Sunday 12th August – Moscow

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Morning flight and arrival in Moscow
• Around midday, we meet up for a classic YPT Moscow city tour including Red Square and the KGB building as well as to the new Soviet statue graveyard.
• We will enjoy dinner at the Soviet nostalgia restaurant before heading out for a few summer night drinks in this vibrant capital city.
• Overnight in Moscow.

Tuesday 13th August – Train

• Free morning to shop and pick up some supplies for the mammoth train journey to Grozny
• YPT do love an epic train journey, and it doesn’t get much better than this – 36 hours from Moscow to Grozny passing through pristine Russian countryside, as well as areas that were a full-on war zone.

Wednesday 14th August – Train

• A full day on the train (with the odd stop along the way). We will eat in the very decent quality restaurant cart served by the standard-issue grumpy old Russian dude. Your YPT guide will be on hand to keep you entertained and answer any questions for you about the upcoming itinerary.

Thursday 15th August – Grozny

• FLIGHT OPTION – Those who have chosen to fly from Moscow will board the morning flight from Moscow to Grozny (TBC).
• Morning arrival in Grozny where we will be picked up by our local guides and transferred to our plush accommodation for the trip.
• Tour around Grozny including the Heart of Chechnya mosque, monument to police officers, memorial to victims of deportation and the “Alley of Honour.”
• We’ll have a packed afternoon following lunch, taking in the Kadurov 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 town to get a feel for modern Grozny.
• Dinner, drinks, and overnight in Grozny.

Friday 16th August – Grozny

• Breakfast and tour to Tsoi-Pede, one of the largest medieval cemeteries in the Caucasus, 111 km from Grozny.
• This “City of the Dead” is located on the Georgian border and is a medieval necropolis – and probably the most famous tourist attraction in Chechnya! The local legend has it that the necropolis was built in the Middle Ages, when an epidemic hit the area, for the local sick people to go to and die. According to others, though, it was a resting place for medieval knights.
• Visit the stunning Michalowski waterfall and the suspended iron bridge (100m above canyon).
• Walk amongst the 42 crypts and the two pillar-shaped altars. Look around the Ostalowska 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 take the scenic drive back to Grozny stopping on the way at various sites of beauty as well as a few rest stops.
• Dinner, drinks, and overnight in Grozny.

Saturday 17th August – Grozny

• Breakfast at the hotel before another full day of touring.
• We head first to the National Museum of Chechnya, the main museum in Chechnya. This museum houses fascinating artifacts from Chechen history, and we will learn more about the historical struggles of the Chechen people.
• Drive to the town of Urus-Martan and visit the open air, ethnographic Dondi-yurt museum. This private museum includes traditional Chechen housing, rural towers, nomad tents, and all kinds of archaeological finds. If we’re lucky the museum’s curator, Adam will be around to answer our questions!
• Head on to Starogladovskay and look around the Leo Tolstoy Literature and Ethnographic Museum.
• We 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.
• We’ll head for dinner and drinks before sampling the Saturday night scene, Grozny style. Although Chechnya is a Muslim region and there isn’t really a drinking scene, there are cafes and the like, and we will make the most of our Saturday night!
• Overnight in Grozny.

Sunday 18th August – Grozny

• Get up early for another day out to Kazenoy-Am. We stop off 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 Kazenoy-Am Lake. This is the biggest lake in Chechnya 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.
• Drive to Khoy, the Village of Guards, and wander around the medieval settlements in the village.
• We take the scenic drive back to Grozny stopping on the way at various sites of beauty, and a few rest stops.
• Dinner, drinks, and overnight in Grozny.

Monday 19th August – Grozny

• Up early for the drive to Ingushetia, the second republic of the Chechen-Ingushetia republic and 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 a fascinating 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.
• Look around the Thaba Nerdy Church – this church dates from the 8th-10th centuries and is one of the oldest Christian churches in Russia – before heading 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.
• Scenic drive back to Grozny with rest stops along the way.
• Dinner, drinks, and overnight in Grozny.

