Nizhnij Arkhyz is situated in a valley on the bank of the mountain river Bol'shoj Zelenchuk (right-hand side) at the altitude of ~1250 m, near the road (left-hand side of the river) to the well-known mountain resort Arkhyz (25 km upstream). Its natural environment - picturesque forest slopes, beautiful mountain rivers and clear mountain air, support a creative atmosphere for scientific meetings. Over recent years the location has become quite popular and been the site of several astronomical and other meetings every year. The resort Arkhyz is an outlying area involved in the future "Sochi-2014" Winter Olympic Games.

The program of the meeting will include 1 full-day or 2 half-days for outdoor activities. These will be devoted to excursions to the SAO main facilities - the 6-m optical telescope BTA (15 km from Nizhnij Arkhyz, at the altitude of 2100 m above sea level) and the radio telescope RATAN-600 (20 km downstream from Nizhnij Arkhyz, near the district center Zelenchukskaya) and to the ancient capital of the Alania state (7-12 centuries), and/or to the mountain resort Arkhyz.

Next-door to Nizhnij Arkhyz there is a famous place saved as a historical reserve. The site was the capital of the ancient Alania state, developed in the middle of the tenth century in alliance with the Byzantine Empire. Several churches from the X-th century, the first on the territory of the Russian Federation, are kept and restored in this natural museum.

The weather in the middle of September usually is quite warm in daytime (around +20 C) and chilly at night (+5-+10 C). More concrete forecast for the nearest 5-6 days can be found at the web-page http://www.sao.ru