Kharatakala
3,915 m
Russia
Also known as ХаратакалаAlso known as
Харатакала
- Elevation
- 3,915 m
- Prominence
- 862 m
- Difficulty
- 5/10
- Easy alpine
- 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? 6 check notes
- no documented ascent — outline only (research confidence 0.2)
- 100% approximate geometry
- low confidence 0.2
- Kardib → Tlyaratinsky Pass: dem (snap_failed, 5.0 km)
- Tlyaratinsky Pass → Otsolrak saddle: dem (snap_failed, 1.4 km)
- Otsolrak saddle → Kharatakala: dem (snap_failed, 0.8 km)
Sources differ: 1B (Russian tourist grade of the Tlyaratinsky Pass on the crest, OSM tag) (OpenStreetMap) · 2A (Russian tourist grade of the Otsolrak saddle beside the summit, OSM tag) (OpenStreetMap)
A long day from Kardib (about 2,040 m) in Tlyarata district: north up the spur above the Kudaor valley to the main Nukatl crest near the Tlyaratinsky Pass and two subsidiary tops of 3,650–3,700 m, then a narrow, often snowy ridge north-east to the summit. A 2022 solo attempt turned back on this ridge because of snow. No published grade; ours is an estimate.
Elevation Profile
outline from maps- Distance
- ≈ 7.3 km
- one way
- Ascent
- ≈ +2,028 m
- −159 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 3,915 m
- Time Up
- ≈ 7h 59m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- ≈ 5h 29m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
Kharatakala is one of the highest summits of the Nukatl ridge, above the long, scattered villages of Kardib and Gindib in the Kudaor valley. The only first-hand account we found is a July 2022 blog post: the author set off north from Kardib early in the morning, climbed to two intermediate tops of about 3,650–3,700 m on the crest, and turned back where the approach to Kharatakala became a narrow ridge still carrying unmelted snow. He then followed the crest west to Nukulop (3,522 m, three cairns) and descended a different ridge south to Gindib, passing three or four shepherds' camps at about 2,500 m, and reached the village after dark. On OpenStreetMap the crest between Nukulop and Kharatakala carries the Nukulop Pass (1B), the Tlyaratinsky Pass (1B, DEM about 3,650 m), point 3,752 m and the Otsolrak saddle (2A) about 700 m south of the summit, with small glaciers on the flanks. The line here follows the 2022 approach to the crest near the Tlyaratinsky Pass and continues north-east along the ridge over or around point 3,752 m and the Otsolrak saddle to the summit. The final ridge is unknown ground: expect a narrow crest of shale with snow well into July, and possibly an ice-hard cornice or steep snow on the saddle. It is a long day (about 1,900 m of ascent); a camp in the upper Kudaor or near the shepherds' camps shortens it. Descend the same way.
Start
Kardib2,047 m
- No known public transport to Kardib, 19 km east of the district centre Tlyarata by dirt road
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kardib → Kharatakala | 7.3 | 2,028 | 159 | 7h 59m |
Waypoints
- Trailhead: Kardib2,047 m
Elevation from GLO-30 DEM; Gindib adjoins it
- Col: Tlyaratinsky Pass3,647 m
1B; OSM gives 3,610 m, DEM about 3,646 m. The 2022 party reached two tops of 3,650–3,700 m nearby
- Col: Otsolrak saddle3,653 m
2A in OSM; OSM's 3,976 m is wrong, DEM about 3,650 m
- Summit: Kharatakala3,915 m
Key Passages
- Spur north from Kardib
- Nukatl crest near the Tlyaratinsky Pass
- Narrow snowy ridge to the summit
Equipment
0/7 packedDownloads
Route confidence 20%No GPX or KML: an outline from maps is not a route to follow.
Overview
A 3,915 m summit on the southern Nukatl ridge in Dagestan's Tlyarata district, ringed by small glaciers and trekking passes above the Kudaor valley. Practically undocumented: an exploratory objective for self-reliant parties.
Kharatakala stands on the main crest of the Nukatl ridge, a 105 km chain between the Avar Koysu and the Kara Koysu basins whose high summits a Dagestani geographer described in 2012 as rarely visited and little studied. It is the highest point of the southern part of the ridge; Nukatl (3,903 m), with its larger firn field, stands about 4 km to the south-east.
Small cirque glaciers (the Nukatl and Ukhtil glaciers on OpenStreetMap) lie on its flanks, and the crest around it is crossed by passes known to Russian trekking groups: the Nukatl Pass (1A), the Tlyaratinsky Pass (1B) and the Otsolrak saddle (2A). Below, the Kudaor valley holds the long, scattered villages of Gindib and Kardib at about 1,800–2,000 m and summer pastures higher up.
The only first-hand account we found is a solo attempt in July 2022 from Kardib, which turned back on the narrow, still snowy ridge just below the summit; no published grade exists. The peak may appear under another name in some sources: a 2012 paper lists a Nukatl summit called Otsolrak at exactly 3,915 m, and OSM names the saddle immediately south of Kharatakala Otsolrak.
Climbing Notes
Plan a long day from Kardib (about 1,900 m of ascent) or, better, two days with a camp near the shepherds' camps at about 2,500 m or in the upper Kudaor. The final ridge is narrow and holds snow well into July: bring crampons, ice axe and helmet, a rope for the snow ridge, a headlamp and a GPS with a good base map.
Tlyarata district borders Georgia and Azerbaijan. Visiting the district and its villages needs only a passport, and the summit lies well north of the 5 km border strip, but there is a checkpoint at the district entrance where checks can take 10–20 minutes, and travellers may be sent to the border unit in Tlyarata. Tourists are rare; a guesthouse below Kardib was being built in 2022. There are no huts and no organised mountain rescue nearby. 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
- Feb
- Winter
- Mar
- Winter
- Apr
- Winter conditions
- May
- Snow from about 2,500 m
- Jun
- Heavy snow on the crest; high rivers
- Jul
- Snow still on the narrow summit ridge in July 2022; afternoon storms
- 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), if applicableOptional
Tlyarata district borders Georgia and Azerbaijan. A pass is mandatory only inside the roughly 5 km strip along the border, which this route does not approach; elsewhere in the border zone Russian citizens need only an identity document. Applications by Gosuslugi, post, email (pu.dagestan@fsb.ru) or in person; up to 15 working days for Russian citizens and 30 for foreigners. A 2023 blog reports that foreigners are in practice not issued passes for the strip.
riadagestan.ru
- Rules
- Russian border district: checkpoint at the district entrance and document checks by border guards and village police; carry your passport
- No huts; camping only
- Getting There
Kardib/Gindib (villages); Tlyarata, 19 km by road, is the district centre
Makhachkala (MCX)
- By road from Makhachkala to Tlyarata, then 19 km of dirt road south-east and north-east up the Kudaor valley to Kardib; asphalt ended at Antsukh in 2022–23
- We found no public transport information for Kardib
Hazards
- Glacier
- Crevasses
- Rockfall
- Avalanche
- Weather
- Remoteness