In store for us is an expedition to the regions of Dagestan bordering on Georgia and Azerbaijan. Here vast expanses of virgin nature have survived, and the people still observe the mountaineers’ shepherding traditions. We'll climb up to the somber highlands to see blossoming alpine meadows. We’ll visit genuine alpine villages where living conditions have hardly changed since the last century, and we’ll familiarize ourselves with strong-willed shepherds who, for months, live side by side with marauding bears.

 We’ll traverse tens of kilometers on foot because there are no roads leading to the shepherds’ camps and to one of the villages. However, horses will be carrying our rucksacks…

At the end of the journey, we’ll make a pilgrimage to an ancient shrine, and visit the oldest town of Russia that emerged at the crossroads of many civilizations and combines their features.