Janga

5,051 m

Russia

Also known as Džangi-Tau, Dschanga, +8

Džangi-Tau · Dschanga · Όρος Τζάνγκα · Glavnaya Jangi · Djangha · Monte Janga · მთავარი ჯანღა · Dżangitau · Джангитау · Dzjanga

Elevation: 5,051 m
Prominence: 335 m
Difficulty: 7/10; Hard alpine
Best Season: Jul–Aug
Routes: 1

AdvisoryReported 18 Sep 2026
UK FCDO advises against all travel to Russia, which includes the Bezengi (north) side of Janga.
gov.uk

Routes

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Approximate line — not for navigation

An automated check found that parts of this line could not be matched to mapped trails, so it may stray far from the real route. Use it for planning only, with a map and a guidebook.

Why? 8 check notes

danger scan: Dzhangi-Kosh → East Janga: straight line 3621 m (limit 200 m)
danger scan: Dzhangi-Kosh → East Janga: straight line 3621 m above the last hut/bivouac
danger scan: Dzhangi-Kosh → East Janga: straight line: 66° over 25 m (> 60°, high-res DEM)
danger scan: Dzhangi-Kosh → East Janga: sustained 63° > 45° on a straight line
low confidence 0.45
Dzhangi-Kosh → East Janga: straight (snap_failed; DEM rejected: no path below 45° between the endpoints, 3.6 km)
East Janga → Janga: glacier (snap_failed, 1.4 km)
unresolved waypoints: Bezengi Glacier, North-East Ridge saddle

AlpineDMixedNormal route

Sources differ: 4B (Russian, to East Janga) (SummitX)

The least difficult way on to Janga: from the Bezengi camp up the Bezengi glacier to Dzhangi-Kosh, then the North-East Ridge over rock steps, a gendarme and corniced snow to East Janga (5,033 m), continuing west along the frontier ridge to the main summit. Russian 4B to the East summit; there is no easy route on the Bezengi Wall.

Elevation Profile

approximate line

Distance: ≈ 18.1 km; one way
Ascent: ≈ +3,145 m; −228 m lost on the way up
High Point: 5,051 m
Time Up: ≈ 13h 12m; DIN 33466
Time Down: ≈ 9h 19m; DIN 33466 · same way back

From the Bezengi alpine camp follow the right-bank moraine of the Bezengi glacier's eastern branch to the bivouac sites opposite Pik Semenovskogo (5–5½ hours), cross the glacier and climb an icefall to the snow plateau of the northern cirque below the NE ridge (3–4 hours more). Alternatively walk to the Austrian Bivouacs (5–6 hours) and traverse to the plateau. Parties bivouac at the Dzhangi-Kosh shelter or on the plateau below the rocky foot of the ridge. Climb the eastern spur by a snowy couloir and easy rocks for about 400 m to a saddle on the NE ridge, then 150–180 m of rock and snow ridge to the main rock step, with walls of medium difficulty. Above, a gentle snow ridge with cornices leads past a 4 m wall and a 30 m rock gendarme, then 150 m of gentle snow ridge and a 50 m snow slope to the summit dome of East Janga: 10–12 hours from the bivouac. SummitX recommends four days: approach, rock section, summit and descent, return. The main summit lies about 1.2 km further west along the corniced frontier ridge; a SummitX description of the NE buttress route gives 1½–2 hours between the col below East Janga and the main summit area. Descend by the ascent route (7–9 hours to the bivouac from East Janga).

Start

Bezengi alpine camp2,134 m

None to the camp: fly to Nalchik or Mineralnye Vody; the Bezengi camp arranges transfers from Nalchik with border-zone passes.
Parking at the trailhead

Stages

Day	Stage	km	m ascent	m descent	Time
1	Bezengi alpine camp → Dzhangi-Kosh	13.1	1,194	66	5h 45m
2	Dzhangi-Kosh → Janga	5.0	1,951	162	7h 27m

Waypoints

Trailhead:
Bezengi alpine camp2,134 m
Bivouac:
Dzhangi-Kosh3,262 m
Shoulder:
East Janga4,942 m
Summit:
Janga5,051 m

Key Passages

Icefall to the northern cirque plateau
Rock step of medium difficulty on the NE ridge
4 m wall and 30 m rock gendarme
Corniced snow ridge to East Janga and along the frontier ridge to the main summit

Equipment

0/11 packed

Downloads

Route confidence 45%

Overview

A three-topped massif in the middle of the Bezengi Wall on the Georgia–Russia border, with its main summit around 5,050–5,085 m. No route is easy: the usual line is the North-East Ridge over East Janga, Russian 4B, from the Bezengi camp.

