Kartliash
3,435 m
Russia
Also known as КартляшAlso known as
Картляш
- Elevation
- 3,435 m
- Prominence
- 760 m
- Difficulty
- 4/10
- Alpine hike
- Best Season
- Jul–Aug
- Routes
- 1
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 25 Mar 2024
The FSB Border Directorate for Dagestan reminded visitors in March 2024 that a pass is needed for the 5 km strip along the state border; foreigners' applications take up to 30 working days. Rules may have changed since.
riadagestan.ru
Routes
1Approximate 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: Kvalishor road end → Kartliash: straight line 5429 m (limit 200 m)
- danger scan: Kvalishor road end → Kartliash: sustained 51° > 40° on a straight line
- last routed vertex 5429 m from the summit (closed by straight)
- 56% straight-line fallback
- 100% approximate geometry
- ascent 2440 m vs net gain 2031 m (+20%)
- low confidence 0.29
- Tlyarata → Kvalishor road end: dem (snap_failed, 4.3 km)
A multi-day approach from Tlyarata up the wild Kvalishor valley on a livestock trail to the cirque lakes at about 3,000–3,050 m, then an unrecorded final climb of about 400 m on scree and broken rock to the 3,435 m summit above the cirque. Border-zone pass required. Grade estimated.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- ≈ 9.8 km
- one way
- Ascent
- ≈ +2,440 m
- −413 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 3,435 m
- Time Up
- ≈ 10h 11m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- ≈ 7h 29m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
From Tlyarata, the centre of Dagestan's Tlyaratinsky district, a rough dirt road runs up the Kvalishor river; an ordinary car can get some way in, and a 2021 walker camped at about 1,680 m, 2 km beyond the point a Volga could reach. Above, the road is flood-damaged and turns into a trail: past a narrow walled canyon and a meadow safe from floods, over a bridge, then in steep zigzags onto the left bank of the valley and along it to a shepherds' hut just below the confluence of the river's two main sources. Cross the left source on a footbridge and follow a broad livestock trail up the right source, changing banks and bypassing small canyons and waterfalls, to the lower lake and on to the middle lake. From the 1,680 m camp to the lakes took 6 hours (more than 11 km, about 1,400 m of ascent with ups and downs). The cirque at the head of the river holds the lakes Anzatl (3,040 m), Kvalish (3,010 m, the largest) and two unnamed lakes at about 3,050 m, ringed by Kvalish, points 3,206 m and 3,250 m and Kartliash (3,434 m). We found no description of the final climb to Kartliash. The neighbouring tops of 3,206 m and 3,306 m, climbed from a pass between the river's two sources in 2021, were reached over scree ridges with easy rock, and a steep step on 3,306 m was bypassed on scree; expect similar ground on Kartliash, about 400 m above the lakes, and choose the line on the spot. Descend the same way. The whole area is in the Russian border zone with Georgia; border guards check documents and permits in the upper valleys. Allow 3–4 days for the round trip from Tlyarata (local guides quote about 15 km and 1,500 m of ascent one way to the lakes).
Start
Tlyarata1,404 m
- Parking at the trailhead
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tlyarata → Kvalishor road end | 9.8 | 2,440 | 413 | 10h 11m |
Waypoints
- Trailhead: Tlyarata1,404 m
District centre; elevation of the weather station
- Parking: Kvalishor road end1,566 m
Approximate centre of a 2021 trip report's first-day track; forest glade by the river 2 km past the end of the drivable road
- Summit: Kartliash3,435 m
Key Passages
- Flood-damaged track and steep zigzags in the lower Kvalishor valley
- Untracked scree and broken rock from the lakes to the summit
Equipment
0/6 packedDownloads
Route confidence 29%Overview
A 3,435 m summit on the Khashamir spur of the Main Caucasus Ridge in Dagestan's Tlyaratinsky district, rising above the cirque lakes at the head of the Kvalishor valley close to the Georgian border. Rarely, if ever, written up as a climb.
Kartliash is the highest point of the old glacial cirque at the source of the Kvalishor river, on the Khashamir (Noshimar) ridge, a spur that runs north from the Main Caucasus Ridge between Dagestan and Georgia. The cirque holds a cluster of small lakes at 3,010–3,050 m, Kvalish being the largest, and is ringed by Kvalish, two unnamed tops of 3,206 m and 3,250 m, and Kartliash itself.
The Kvalishor valley is reached from Tlyarata, a district centre in remote south-western Dagestan. A rough road gives way to a shepherds' trail through forest, canyons and summer pastures, climbing about 1,400 m to the lakes. Local outfitters run 3–4 day treks to the lakes and mention Kartliash only as the peak rising above them.
We found no published ascent report or route for the summit. Neighbouring tops in the same cirque are scree ridges with easy rock, and the mountain is likely to be similar, but anyone going should treat it as exploratory.
Climbing Notes
Plan at least three days: Tlyarata to the upper Kvalishor valley, up to the lakes (about 6 hours from 1,680 m), a summit day and the walk out. Apply for a border-zone pass from the FSB Border Directorate for Dagestan well in advance (up to 30 working days for foreigners) and carry your passport. Expect no marked path above the lakes, loose scree and frequent afternoon thunderstorms in summer. A local guide from Tlyarata helps with transport, permits and route-finding. Check current travel advice for Russia before going.
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: Good
- October: Possible
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Winter
- Feb
- Winter
- Mar
- Winter
- Apr
- Deep snow in the cirque
- May
- Snow; valley path affected by snowmelt floods
- Jun
- Lakes may still be frozen and snow-covered
- Jul
- Guides recommend July–August
- Aug
- Best season; frequent thunderstorms
- Sep
- Stable weather, cold nights
- Oct
- Early snow possible
- Nov
- Winter
- Dec
- Winter
Access & Permits
- Permits
- Border-zone pass (FSB Border Directorate for Dagestan)Required
The Kvalishor lakes and the upper valleys of the Tlyaratinsky district lie in the border zone with Georgia, and local guides say a permit from the Dagestan border detachment plus original ID is needed; border guards checked documents in neighbouring valleys in 2021. Apply with a copy of your identity document and the application form in person, by post, via Gosuslugi or by email to pu.dagestan@fsb.ru. Processing takes up to 15 working days for Russian citizens and up to 30 for foreigners.
riadagestan.ru
- Hut Booking
- No huts; camp at the lakes or in the Kvalishor valley.
- Rules
- Russian border zone with Georgia: carry your passport and pass at all times and expect checks by border guards
- Do not cross the Main Caucasus Ridge into Georgia; there is no legal crossing point here
- Getting There
Tlyarata (district centre)
Makhachkala Uytash (MCX)
- By road from Makhachkala to Tlyarata in the Dzhurmut valley (a long mountain drive); local drivers can take you some way up the Kvalishor valley track
- We found no reliable public transport information for Tlyarata
Hazards
- Remoteness
- Weather
- Rockfall
- River crossing