Tuesday 20th August – Grozny

• Drive to the town of Gudermes. Visit the Eternal Flame lit for the Gudermnians who died in World War Two.
• Visit the aqua park, Chechnya’s first water park complex, the geothermal water centre, and head out to the Dzhalkinsk grove and reservoir for one last chance for some north Caucasus fresh air!
• Final drive back to Grozny.
• For our last night in Grozny, we head to a restaurant serving traditional Chechen cuisine.
• Farewell drinks for those who are leaving and overnight in Grozny.

GROUP 5 – South Ossetia Wednesday 21st August – Vladikavkaz

• Departure by plane or train for those who are leaving the group
• For the others, we board our private bus to Vladikavkaz for the next part of our adventure!
• Arrival in the southern Russian city of Vladikavkaz.

• Flight option – Board the 10.40am flight from Moscow to Vladikavkaz. Arrival 13.50.
• Vladikavkaz is the capital of the Russian Republic of North Ossetia, as well as home to one of Russians biggest Army garrisons. In the evening we head out for dinner, drinks and a walking tour of the city.
• Dinner and overnight in Vladikavkaz.

Thursday 22nd August – Vladikavkaz

• We take a driving tour around Vladikavkaz.
• Next, we will board our private bus to South Ossetia and the village of Cey for lunch and a look around. Before arrival we will need to go through South Ossetian customs and immigration, which is somewhat of an interesting experience itself.
• Walking tour of Cey for some photographs and a look around, before we transfer to Croz village.
• We check into our local homestay in this small Ossetian village complete with home cooked food and local wine and vodka – the perfect way to begin your Ossetian adventure.
• Overnight in homestay.

Friday 23rd August – Chalisubany

• Up early for a local breakfast in the village homestay.
• Drive to Dzheru-dzuar which offers breathtaking views of Georgia for a chance to explore and take some photos.
• Drive down to the villages of Dmenis and Goret on the border – this area saw the pick of the fighting during the 90s and again in 2008.
• After lunch, we tour around the village with a local war veteran who spent two years defending his village during a military siege here in the 90s. With our local guides translating he will answer any questions you have about the South Ossetian wars of independence.
• Overnight and dinner in the veteran’s house in the nearby village of Chalisubany.

Saturday 24th August – Ckhinval

• Morning transfer to Leningor – this place was recaptured by the Ossetians following the war of 2008 and there are still many reminders of the recent war. This is a mixed community with there still being a majority of ethnic Georgians with the lari being accepted as legal tender.
• We tour around this unique ethnically mixed and extremely tense city.
• After lunch, we transfer to Ckhinval (Tskhinvali), the capital city of the partially recognized state of South Ossetia. Here, we will check out the Russian theatre, government buildings, Armenia church, Ossetian theatre, tank war monument and visit the local market where illegal Georgian produce is on sale.
• Dinner and drinks in the Vincenzo cafe. This is one of the focal points of the capital city and we will enjoy local food, drinks and music.
• Overnight in the aptly named League of Champions Hotel.

Sunday 25^th August – Ckhinval

• Breakfast in Ckhinval (Tskhinvali).
• Tour to Tirsk monastery where we enjoy a very scenic picnic lunch. Georgian wine is some of the most famous in the old Soviet Union, so we will try and get a sample whilst at the university.
• Drive back to Ckhinval in time to teach an English class at the local university. The local students are extremely friendly and open to talk about their country.
• We will take some free time to buy some souvenirs, with cool kitsch like flags and postcards being available.
• For our last dinner together, we will enjoy a traditional Ossetian Dinner (lots of meat and wine).
• We finish the evening with a small bar crawl and farewell drinks.
• Overnight at League of Champions Hotel.

Monday 26th August – Vladikavkaz

• Transfer to Vladikavkaz in the Morning
• End of tour for those who do not follow us to Magadan on our Summer Soviet Tour!

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