and Impact
The Imeretinsky Knot also includes lakes located at the head of the Svetloy River. They are not far from each other and until the expedition of Yu. Efremov in 1993 were nameless. After they were studied and mapped, they were given names - Lake Humanoids, Oblivion, and Impact.
They are not included in the main tourist routes, so people are rarely here. The humanoid lake from a bird's eye view really resembles a kind of unpretentious figure and is located on a wide step at the bottom of the gorge. Its water area covers an area of 89,000 m 2 and a depth of 25 m, which allows it to be on the list of the largest lakes in the Caucasus Nature Reserve.
Just above Lake Humanoids, two more bodies of water “buried” - Oblivion and Impact. The second name is associated with its origin, as it means "shock". It was the impacts of avalanches that knocked out a foundation pit with a depth of 8 m and a width of 3000 m 2 . Around it, thanks to the efforts of the glacier, a shaft 16 meters high was formed.
Oblivion Lake was also formed by avalanches, so a small isthmus separates it from Impact. During the melting of glaciers, it often floods, and two lakes reunite into one. The water area of the Oblivion reservoir is 32,000 m 2 , the maximum depth is 7 m.
Black Lake, Secret and Unexpected
The Imereti Lakes also include water bodies of its tributaries. For example, a lake of the same name was formed at the source of its left tributary of the Chernaya River. Until now, no one has measured its depth, scientists only make assumptions by its shape that it is very large.
The area of the Black Lake is 45 800 m 2 at an altitude of 2530 meters. Its name is not associated with the river of the same name, but with the fact that a cliff hangs over it, the shadow of which even in clear and sunny weather leaves its waters dark. From it flows a stream that managed to break through a small gorge for a long time.
Above Cherny at an altitude of 2771 m, Lake Tainoe is located, having an area of 30,000 m 2 . It is very beautiful and is conducive to stopping near it. Its sloping shores, an almost perfect oval shape and meadows on the eastern shore attract tourists here.
Lake Nezhdannoe deserved its name, since it really did not exist 50 years ago. In its place was a glacier, which gradually melted and formed a small lake with an area of 8800 m 2 . The places near him are inhospitable - dark cliffs and huge moraines at an altitude of 2755 meters. It opens very late and by the end of summer large blocks of ice float in its waters.
Features of a trip to the lakes
Imereti Lakes (the photo above demonstrates this) is a truly amazing creation of nature, which is worth touching. The main feature of going to them is overcoming personal difficulties during it, for example, poor physical preparation, and teamwork to eliminate them. Mountains, like nothing else, rallies even strangers.
And the surrounding beauty and daily new experiences are the main product of tours to the Imereti Lakes.
Route to the lakes
If you choose a trip to the Imereti Lakes, the route usually begins with the Zakan cordon. The further path lies to the forester’s house, then to the upper Imeretinsky waterfall, to Protochnoye and Tikhoye lakes, to the Big Imeretinsky lake, then to Geographers, Riviera, Lake Bush and the Celestial Empire.
Although this route belongs to the average level of difficulty, there are sections on it that require some preparation, at least the experience of large hiking crossings. The length of the entire route is 32.5 km, most of which will need to be traveled with loaded backpacks. The whole trip will take 7 days, which consists of small transitions, days and nights, so even a beginner in the mountains will cope with this route. The transfer to the Imereti Lakes, that is, before the start of the trail, is carried out on vehicles with excellent cross-country ability in off-road conditions.
Caucasian reserve today
Nowadays, a trip to the mountains has become one of the types of tourism, which provides for both the safety of the path and the fullness of impressions. Tours to the Imereti Lakes guarantee both. Such a vacation will cost an average of 12,000 rubles for a 7-day trip to the mountains.
Accommodation in tents, food cooked on a fire, a sense of pride in reaching the end point of the route - all this and much more today can be bought at an affordable price from a tour operator.