Sofia Lakes in Arkhyz: route, map, photo, how to get there. Trekking to Sofia lakes and waterfalls. Arkhyz Great Sofia Lake

Arkhyz is a special place, nowhere else in the Caucasus you will find such a concentration of mountain lakes ⛰💧. And the Sofia Lakes are perhaps the most beautiful reservoirs of Arkhyz. They are located in the Arkhyz reserve: you can’t hunt and fish here, but you don’t need any documents or passes (as in the neighboring Teberdinsky and Caucasian reserves) 🌿.

To get to the lakes, you first need to drive from Arkhyz to a fork, one of the roads of which will lead to the Sofia Glacier ❄️. The asphalt here quickly ends, then there is a forest road, along which in dry weather you can drive a car. As a rule, tourists leave the car at the Taulu recreation center and continue on foot. From here to the Sofia Glacier and waterfalls, tourists are transported by off-road vehicles. The Sofia lakes are located on the top of the ridge, much higher than the waterfalls popular with tourists. You can't get to the lakes by car. Not even on horseback 🐴! Horses are able to throw people under the Irkiz pass, behind which the Sofia Lakes are hiding. But part of the way will still have to go on foot.

There are other options for climbing the Sofia Lakes, but all of them involve overcoming passes. Almost all passes in Arkhyz are categorized, so you need to pass through them, observing safety precautions.

It is difficult to climb with backpacks - the ascent is steep and protracted. In total, from Taulu to Sofia Lakes, about 15 km. And you need to dial more than 1000 meters.

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43.449897 , 41.230059 Arkhyz is a special place, nowhere else in the Caucasus you will find such a concentration of mountain lakes. And the Sofia lakes are perhaps the most beautiful.Description (Calculate route)

Sofia lakes are three beautiful reservoirs, which are located at an altitude of 2830 meters above sea level in the Kel-Bashi mountain massif. They are called Sofia because they are located in close proximity to Mount Sofia - one of the highest peaks of Arkhyz (3637 m). As well as the Sofia waterfalls that flow from the slopes of this mountain. The depth of the large lake is 17 m.

Three reservoirs 💦 are located very close to each other, there are several convenient places for parking nearby. Drinking water can be taken directly from the lakes. If you're lucky, you can meet aurochs and other animals near the lakes. There are also bears.

Not far from the Sofia Lakes there are other equally beautiful reservoirs:

💦 Lake Aymatly-Jagaly 💦

💦 Lake Upper Comma 💦

💦 Lake Lower Comma 💦

💦 Crater Lake 💦

The route “7 Lakes of Arkhyz” is perhaps one of the most intense and interesting in Arkhyz, when in 2-3 days you see half a dozen sparkling mountain lakes, climb two passes and spend nights under the bottomless starry sky. This region undoubtedly deserves a visit, and we will tell you more about how our trips to the Sofia Lakes go right now.

Description and booking of the trip.

Route

The key point of the 3-day hike is, of course, the Upper Sofia Lakes, located at an altitude of 2,830 m.a.s.l. at the Irkiz pass. You can get to them by several different paths, for example, along the gorge of the Ak-Ayry stream, or from the gorge of the river. Psysh, or across Lake Comma, or across the Orlyonok gully — but we chose, as it seems to us, the best option: short, but very beautiful and comfortable. We climb along the Kashkha-Echkichat stream, and at the same time, exactly halfway, the first lake of the route awaits us - Aymatly-Jagaly-Kol (2,400 m above sea level), or "a lake with indented shores". Here we will rest, have lunch, you can even take a nap or swim for an hour, and then continue on.

Lake Aymatly-Jagaly-Kol

By lunchtime we will go up to the Upper Sofia and set up camp. In mid-July, ice floes still float on the surface of the lakes, there may be snowfields on the shore, and the surrounding picture impresses even those who have been here more than once.

Upper Sofia Lake in early July 2017

On the second day, without backpacks, we will go to the Upper Comma and Crater lakes. Along the way, we will enjoy panoramas from the Kel-Aush (2,880 m.a.s.l.) and Kara-Jash (3,000 m.a.s.l.) passes, take dozens of breathtaking photos and, of course, have a picnic with a view to the deep blue, sparkling Lake Craternoye (2830 m.a.s.l.). In the afternoon we return to the camp on the Sofia Lakes, have lunch and admire the silence, beauty and pristineness.

The final day is the day of descent. We collect the camp, take farewell photos, climb the lane. Irkiz (2 880 m above sea level), from which a panoramic view of all three Upper Sofia Lakes opens, and we begin the descent into the valley of the river. Sofia. On the way, we will see the panorama of the gorge, we will pass a flowering meadow, and then, for dessert, we will see not too powerful, but very beautiful Ak-Ayra waterfalls.

