Tribune’s guest is Mukharbiy Ulbashev, a member of the Federation Council Committee on Budget and Financial Markets. Mukharbiy Magomedovich represents the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic in the upper house of the Russian parliament. Today Mukharbiy Ulbashev speaks about development of tourism in KBR.
- Kabardino-Balkaria was a popular tourist destination in Soviet times. It has a huge tourism potential. The republic has everything in this respect: seven five-thousand-meter mountains, including Elbrus, the highest point in Europe. Could you tell us how tourism is being developed in the region?
- The republic has ambitions to become one of the best health centers in the country. One of the main priorities set by the leadership of Kabardino-Balkaria and its head Yuri Kokov in the coming years is the creation of high-quality conditions in order that 1 million tourists and vacationers could stay comfortably. Indeed, you rightly pointed out that 7 out of the 8 five-thousand-meter mountains of the five-thousand-meter mountains in North Caucasus are located in Kabardino-Balkaria. There are 11 zones with different specializations and focuses in the republic. We are represented geographically from the steppe and deciduous forests up to snowy mountains, where there is snow and ice all year long. There are the largest glaciers in the North Caucasus, which are also presented in the mountainous part of the republic.
Almost everyone can find the necessary things and spend vacations in the republic. The Nalchik resort complex will be interesting for those who like to spend relaxing and quiet holidays with treatment, recreational and medical facilities, such as Gil-Su and Aushiger. For example, there are 18 mineral springs with great volumes of mineral waters in the resort of Nalchik. Supporters of more active holidays in the mountains will like climbing in the Bezengi complex, as well as the Prielbrusye mountain and recreation complex, well-known outside Russia. Such archaeologists and tourist complexes as Upper Balkaria and Upper Chegem will help to receive information about the long history of Kabardino-Balkaria. I cannot help mentioning the beautiful Chegem waterfalls, Blue Lake, the Valley of Narzan. These are well-known brands from the Soviet period, many of them sound familiar.
The issue of development of the tourist infrastructure of the republic is constantly developing. It has a lot of potential and private initiatives. So the provision of the necessary facilities is actively taking place in the Elbrus and Cheget zones. A new line of ropeways is being equipped and put into operation. The ski slopes are being extending. On the threshold of the New Year, works relating to adjustment and commissioning have been completed on the highest cableway in Russia at the slopes of the Elbrus, which height is 3847 meters. This is almost the foot of "Shelter of the Eleven", the well-known and iconic place that is known to many climbers. It is the starting point of the Elbrus. It took us a lot of hours to get to this point. Now you can go up on a comfortable chairlift.
The development of the spa town of Nalchik is planned in the near future. Reconstruction of the mineral springs, replacement of pipelines, other issues are among the scheduled measures, which are to be done. It is also planned to create the Zaragizh complex of the auto tourism cluster. As planned, it should be a unique complex that has no analogues in Russia. It should provide a wide range of services for tourists, who arrived with their personal cars. Tourists from the Krasnodar Territory, the Rostov Region, Stavropol and other neighboring subjects of the Russian Federation may travel with their personal vehicles and receive a full range of travel services.
- What can you say about the development of health tourism?
- We have plans to build spa complexes, adjacent to the area of Lake Tambukan, located on the border of Kabardino-Balkaria and the Stavropol Territory area of Caucasian Mineral Waters. It is the creation your own cosmetic pharmacological production based on natural raw materials. If it is interesting information for listeners, practically all healing mud, which is delivered to health resorts of Caucasian Mineral Waters. It turns out that it is from this unique lake. As for the spa resorts and mountaineering camps, the problem is not so much in the construction of new facilities, but in the reconstruction of existing facilities created in the Soviet period. And we have something to work on, this infrastructure is very important, and we should bring everything in accordance with today's requirements and demands.
- What other types of recreation does Kabardino-Balkaria offer?
- The private sector has invested in tourism, tries to implement new interesting programs. These are both interesting routes associated with the movement through a few valleys in the mountainous part with the help of jeeps, backpacking tourism. It includes routes through the Caucasian ridge routes in the Caucasus, which pass through the Central Caucasus range and cross into Georgia, in Sochi and Abkhazia. And they have the status of All-Union routes. Hundred thousand tourists had an opportunity to carry put such a trip. Today, many of these routes are preserved, taking into account foreign circumstances.
- Are mountains the main destination?
- As for winter tourism, it is mainly focused on skiing kinds of sport: snowboarders, skiers, mountain climbing. Winter mountain climbing is quite a harsh kind of sport, but today it has a lot of followers. These are different feelings – climbing Elbrus in winter and in summer. There are a lot of people who want to do this in winter from different parts of the world.
- Let us discuss the hotel fund of Kabardino-Balkaria in detail. What can tourists expect? Are they time-tested Soviet sanatoriums or modern hotel complexes or small family hotels?
- Both the one and the other. There are more than 100 sightseeing facilities which link the infrastructural facilities. There are a lot of private hotels: family and large hotel complexes. They have different costs according to consumers' financial possibilities.
If we speak about sightseeing, I would mention Blue Lake in the Cherek Gorge, which is located at an altitude of 820 meters. It is unique itself, because its depth is 254 meters, the temperature is stable throughout the year at + 9 C. There is a famous diving center at the base of this lake. In winter and summer the water temperature of the lake is the same. Due to the fact that the water is saturated with hydrogen sulfide, it has a blue tint, so it is historically called Blue Lake.
- During the winter season tourists go skiing, do ice climbing. What do tourists do in summer?
- We have something to do all year round. It is interesting in the area of Elbrus and in the area of Bezengi both in summer and in winter, as well as sports tourism, climbing. There is fresh air, beautiful views, the sun in the region – a lot of things that make a person healthy.
- Is it easy to get to the resorts of Kabardino-Balkaria?
- Kabardino-Balkaria has quite a convenient location due to the fact that it is in the Central Caucasus. The road network is well developed. It allows you to get to any point of the republic to the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria. You can get there both by plane or by car. It takes you about 2 hours, 2 hours and 20 minutes to get there from Moscow. There are two other major airports: the Mineralnye Vody Airport is about 120 km away and Beslan airport is about 90 km from Nalchik.
