Beshtau is the highest mountain in the region of the Caucasian Mineral Waters. Photo report on the ascent to Mount Beshtau Mount Beshtau description

Mount Beshtau (Stavropol Territory, Russia) - detailed description, location, reviews, photos and video.

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It was this mountain that gave the name to the main city of the region - Pyatigorsk, "Beshtau" in translation means "Five-headed". It has 5 peaks, only 3-4 are visible from the ground, everything can be seen at once only from above. At the foot of the mountain lies Pyatigorye - the famous resort area of ​​Russia with unique mineral springs. It appeared thanks to laccoliths - ancient unformed volcanoes, which Beshtau once was. In the second half of the 20th century, a deposit of uranium ore was found here; 40 adits were worked out in a few years.

One of the heads of Beshtau - Big Tau - is the most high peak Caucasian mineral waters - 1400 m above sea level. Other heads: Small Tau - 1254 m, Goat Rocks - 1167 m, Lisiy Nos - 1124 m, Shaggy - 1080 m.

You can climb Beshtau only on foot along the tourist trails. There are no roads or funiculars here. Several equipped healing springs with different compositions spring from the mountain range - two hot and two cold. The nature here resembles alpine, and huge oaks, beeches, hornbeams, ash trees grow in relict forests. At the foot stands the Assumption Second Athos Beshtaugorsk Monastery - a follower of the destroyed monastery of the 9th century.

Practical information

Address: Stavropol Territory, suburb of Pyatigorsk. Coordinates: 44.095783, 43.025125.

How to get there: from the railway station, Pyatigorsk bus station 30 minutes by car.

The railway, then the center is Beshtau, the name of which can be translated as Pyatigora. In general, the number 5 on the CMS is somehow special: Beshtau has 5 peaks, 4 satellite mountains (Sheludivaya, Dull, Sharp and Honey) and 4 neighboring mountains - Mashuk, Zmeyka, Zheleznaya and Razvalka, and this "five in the top five in five" forms the center of the entire placer of 17 lonely mountains of the KMV. There are also 5 historical cities, the largest of which is Pyatigorsk, within which there are 5 railway stations ... I think you can find a lot of other "fives" here, so it is no coincidence that one of the names of the KMV region, and even the entire adjacent part of the Caucasus, is Pyatigorye .

The mountains of the CMS are laccoliths, that is, lava domes squeezed out of the mantle millions of years ago. Beshtau is the largest (8 kilometers across) and the highest of them (1401m). But I did not climb any of its peaks, limiting myself to hiking along the slopes from Pyatigorsk to Zheleznovodsk. And on the way - uranium mines, the Second Athos Monastery, the city of Lermontov, the most beautiful Eagle Rocks and a warm April forest.

The first time I saw Beshtau from afar, I thought that it would be too tough for me, but in fact, climbing the central peak in a day and returning back is not so difficult. Moreover, numerous roads cross the mountain, and there are several convenient climbs to it. The easiest one is from the Lermontovskaya station (see the last part), the surroundings of which reminded me of the scenery for scenes of gang warfare from the cinema of the 1990s. The fact is that here is the largest car market in the North Caucasus, serving primarily the republics, where auto dealers open something very reluctantly. In the background - Mashuk, unmistakably identified by the TV tower:

To the left, behind the car market with its dubious personalities of Russian and Caucasian appearance, already scurrying about in the morning, the road to Beshtau begins. Ahead are the peaks of Two Brothers (1124), Big Beshtau (1401) and Goat rocks (1157), and on the title frame view from the opposite side - Goat rocks, Big Beshtau and Small Beshtau (1254), hiding Shaggy Mountain (1180) behind it. The first kilometers the road goes through an unpleasant area with concrete fences and the ruins of some industry:

On the left hand - Pyatigorsk. Garden partnerships near Lake Ivushka, high-rise buildings of the area with the poetic name Belaya Chamomile (according to the pre-revolutionary tuberculosis sanatorium - in those days this flower was a symbol of the fight against consumption), the long Dubrovka forest on Shaved Mountain (since half of it is bald) and the most distant of the 17 mountains Yutsa (973) and Dzhutsa (1190), behind which you can see the Caucasus.