Waterfalls of Ak-Ayra

Transfer to the beginning of the walking part of the route and pick up of the group at the end - on a UAZ off-road vehicle. Of course, we could walk along the Sofia Gorge on foot, but this, it seems to us, is an unjustified waste of time and effort. Better to spend those hours up there. Where everything is different and not like our world.

Difficulty and relief

Trekking to Sofia lakes is difficult. So, on the first day we have to walk 5 km with a climb of 1000 meters. It takes 5-6 hours, including a long halt at Aymatly-Dzhagaly-Kol lake. Almost all the time we will, if not climb, then certainly climb up a steep path, and there are practically no gentle sections on the route. By the lakes - "final boss ": a living (that is, moving) stone scree, along which we need to walk the final 300-400 meters. Snow could create additional difficulty, but by mid-July, it usually disappears, and only small and uncomplicated snowfields remain.

In a word. The route is not easy, but both unprepared adults and children go to the Sofia Lakes. This is not mountaineering, not extreme, but simply a long and tiring route. You can do it.

Weather and equipment

The weather on the Sofia lakes in July is a mountain summer. Unstable, capricious and cold. During the day, the temperature can rise to 23-25°C, at night it can drop to 0°C. Rains, as at any other time, are possible, therefore, both a raincoat and a panama hat and sun protection are mandatory: you can get burned and get wet with an equal degree of probability.

The equipment needed for the trip is a tent, a sleeping pad, a warm sleeping bag, a backpack (all this can be rented from us). Trekking poles and boots with thick soles and ankle support will not be superfluous at all. The equipment necessary for cooking - pots, burners, gas - is taken by the guide, and you don't have to worry about it.

Food

On the hike, we cook on what we brought with us: there is nowhere to take firewood at an altitude of 2,800, so a gas burner + gas is our everything. The essence of the trip is also determined by the diet: no one will drag heavy potatoes or bulky pasta, so the side dish is cereals: couscous, wheat, oatmeal, buckwheat. The main dish is either classic canned food or dried meat. However, the main delicacy is still tea.

Tea is drunk to warm up in the morning and evening, to get positive emotions from food, to talk, to recuperate, and even a dozen reasons why. In short, tea is the head of everything.

In addition to the main meals, there are snacks during the day at halts. To do this, we recommend taking nuts, dried fruits, chocolate, the same dried meat.

Schedule

Our route does not include daily early rises. Yes, on the first day we go on the route immediately upon arrival, but then we will be able to sleep until quite human 7-8 in the morning (believe me, in the mountains it is very late and you yourself will wake up earlier). An advantageous difference from where getting up at 5 am is already late, right?

Time on the route on the first day - 5-6 hours, on the second - 4-5 hours. On the final day - up to 3 hours. As you can see, there will be plenty of opportunities to enjoy and take pictures.

Details

A detailed description of the hike can be viewed. If the romance of sleeping on stones is not for you, we have it. If 3 days is decidedly not enough for you, a trip to the Sofia Lakes can be combined with the route. If you still have unanswered questions - write to us, or call, and we will be happy to tell you about everything. Contacts below.

We ended up in Arkhyz by accident. Initially, a trip to the Imereti Lakes was planned, but then the plans had to be urgently changed. We ended up in Karachay-Circassian Arkhyz only at one in the morning without the slightest idea of ​​​​local attractions and without a plan.

The first day

We were able to quickly orient ourselves, bought a map at the local market (by some miracle they had it) and decided to go to the Sofia Lakes.

The territory on which the lakes are located is located in the Arkhyz reserve: hunting and fishing are not allowed here, but no documents or passes are needed.

To reach the goal, you first need to get from Arkhyz to the fork, one of the roads will lead to the Sofia Glacier. The asphalt here quickly ends, then there is a forest road, along which in dry weather you can drive a car. We left the car at the Taulu recreation center for 100 rubles per day. From here, tourists are transported to the Sofia glaciers in off-road vehicles. But you can also walk.

You can climb up to the lakes along several paths. We chose this one - which winds along the Ak-Ayry stream:

More precisely, they chose - it's a strong word. We, even having a map, were very poorly oriented here, because we were there for the first time. The abundance of incomprehensible difficult-to-pronounce names only exacerbated the situation. But we were constantly helped by those who met on the way.

The beginning of the ascent up Ak-Ayry looks like this:

It is very beautiful here, eagles fly and waterfalls flow:

It is difficult to climb with backpacks - the ascent is steep and protracted. In total, from Taulu to Sofia Lakes, about 15 km. And you need to climb more than 1000 meters.

