Georgia is an amazing country. The country of the sun, excellent wine, snow-white mountain peaks, Caucasian hospitality and indescribable natural beauties. You can get here in different ways - by plane, ferry or by car - through the Darial Gorge.
The riddle of wild beauty
What is Darial, will say any resident of this country - a place that does not cease to amaze travelers with its wild, but such attractive beauty. It will only be necessary to get to the famous village of Verkhny Lars, which is not only a stopping base with a cozy cafe, comfortable houses and a viewing platform. In addition, Upper Lars borders the Daryal hydroelectric station, simultaneously being the administrative border between North Ossetia and Georgia. And let for some the meaning of the word Darial is associated not only with the gorge, but also with the name of the radar station, we will talk about the gorge, rich in veins of diabases, quartz inclusions, generously alternating with gray granites.
The first steps to the gorge
Tagauur Gorge, “Alexander Way”, Georgian Military Highway, “Gate of the Caucasus” or Daryal - all these are the names of the most beautiful gorge of the Terek River. What does Daryal mean for a simple person, they tried to convey to people such famous poets as Lermontov, Pushkin, Griboedov. The flat road, now and then diving into mountain tunnels, the unique architecture of ancient buildings, the shepherds crossing the path, driving the herds to pasture - it seems that the past here goes with the present. The main Caucasian ridge, a continuous chain of mountains, reliably closes the road from all sides. This area is known for its abundance of watchtowers, barracks, and the once-active garrison. A special delight, mixed with a feeling of fear arising from the depths of one’s soul, arouses the “Bear, Lord” rock among travelers, which is not so easy to venture to pass under. Hanging in large rock mass over a narrow passage, the rock seems to collapse at any second. These are the first steps to the Darial gorge.
"Damn" the glory of Darial
The gorge begins immediately behind the Ermolovsky stone - a boulder weighing 16 thousand tons, named after the commander-in-chief of the Russian troops General A.P. Yermolov (according to one version that characterizes the power and unwaveringness of this man). What is Darial? This is the roar of water heard from afar - an echoing rushing stream of the majestic Terek.
To get into a raging stream means that it is unlikely to stay alive. The differences in the stone thresholds of the channel reach over 20 meters. And so almost every kilometer. Two centuries ago, a bridge was built over the Daryal Gorge over the Terek - for this the narrowest section between the gorges was chosen. The name of the bridge - Devil - is customary to interpret in different ways. Initially, the word “trait” was the basis, because it was here that the Terek region and Georgia converged on the border. However, the general atmosphere eventually inclined the name towards the Devil's Bridge - the place where the devil himself celebrates the feast. Practically each of the tourists feels on itself all the crampedness of this place - so much so that sometimes breathing begins to interrupt.
Visiting Queen Tamara
The following attraction opens up to the gaze of tourists - a high, impregnable, narrow tower - a many-year-old shelter of the beautiful Queen Tamara, like an angel.
What is Darial for the evil and treacherous queen, says more than one chronicle. Briefly but succinctly the poet M.Yu. Lermontov told about this - the place where the tsarina lured travelers, enjoying their love only one night, and after saying goodbye to them forever - no one left the castle alive. The castle was destroyed several times, but restored, did not lose the dark aura that seemed to permeate every stone in it, like the blood of innocently killed travelers who succumbed to the voluptuousness of the beautiful Tamara. Darial - what does he mean for a modern traveler? Daryal - these are the famous Devdoraka glaciers, known for their disastrous power. The ice floe that descended in the last century was so great that for several days it completely blocked the furious course of the Terek. Subsequently, erupted waters washed away most of the Georgian Military Highway.