But the center of Pyatigorsk is not visible from here - it is at the foot of Mashuk:

But now, from the flowering bushes at the foot of the Goat Rocks, an old industrial abandoned building appears. This is "settlement number 1" - nothing more than the remains of a uranium mine enrichment plant, quite unexpected in the resort area.

The local laccoliths consist of rather specific rocks - I already wrote in one of the previous parts about beshtaunit - a hard and corrosion-resistant stone used in engineering. And there are also davidites and lermontovites - uranium-cerium ore. In the onset of the Cold War, the USSR was in dire need of uranium - the raw material for atomic warheads, and mined it where he could - a few months ago I already showed the first Soviet one in (Kyrgyzstan). Beshtaugorsky uranium has been known since the 1930s, "settlement No. 1" was built in 1949-53, and mining on it was carried out until 1976. By analogy with the same Mailuu-Suu, most likely the surviving building was a factory power plant - the enrichment farik itself should have been demolished as "dirty".

They say that Beshtau is full of adits that form the largest system of catacombs in Russia, according to various sources, from 160 to 230 kilometers long. The entrances to the adits are marked on wikimapia, but here are the notes of a person who has been inside them.

Of course, uranium could not but give rise to traditional horror stories: supposedly, both the background on the mountain in Chernobyl and giant mushrooms grow here, the locals will never buy such ones, but cunning mushroom pickers poison unlucky tourists. And de prisoners worked in these mines and were buried there... In short, I don't presume to judge the authenticity of the rumors. Beshtau is a place confused without any radiation. And you can go to it several times - for example, on the slope of the Big Beshtau there is the so-called Temple of the Sun, which many consider to be a Scythian megalith (which, to be honest, I strongly doubt). But I took a course to the foot of the peak Two Brothers - and I suspect that the name of this mountain was given by those two remnants on its "facade":

Approximately 4 kilometers from the Lermontovskaya station, the ascent ended - I went to the ring road built in 1927, encircling all 5 peaks at a good height. She herself passes approximately at the same level, then rising, then falling, and I turned left, heading clockwise:

Along the road there is a forest, a slope on both sides, an abundance of flowers and stones. On some stones there are biblical quotes: the paved part of the road leads from Pyatigorsk to the Second Athos Monastery, which, however, is still a few kilometers away.

Sometimes the warm forest on the slope parted, revealing the panorama of Pyatigorsk.

In the distance, already familiar Yutsa and Dzhutsa, and right at the foot of the low Pine Hill, also similar to laccolith.

A wide field and a stalinka with a tower are not an abandoned terminal of the old airport, but a hippodrome founded in 1885 near the Skachki station - one of two in Russia of federal significance, along with Moscow.

And in the distance, the Caucasian peaks are blazing, which I will not even try to identify, but apparently this is Kabardino-Balkaria, east of Elbrus. The very highest point of Russia that day was not visible behind the clouds lying on its slopes, but on other days it loomed in the background more than once.

Behind the back is Mount Two Brothers:

And in the distance, the outline of Camel Mountain (885m) looms - the westernmost of the 17 laccoliths, it first appears in sight on the road from Stavropol. On the slopes, as you can see, there are a lot of cars - Beshtau is popular with both holidaymakers and locals, and I even saw a jeep with South Ossetian license plates here.

We continue our way to the monastery - in fact, I walked for a long time, an hour and a half, hoping to see temples at every turn. Here on this rock they are going to recreate the icon that adorned the cliff before the revolution:

In the meantime, just such a memorial plaque - probably crashed on this rock in a car:

And finally, the Second Athos Monastery itself appears against the background of Big Beshtau - how strange and at the same time organically the Russian church looks in the mountains! This is the temple of St. George the Victorious (1999), but the cylindrical building is such an original fraternal building:

The monastery was founded in 1904 by two monks from the Greek Athos, and since the New Athos monastery in the Caucasus was already 30 years old, it was called the Second Athos. In those days, it was known for its strict charter and fidelity to traditions, therefore, in the age of modernism and renovationism, it very quickly earned the glory of a stronghold of genuine Orthodoxy. In 1927, the Second Athos was closed, and gradually destroyed - this is what his Assumption Church (1906) looked like:

In the new church, apparently, they want to play with Greek motifs, and in general, I would say that the second Second Athos Monastery, revived in 1997-2001, is architecturally more interesting than the first:

Here is an example of a church open sky- they say they wanted to build a new cathedral here, but abandoned the idea because of the threat of landslides:

On the last frame, do you see a crevice between the "eagle" and a lone pillar a little to the right? That's where I went:

View from the crevice to Sheludivaya Mountain and three cities near it:

View forward - as you can see, I'm not alone here, two whole families enthusiastically climbed the cliff - husbands-wives and boys of 10-12 years old. I think that Beshtau is not so crowded on weekdays, especially since I was here not just on Sunday, but on Easter.