On the first day, we did not cope with this task, we reached the final pass, in front of which those who came on horseback leave their horses. The tent was pitched here, on the only level ground. We spent the night in splendid isolation, only a gusty wind broke the silence of the night.

Second day

Mornings in the mountains are beautiful.

It should be noted that there is a lot of water that flows near the trail along the entire route. Therefore, it makes no sense to carry full bottles with you.

As soon as we gathered, a group of horsemen drove up, the old Circassian helped the tourists to drive under the pass. They had to go down already on their own two feet.

The final pass turned out to be not as scary as it seemed last evening, we overcame it in just half an hour.

From the pass, a gorgeous panorama of the main lake opens.

If you climb higher, to the mountain, which stands to the right of the pass, you can see three lakes at once.

Despite the fact that we just woke up and put down the tent, as soon as we went down to the lake, we put it up again and decided not to go anywhere today. We just sat on the shore all day, walked to the second lake, filmed it from different angles.

And they also decided to swim, to feel clean during the campaign - a luxury. But in order to achieve this feeling, you first need to force yourself to climb into the icy water. The water is so cold that you can’t get used to it, you just have to suffer, but wash yourself.

We drank water from the same lake where we swam))) The water is very clean, by the way.

Already at sunset, goats came to the lake to drink. While we were filming them, they kept a decent distance. It was only necessary to hide in the tent, as they carefully went down to the water.

Day three

Which began with a shot right next to our tent. This circumstance reminded us of where we are, in Karachay-Cherkessia, apparently, everything is possible, even hunting in the reserve right in front of a dozen tourists. The shot rang out before dawn, hastening our ascent.

For two nights in the mountains at an altitude of 2800 meters we were very cold. I didn't want to stay any longer. So we had a quick breakfast and headed back.

We decided to go back the other way, past the Kara-Jash pass and the Upper and Lower Comma lakes, which are located along the Gommesh-Chat stream (I memorized these names for a painfully long time, although I usually have no problems with this).

On the way, we noticed that below the three Sofia lakes, from which the Kashkha-Echkichat stream flows, there is another lake:

It is big and it even has its own name - Aymatly-Jagaly (uh...).

From the Kara-Dzhash pass, a beautiful view opens up, and, most importantly, you can see Kraternoye Lake. We were told about this by tourists who also stayed at the Sofia Lakes.

So I had to climb the pass and see this lake with my own eyes:

A bonus to the beautiful Crater Lake is another small one:

From the pass you can clearly see the Upper Comma:

The ascent to the pass is not the most pleasant. Most of the way you have to walk along a large loose road, and at the end - along a steep sandy path.

The descent to the Sofia valley is as long and long as the ascent. A bonus at the end of the path were thickets of raspberries, and very tasty.

And for the first time I saw a fly agaric with my own eyes. He's very handsome!

Sofia Lakes is a group of three large and a number of small lakes located in the circus of the Kel-Bashi massif. They are located at an altitude of 2830 meters, in the Kashkha Eki Chat valley.

The highest of them is the North, to the south of it is the Big Lake, surrounded by the rocks of Kel-Bashi, below and to the east of the Big Lake lies the Lower Lake.

The name "Big" speaks for itself. It is the largest, about 300 meters in diameter, and the deepest, according to rumors, its depth is about 17 meters. The water in the Great Lake is azure blue.

The second lake is much smaller, the water in it is the color of pure sky blue, and the third one is like polished black marble. They break free from ice in July, individual ice floes do not melt all summer.

On the bridge between the Northern and Bolshoy lakes there are several microscopic lakes, there are many prepared places for sites. Arkhyz is considered the land of lakes, especially Sofia are beautiful. They are so transparent and pure that in clear weather they reflect the sky and mountains around.

Not far from Sofia there are several more lakes: Kraternoye Lake, Aymatly-Jagaly Lake, Comma, Upper Comma.

ROUTE STRING:
Arkhyz – Glacier farm – Irkiz village – Sofia lakes – Aymatly lake – Dzhagaly – Kraternoe lake – Upper Zyapyataya lake – Lower Zyapataya lake – Arkhyz village

While hiking on the Sofia Lakes you will:
Walk through one of the most picturesque and wild corners of the Caucasus;
Enjoy the unique landscapes of pristine nature;
You will climb several passes with a height of 2 to 3 thousand meters;
You will see a huge number of mountain lakes - large and small, deep and not very deep;
You will meet mountain goats (Caucasian tours) on the way;
Meet mountain shepherds and their grazing flocks

Detailed description
Day 1
Nevinnomyssk - Arkhyz - Ice Farm
Gathering of participants at the Nevinomyssk railway station no later than 10.00 am, transfer to the village of Arkhyz, where we can taste delicious khychins, after which we pack our backpacks and set off. Today we have to walk about 7 km on a dirt road. We stop for the night at the confluence of the Sofia and Ak-Aira rivers.

