Lying in the middle of the Greater Caucasus mountains chain, among which is Mount Elbrus (highest mountain in Europe and a dormant volcano for the past 2,000 years), Nalchik stands out as the highest mountain in the chain, at an altitude estimated to be over 500 meters, with its west summit; Mt. Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe, standing at 5,642 metres. The city seems to be relatively quiet, even though it is close to the troubled border line between Russia and Georgia.
Geographical characteristics
- (To be extracted from the introductory paragraph with further additions)
Historical Background
- (To be addded)
Special Characteristics- Physical description
The city seems to be quiet, even though it is close to the
troubled border line between Russia and Georgia. Yet it faced a crisis
in 13 October 2005 when a group of armed men tried to take over the
city and attacked policemen and army headquarters. The Russian special
forces intervened, and life returned to normal after only a couple of
days form the incident.
I was happy to discover on Tripadvisor.com
some interesting info and tips about the Nalchik. I also found in the
forum of TripAdvisor.com the message of an English guy (Chris) who
travelled to Nalchik last year, and created a website talking about his trip.
Tripadvisor.com also posted reviews of 2 hotels there: Grand Caucasus
and Sindica Intour hotel (not exactly reviews, but at least pictures
and essential info).
A final advice from Tripadvisor.com was:
"Nalchik city in itself does not have that much to offer. It is a nice
and friendly town and a convenient base to explore the region. Safe,
green and restful, Nalchik is certainly the town of choice for a
stopover if you happen to be in the North Caucasus. In other words, It
is worth a detour but, by itself, does not justify a trip from West
Europe or from Moscow."
How to get there?
Nalchik airport can be reached either from Moscow Vnukovo airport
(daily flights, taking around 2 h), or from Istanbul (many weekly
charter). Or as an alternative, there is Mineralnye Vody Airport, which
is more important and has direct flights with West Europe, and it's
only 1 h and half from Nalchik.
(needs additions along with illustrative maps)
Egyptian Travelers in Nalchik
Nihal Ramzi's Grandfather (name to be added with a brief bio linking to his journey to Nalchik)
A few years ago I discovered in my grandfather's papers an old letter
sent to him by one of his cousins, and depicting his trip to Moscow and
the brief visit he paid to the city where he was born, Nalchik
it was. It was the first time for me to hear about Nalchik. I 've
always thought that the city from where my great grandfather came from
was Cherkessk.
But now as I found out that my grandfather's cousin was born in
Nalchik, and that he actually met in the 1960's some of his family
members who recognized him, perhaps it was Nalchik after all.
Another fact that might make me a Nalchik descendant is that my
family is one of the Kabardine (القبارطاي), and Nalchik is the capital
of Kabardino-Balkar Republic, one of the republics of the Russian
Federation that has a major Adyghe population, along with
Karachay-Cherkess Republic and The Republic of Adygea).
Reflections
(to be added)
External links
Pictures and more can be found in the Tourism official website.