Gumbashi Pass

Gumbashi Pass sits at an elevation of 2,144 metres on the northern slope of the Greater Caucasus Range, in Karachay-Cherkessia. Its name comes from Karachay and means "sandy head", after the sandstone and limestone rock that forms the slopes. The road over the pass is rough, but the views are stunning, and on a clear day Mount Elbrus is visible from here.

The regional highway 91K-005 "Karachaevsk - Kislovodsk", paved back in the 1930s, runs through the pass. The Mara and Dorbun rivers both rise near the pass. The earliest traces of caravan trails here date to the 11th-12th centuries BC: for centuries the pass has served as a route through the mountains.