Day 2
Glacier farm - Sophia waterfalls - Sophia saddle
Today we will have two radial exits - we walk lightly. We will visit the Sofia waterfalls, which originate from the glacier, and visit the Sofia saddle pass, from where a beautiful view of the Sofia river valley and the Kizgych river valley opens. Today we have an early retreat, tomorrow we have to take the Irkiz pass.

Day 3
Glacier farm - Irkiz village - Sofia lakes
Today we have an early rise, and we go on the route, today we have to walk about 10 km and gain 800 m vertically. All our efforts and efforts will be rewarded with beautiful views of the Sofia Lakes. Sofia lakes will be our home for a few days, from where we will walk to the radial exits.

Day 4
Sofia Lakes – Lake Aymatly Dzhagaly Kel
Today we have a radial exit to the lake Aymatly Dzhagaly Kol. 5 hours before we go there and back, after that there will be free time. Relax and enjoy the scenery.

Day 5
Sofia Lakes – Kraternoye Lake
Today we have another radial exit to the lakes, we will go for a walk for the whole day, we will climb the Kara-Dzhash pass with a height of 3024, we will visit the lake’s mouth - a lake on a balcony, and Kraternoye Lake. From the pass we will have views of the Psysh river valley. Along the way, we will have the opportunity to get acquainted with the inhabitants of the mountains - Caucasian tours (mountain goats).

Day 6
Sofia Lakes – Upper Comma Lake - Lower Comma Lake
Today we collect our camp and go to the track. Today our goal is Lower Comma Lake, along the way we will see another Upper Comma Lake. Overnight stay will be near the Lower Comma Lake in the subalpine zone. Evening gatherings by the fire

Day 7
Lake Lower Comma - Arkhyz
Today we say goodbye to the mountains and lakes, and leave for Arkhyz. We will walk about 8 km today, in the village there will be an opportunity to taste national cuisine, and we will also be able to visit the hot springs in Kazminka.

This is a complete hike. We carry tents, food and other equipment in backpacks.
Depending on the weather, the condition of the group, the instructor may make changes to the route.
Landscaping of the camp (setting up tents, cooking) is carried out by all participants of the campaign.

I was in Arkhyz almost 3 weeks ago, and I just got to the pictures. There was too much in between. :)
I ended up there for the second time in a row in a week, if the last time I drove, now I took my rested relatives from there.
They had some rest, and I left unsatisfied, it was necessary to correct it.
To correct it, a completely standard route along the Sofia Lakes was chosen, as a result of a walk along which you can see 6 original lakes without much effort and without dying and, if you wish, swim at least in all at once, at least in those that you especially like.
Let's go for a walk?

In connection with yesterday's rather late arrival, the rise was not too early, so while we were getting ready, waking up, leaving, arriving, the sun was already high and warmed well. We pass along the river log. Sofia and begin to climb along the Gammesh-Chat stream to the lake. Lower comma.

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The path without any branches leads quite steeply upwards, periodically flattening out and giving a little rest.

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My father went with me and at first I waited for him several times, but then I realized that at his pace I would not be able to ride everything and ran forward like a pig.

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While you are walking through the forest, the sun does not burn, as soon as you go out into the open, you begin to understand that now is the real August. The face and exposed parts of the body should be smeared with cream quite plentifully.

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I go down the valley to the lake. It becomes clearly visible peaks (from those that I know and have been personally) 60 years of KCHAO, Kel-Bashi, Batak.

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I naively believe that this is the whole lake :)

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For some reason I take pictures of any "grass". In fact, I just rest after getting up and wait for my father.

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I thought that the lake had dried up, but it just hid from me a little, as soon as I walked 200 m, I saw its clear waters, in which I instantly wanted to plunge.

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To get it completely into the frame, I had to rise a little. From here it is already possible to understand the justification of its name "Upper comma".

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What I like about mountains is waterfalls. Here, in the vicinity of the Civil Code or the nearest small mountains, people rode along waterfalls one and a half, two meters high, but here it is so tall and no one will give a name, or specially go to it :)

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Scored a little over the lake, you can catch your breath.

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Along the way, there was a feeling that you can not take water with you at all. Almost all the time you walk along some streams.