Janga (Dzhangi-Tau in Russian sources, Jangi or Janga in Georgian) is one of the high points of the Bezengi Wall, the 12 km frontier ridge between Svaneti in Georgia and the Bezengi valley in Kabardino-Balkaria. It has three tops: the main summit, a West summit (about 5,059 m) and an East summit (about 5,033 m). Its height is quoted variously as 5,051 m (Wikidata), 5,074 m (OpenStreetMap) and 5,085 m (Wikipedia), so it may be the third- or fourth-highest summit of the Caucasus.

As elsewhere on the Bezengi Wall, there is no simple route. The least difficult is the North-East Ridge, first climbed to the East summit by John Garford Cockin in 1888 and graded Russian 4B, a long mixed ridge with rock steps, a gendarme and cornices, from where a corniced ridge leads on to the main top. The great south-west face above Georgia carries hard routes of Russian 5B. Its north side is threatened by avalanches and ice fall, and the West summit is reputed to be the hardest of the three to reach.

The mountain is climbed almost exclusively by experienced Russian and Georgian alpinists. The north side lies in Russia's border zone, and most Western governments currently advise against all travel to Russia.

Climbing Notes

Only for experienced alpinists who can climb medium-grade rock and snow-ice ridges with a pack at 4,500–5,000 m, deal with cornices and camp self-sufficiently for three or four nights. Acclimatise on lower Bezengi peaks first. SummitX recommends a four-day plan from the Bezengi camp for East Janga, with 04:00 starts; add a day for the continuation to the main summit and reserve days for weather.

Register your route with the Bezengi camp, which runs the local rescue service, and carry a radio if required. Border-zone passes must be arranged through the camp in advance. The season is July and August.

History

On 12 September 1888 John Garford Cockin with the Swiss guides Ulrich Almer and Christian Roth made the first ascent of East Janga by the North-East Ridge, in the same season as his first ascents of Shkhara and the second ascent of Dykh-Tau. A North-East ridge route graded 5A was completed on 23 July 1935. The Kartvelishvili route on the south-west face (Russian 5B, about 2,300 m), first climbed in 1965, is the only south-side route that leads directly to the summit; it was repeated in 1978 and, with a new ice variant, by Archil Badriashvili, Giorgi Tepnadze and Levan Tsibadze in August 2015.

Season

Best Jul–Aug

January: Not advisable
February: Not advisable
March: Not advisable
April: Not advisable
May: Not advisable
June: Possible
July: Best (best window)
August: Best (best window)
September: Possible
October: Not advisable
November: Not advisable
December: Not advisable

Jun: Early season; more snow and avalanche danger
Jul: Main season
Aug: Main season
Sep: Late season; colder, unstable weather

Access & Permits

Permits

Border-zone pass (propusk)Required
The Bezengi valley lies in Russia's border zone. Bezengi camp clients send passport details in advance and passes are brought by the camp's driver.
mountain.ru
National park passRequired
Visitors not staying at the Bezengi camp need a national park pass from the park office in Kashkhatau.
mountain.ru

Hut Booking

No staffed huts; the Dzhangi-Kosh shelter is a simple unstaffed hut. Book the Bezengi alpine camp directly.

Fees

Bezengi camp registration and national park fee
Camp transfer from Nalchik

Rules

Border zone: entry only with a valid pass
The summit ridge is the Georgia–Russia border; crossing between the two countries on the mountain is not legal
UK FCDO (and most other Western governments) advise against all travel to Russia

Getting There

Kashkhatau; Nalchik is the regional capital

Nalchik (NAL) or Mineralnye Vody (MRV)

Camp transfer by minibus from Nalchik via Kashkhatau to the Bezengi alpine camp; no public transport

Hazards

Cornices
Avalanche
Crevasses
Glacier
Rockfall
Altitude
Exposure
Weather
Remoteness

Huts & Shelters

Bezengi alpine campHotelStaffed
2,180 m
Dzhangi-KoshBivouacUnstaffed
3,262 m