The Ruffled Canyon is a gorge where huge black slabs stand almost vertically, as if sliding towards each other. A freshwater stream runs along the floor, forming small pools and cascades.
The Ruffled Canyon begins unremarkably: the entrance gives no hint of what lies ahead. A few hundred metres in, the walls rise and you see huge black slabs standing almost vertically — as if frozen a moment before closing together.
Water softens the severe landscape: a freshwater stream runs along the floor, turning here into a small pool, there into a cascade. An apricot tree grows by a little cave, with mint and raspberry thickets beside it.
A vehicle can follow the streambed up to a point; the rest is on foot. The canyon is off limits during rain and just after it: the water rises fast.
Honest numbers before you take the wheel. We are not selling an adventure — we are explaining what you would be dealing with.
Driving here yourself requires four-wheel drive and a water supply: there are no fuel stations or services on the route.
Shots from our trips — click to enlarge
Leave the logistics to people who drive here all year round: prepared vehicles, satellite communication and a guide who knows where the ground holds and where it does not.
Torysh Valley of Stone Balls → Kok-Kala → Mount Sherkala and 3 more stops
The Karagiye Depression → Tousled Canyon → Tuzbair and 2 more stops
Tamshaly Gorge → The Caspian Sea coast → Kapamsay Canyon and 14 more stops