Teberda is a mountain resort in the western Caucasus where the air smells of spruce and cold stone, and the first thing that strikes you is how green and tidy a high mountain village can be. It lies in the valley of the Teberda river, in Karachay-Cherkessia, ringed by peaks of two and three thousand metres. The people are mainly Karachays, a Turkic mountain people with a long tradition of herding and hospitality, and the valley has been a health resort since the nineteenth century, when doctors began sending patients with lung complaints to breathe the clean air.
The Teberda nature reserve, one of the oldest in the country, protects a huge area of forest, alpine meadow, glaciers and rocky ridges. Caucasian bison were reintroduced here after almost vanishing in the twentieth century, and chamois, ibex and brown bears live in the high valleys. The flora is rich, with rhododendron, pine and fir, and wildflowers cover the slopes in early summer. A small museum in the village displays specimens and photographs, and it is a good introduction before heading into the hills.
Most visitors walk, and there are well-marked trails to waterfalls, to glacial lakes and up to viewpoints under the glaciers of Alibek, whose cold green stream rushes through a forested gorge. Even a short walk from the road brings you to places where the only noise is water and wind. Higher up, the glaciers hang from the northern faces, and the summer light on them is strong and bright.
For riders, the road south from Teberda climbs toward Dombay through a long valley of spruce, with the river alongside, and the scenery grows more dramatic with every kilometre. The surface is generally decent but can have sections of potholes and rockfall debris, and in the spring and early summer snowmelt can wash across the road. Cattle and horses graze freely in the villages, and drivers on the narrow bends tend to hug the middle.
Fuel stations are in the valley and in Karachayevsk, the larger town, so it makes sense to top up there before climbing. Teberda has small shops, cafés and guesthouses, and the local food includes khychiny, flatbreads filled with cheese and potato, and ayran, the sour drink made from yoghurt. Summer is cool and fresh, the best weather runs from June to September, and snow closes the high roads in winter.