The Irik-Chat River is a left tributary of the Baksan River. Its source is located in the Irik-Chat glacier, between the mountains Askerkolbashi-Tersak and Chatkara. The length of the Irik-Chat River is 13 kilometers. Tourists come here to walk along the mountain trails of the Elbrus National Park, and climbers to climb Elbrus on the eastern slope.
The Irik-Chat River flows through a narrow canyon before joining the Baksan River. Large pine trees grow on both sides of the canyon. The sheer walls rise tens of meters above it, and the riverbed in many places looks more like cascading waterfalls. The gorge of the Irik-Chat River is called the "hanging gorge".
To reach its upper part, you need to overcome a steep climb with a height of 150 meters to the Narzan springs of Irik Chat, and then another 200 meters to the Sand Castles of Irik Chat. These 350 meters need to be gained at a distance of only 1.5 kilometers, but then a fairly gentle path begins, which stretches for several kilometers to the confluence of the Irik-Chat and Irik rivers. The gorge divides at this point.
Along the Irik River, climbers begin climbing Mount Elbrus on the eastern slope. The gorge of the Irik-Chat River leads to the Red Hill site. Here begins another trail for climbing the eastern slope. Also from here climbers can go through the Irik-Chat pass (3667 m) to the Jily-Su site and further to Glade of Emmanuel. The routes of climbing Elbrus on the northern slope begin there.