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With such beauty on the sides, the height is gaining imperceptibly. In total, you need to dial about 1000 m to the lake. In fact, it's nonsense :)

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Who loves the forest there - we pass by! I love to jump on the stones, everything is visible, the review doesn’t block anything and it’s not dirty!

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If you are afraid of losing the path in the stones, look carefully, the place trodden by tourists is enough.

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Practically a "wild stone", take layers and drag down, cover whatever you want. It’s good if you don’t come across such people on the route to the mountain, otherwise if you get caught, you won’t know what to take on. Somewhere here they met, you try to climb, and they fall on you. :)

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Lake Upper Comma. You can relax and swim!
Swimming is pleasant, although the water is rather cold, it is perceived adequately by a heated body, you can wash off the "labor" sweat.
In principle, almost the entire height for today has already been gained, it will remain a total of 100 meters to run.

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His special puffiness cannot be seen from such a height. Gotta get higher.
I was here once in May when it was 100% covered with snow and it was generally not clear where the lake was and where the rocks were.
We stood somewhere a little higher than it and went along it to conquer the peak for 60 years of KCHAO. Here it is above the lake on the right. The ascent was educational and we squirmed for a long time on the ridge, blown by the wind and showered with snow.

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Flower break.

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Sofia. The highest mountain of the massif, on it is the most powerful glacier, the famous Sofia waterfalls run from it.

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On such a trail in sneakers it is very popular, once again I was glad for myself that I did not go in boots. Yes, sneakers suffer more, but walking in them along trails and such mountains is much easier, your legs say thank you.

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Sophia lakes appeared. I probably didn’t come out with a characteristic angle on them. More often I saw a photo from the lane. Irkiz. Then you can see 3 lakes at once, but here they opened to me one by one.

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The place is mega popular, people are like in Dzhubga on the beach, but there are not many swimmers, the water is still not Black Sea in temperature, but the transparency is exceptional :)

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It is transparent only in one lake out of 3. In the other 2 it has a clear turquoise hue due to the minerals dissolved in it.

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It is a sin not to swim in such a lake. The water is invigorating. At first you think that it’s very cold and you don’t sail far, and then you get used to it a little and the second time you act more boldly, although the fuse does not last long.

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Pass Irkiz way to the lakes from the valley of the Ak-Airy stream.

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The third lake is the smallest and lowest of all. The clouds are hinting to me that it's time to move if I don't want to get caught in the rain and go down the wet rocks.

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But while the clouds are far away, and above us the bright sun wants to shoot something.

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Nasnimalsya and forward down! At first it seems that it is not clear how to go here, but the trail confidently goes traverse along the slope and it is felt that it will not give up.
We move to the lake Aymatly-Jagaly along the Ashkha-Echkichat stream on which it is strung.

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Nameless waterfall.

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Here is the 6th lake for today it seemed. The legs already feel a little like they were walking, but they still go quite cheerfully.

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It is worth choosing a place for swimming in advance, today there will be no more lakes, it is worth swimming!

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Having bathed in a slightly warmer reservoir than the upper lakes, you can move on. The clouds have ceased to frighten, and you can move slowly.
From below, calls to the walkie-talkie from relatives make their way, I answer them, but they do not hear, their volume is turned to a minimum :) From here I need to drop another 400 meters in height.

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That's where I came from above.

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And I'm going down there.

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On the way to meet, people begin to come across who it is not clear where and what time they left and where they are trying to reach at such a pace. Mostly people with small children. Fiends in short! :)

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Pine trees on such a slope try to grow evenly, but it doesn’t work out very well for them.

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More flowers.
Last weekend, people from the waterfall dragged whole armfuls with them, why?

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If I had a paraglider, I would start and after 5 minutes I would be at the bottom, and then stomp for another 20-30 minutes.

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I enter the forest zone and the path begins to wind steeply along the stream.

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Went down. You can breathe out. It remains to walk just a couple of kilometers to the car and you can start to relax.
Again I cross the Sophia log and go out onto the road.

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The view hasn't changed much since last time. Even the clouds seem to be the same :)

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Rostov cyclists bravely storm the swampy area of ​​the meadow in the place where the main road goes along the river.

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The car of the road laboratory with Voronezh license plates obviously got lost, the road here is mostly on the map, but the daredevils are on the puzoters, but they don’t go into the river, there are sixes, sevens in front of the ford, and a couple of under-jeeps are afraid :)

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Having reached the car, I make sure that everyone is all right and after 20 minutes we are already in the Taulu clearing. You can eat fresh borscht, cooked by those who stayed in the camp, and relax. Part of the plan to visit the easily accessible Arkhyz has been completed. Passed 15 km in 5 hours with a total set of 1140 meters. Here