Chodoridag
3,571 m
Russia
Also known as ЧодоридагAlso known as
Чодоридаг
- Elevation
- 3,571 m
- Prominence
- 1,033 m
- Difficulty
- 4/10
- Alpine hike
- Best Season
- Aug
- Routes
- 1
No documented route
We found no published description of an ascent. Any line shown is an outline from maps only — not a route to follow.
AdvisoryReported 18 Sep 2026
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office advises against all travel to Russia and notes that consular support is very limited in the North Caucasus.
gov.ukRegulationReported 16 Sep 2024
New limits of the Dagestan border zone set by FSB Order No. 325 of 8 August 2024 replaced Order No. 82 of 2006; marking of the new limits on the ground was under way in September 2024.
dagpravda.ru
Routes
1No documented ascent route — outline from maps only
We found no published description of an ascent. This line only joins features on the map; it is not a route to follow, so there is no GPX download.
Why? 7 check notes
- no documented ascent — outline only (research confidence 0.2)
- 78% approximate geometry
- ascent 2408 m vs net gain 1766 m (+36%)
- low confidence 0.2
- Tahor bridges → Tahor hut: bridge (snap_failed; one off-graph gap, 1.9 km)
- Tahor hut → Lake east of Chodoridag: dem (snap_failed, 8.1 km)
- Lake east of Chodoridag → Chodoridag: dem (snap_failed, 1.4 km)
An outline line from the village of Tokhota (about 1,800 m) in Tlyarata district: down to the river and up the Tahor valley past a herders' hut at about 2,000 m towards the lake plateau below the Georgian border, then west by a small lake at about 3,150 m onto the east slope of the summit. Border-zone pass required. No ascent report; grade estimated.
Elevation Profile
outline from maps- Distance
- ≈ 12.8 km
- one way
- Ascent
- ≈ +2,408 m
- −642 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 3,571 m
- Time Up
- ≈ 10h 55m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- ≈ 8h 33m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
Chodoridag is the highest of the spurs that the Main Caucasus ridge sends north on the left bank of the Jurmut, about 2 km from the Georgian border. The Tlyarata district's tourism page, drawing on a 2005 limnological survey by the Dagestan Geographical Society, lists three small lakes on the ridge, among them the Chodorikhor lake (3,125 m) on the west side and a 35 m tectonic lake at 3,150 m on the east slope; further east and south lies the Tahor valley and the "Plateau of Sleeping Lakes" on the border. A July 2022 blog describes the approach to that plateau from Tokhota: descend about 150 m to the river and cross one of two bridges side by side, then about one hour up the Tahor valley to an unlocked herders' hut at about 2,000 m (sleeps three, with a stove; ask in Tokhota whether it is free), past a four- or five-step waterfall to the lake plateau, a full day's return trip from the hut. The largest lake near the border lies at 3,150 m, and the author also climbed the ridge to the south at 3,300–3,350 m. The inferred line leaves the Tahor valley before the plateau and climbs west to the small lake about 800 m east of the summit, then up the east slope to the top, roughly 1,550 m above the hut. No ascent of Chodoridag itself is described; descend the same way.
Start
Tokhota1,805 m
- None known; Tokhota is on the dirt road between Rosnob and Choroda, about 13 km south-east of Tlyarata
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tokhota → Tahor hut | 3.3 | 445 | 237 | 2h 22m |
| 2 | Tahor hut → Chodoridag | 9.4 | 1,963 | 405 | 8h 32m |
Waypoints
- Trailhead: Tokhota1,805 m
- Feature: Tahor bridges1,658 m
Two bridges side by side, about 150 m below the village
- Hut: Tahor hut2,010 m
Unstaffed herders' hut for 3 with a stove; coordinates from the 2022 blog
- Feature: Lake east of Chodoridag3,225 m
Small lake on the east slope; identification with the 3,150 m tectonic lake in the survey list is our assumption
- Summit: Chodoridag3,571 m
Key Passages
- Bridges below Tokhota
- Tahor valley and waterfall
- East slope from the lake
Equipment
0/7 packedDownloads
Route confidence 20%No GPX or KML: an outline from maps is not a route to follow.
