Cherek-Bezengi Gorge

Cherek-Bezengi Gorge is a narrow canyon in Kabardino-Balkaria where sheer cliffs rise 300–400 metres. The walls consist of Jurassic and Cretaceous sedimentary rock, yet pine and beech trees still cling to the steep slopes. Springs emerge from cracks and form cascading waterfalls, including Tyzhynty, known as “Maiden’s Tears,” which slowly runs over moss-covered stone. Caves lie higher on the slopes, while the gorge opens into the broad Cherek-Bezengi valley with views of the Bezengi Wall and the Caucasus five-thousanders. The Zhaboev family tower stands on a rounded rise, and ruins of old mountain villages can be seen farther up the gorge.

A ruined building in the Bezengi Gorge is known as the “Cannibal’s Castle.” Legend tells of a Crimean nobleman who built an impregnable fortress and married his son to the daughter of a Kabardian prince. One night he recognised an old enemy among his guests, violated the mountain custom of hospitality, killed the young man and sent his remains to his relatives in a bowl of shurpa. The elders cursed the family, burned the fortress and killed its inhabitants. Only the pregnant daughter-in-law, Zhabо, survived; her son is said to have founded the Zhaboev lineage.