Smile of the Shkhelda beach

The Smile of Shkhelda Beach is located approximately in the middle of a small Gorge of the Shkhelda River. This place has such a romantic name because the Shkhelda River used to make a sharp bend here, bringing a lot of white sand into the glade. The bend of the river was called the "Smile", and the sandbanks were called the "Beach".

Of course, it is impossible to swim on this beach, since the cold waters of the river originate in the Shkhelda Glacier. The hiking trail to the Shkhelda Smile Beach begins at the Shkhelda Mountaineering camp, which stands at the confluence of the Shkhelda with the Adyl-Su River. Here begins a hiking trail that runs through the pine forest. Then the trail goes out onto an alpine meadow, and again descends into a small hollow. 

In this hollow, near the sign "Ahsu Glacier, Ahsu Overnight stays", there is the Smile of the Shkhelda Beach. In some Internet sites, this beach is called Golden, and the name Smile of the Shkhelda refers to a clearing. The total length of the route from mountaineering camp to the beach is 2.7 kilometers. The altitude difference on the route is 250 meters, from 1950 m to 2220 m above sea level.

There are different versions of the formation of this "beach". According to one version, in the 19th century, a powerful rockfall occurred in the gorge of the Shkhelda River. Over the past century, the river has crushed the stones, turning them into white sand, which settled in this hollow.