Overview
A 3,571 m rocky summit on a spur of the Main Caucasus ridge in Dagestan's Tlyarata district, about 2 km from the Georgian border, ringed by small lakes above the Tahor valley and the 'Plateau of Sleeping Lakes'. Inside the border strip: an FSB pass is mandatory.
Chodoridag is the highest of the spurs the Main Caucasus ridge throws north on the left bank of the Jurmut in southern Tlyarata district. A 2005 lake survey by the Dagestan Geographical Society, quoted on the district's tourism page, lists three small lakes on the ridge itself (including Chodorikhor at 3,125 m) and dozens more on the neighbouring lake plateau along the Georgian border, where the largest lake, Khala-Khyol, is split by the frontier.
Tokhota, a steep village of about 1,800 m with arch passages, is the gateway. A 2022 visitor called the road around it one of the most beautiful in Dagestan and used a herders' hut in the Tahor valley as a base for a day trip to the lakes. Avalanches are common in late winter and spring in the Tahor and Machkhalor valleys, and avalanche snow can lie in the gorges into August.
We found no record of an ascent of Chodoridag; it is a pathless objective above a well-described lake approach.
Climbing Notes
Allow two to three days from Tokhota: a short first day to the Tahor hut (about 1 hour above the river), a long summit day of about 1,550 m, and the walk out. Expect scree and broken rock above the lakes and lingering snow early in the summer.
The summit is about 2 km from the Georgian border, inside the 5 km strip where a border-zone pass is mandatory. Russian citizens apply via Gosuslugi; a 2023 blog reports that foreigners are in practice not issued passes for the strip. There is a checkpoint at the district entrance and you may be sent to the border unit in Tlyarata. Tell the border guards your plan, carry your passport and GPS, and keep well away from the border ridge. Many governments, including the UK, advise against all travel to Russia.
Season
Best Aug- January: Not advisable
- February: Not advisable
- March: Not advisable
- April: Not advisable
- May: Not advisable
- June: Possible
- July: Good
- August: Best (best window)
- September: Good
- October: Possible
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Winter; avalanche terrain
- Feb
- Winter; avalanche terrain
- Mar
- Avalanches common in late winter
- Apr
- Spring avalanches
- May
- Deep snow above 2,500 m
- Jun
- Avalanche snow in the gorges; snowfields on the plateau
- Jul
- Lake plateau visited in mid-July 2022
- Aug
- Least snow
- Sep
- Stable but colder
- Oct
- Early snow likely
- Nov
- Winter
- Dec
- Winter
Access & Permits
- Permits
- Border-zone pass (FSB Border Directorate for Dagestan)Required
The summit and the lake plateau lie within 5 km of the Georgian border, where an FSB border-zone pass is required in addition to an identity document. Apply with passport copies and the application form via Gosuslugi, by post, by email to pu.dagestan@fsb.ru or in person (offices include Akhty and Kaspiysk); up to 15 working days for Russian citizens and 30 for foreigners. Passes for foreigners and non-residents are valid up to one year.
riadagestan.ru
- Hut Booking
- Unstaffed herders' hut in the Tahor valley (3 places, stove); ask in Tokhota
- Rules
- Inside the 5 km border strip with Georgia: entry only with an FSB pass; do not approach or cross the border ridge
- Checkpoint at the Tlyarata district entrance; carry your passport
- Ask in Tokhota before using the Tahor hut
- Getting There
Tokhota (village); Tlyarata, about 13 km by road, is the district centre
Makhachkala (MCX)
- By road from Makhachkala to Tlyarata; asphalt ended at Antsukh in 2022–23, then dirt road via Rosnob to Tokhota, about halfway along the 16 km Rosnob–Choroda road
- We found no public transport information for Tokhota
Hazards
- Avalanche
- Rockfall
- Weather
- Remoteness
Huts & Shelters
1- 2,000 m
Tahor hutHutUnstaffed
3 beds