Behind the next turn is an abyss, and Zheleznovodsk is visible between the rocks:

It turned out to be not so difficult to climb the "eagle's head" - the sharp turns on the trail are even equipped with an impromptu handrail:

And the round platform at the top at once reminded me of the place of the duel between Pechorin and Martynov Grushnitsky and the rock where he climbed under the cries of "Give me back the sausage!" Father Fyodor - being neither one nor the other, she serves as an ideal image of Ciscaucasia in the imagination of a Russian writer.

Top of the cliff with a small grotto:

And the view through this grotto:

Closer mountains are Sharp and Dull (767m, also Kabanka), further - Bull and Camel. There are two cities again in the frame - Lermontov on the left, Zheleznovodsk on the right. And below is not a military unit (as I thought), but a huge abandoned pioneer camp "Eagle Rocks":

To the right - another interesting mountain quintet. On the left - Dull and Bull, on the right - Zheleznaya (853, closer) and Razvalka (926, further) hanging over Zheleznovodsk, and in the middle - Honey Mountain (725m), the last of the "satellites" of Beshtau:

It is against the background of the non-resort part of Zheleznovodsk:

Zheleznovodsk is a small city (24 thousand inhabitants), but it has a very interesting structure. Its center and resort part is in a narrow (less than a kilometer) valley between Beshtau and Zheleznaya, and the main part of the residential areas is on the plain to the east, and such isolation of the resort area gives it an intimacy.

The most important sights are the baths of Ostrovsky (1893) at the station at the bottom left, the palace of the Emir of Bukhara (1912, really, in fact, a personal sanatorium that the ruler of vassal Bukhara built for himself here), at the top right - the Pushkin Gallery (1901, kursaal), well, at the bottom of the local administration.

To the left is the Church of the Intercession, built in 1996 in the building of the New Van (1912), and the house with a turret below is on the forecourt:

And in general, I decided to go to Zheleznovodsk. But first we had to get down. and here I was very stupid - from the rocks of tears without problems, and then I decided not to go back, but to look for some kind of path. True, there were paths, but they all led up, and I was tired and went along the one that went downhill. She eventually dissolved at a rather steep slope, along which, through the stones, fallen leaves and flowering grasses, I decided to go down. The descent turned out to be not that dangerous, but boring and difficult. In one place I grabbed a thick dry branch, it broke off and right in my hand with a decent speed of inertia flew into my eye. By some miracle, I managed to close my eyes, but the blow turned out to be such that a natural echo resounded in my head. Not so much from pain, but from fright, I howled and realized that I was afraid to open my eyes - what if I'm crooked now ?! But I did open it, and it turned out that I see everything as I saw it before, only the "blind spot" lasted another 20 minutes. Later, I discovered that there was no bruise or even hemorrhage left from the blow, although I ached somewhere inside the eyes for another couple of weeks . In general, I just can’t get rid of the idea that all the dangers come from people ... however, for the first time in the Road to the Eye, I received it not from some gopnik, but from a tree. Soon I again went out to the flourishing crowded Ring Road:

And I turned at the direct descent to Zheleznovodsk, to which there are another 2-3 kilometers downhill:

The Palace of the Emir of Bukhara and the Soviet buildings of the Telman sanatorium. It seems that for the first time I walked from city to city (except for my periodic walks from home to neighboring Lyubertsy):

The road led me to the station behind these trees. By the way, how did you correct me

Not far from Zheleznovodsk you can see very beautiful mountains: Honey, Iron, Razvalka, Beshtau. The latter is the highest peak of the Caucasus Mineral Waters. From it you can see the panorama of the entire resort town, and in good weather the traveler can contemplate and even In translation, its name means "Five Mountains".

First mentions

One of the first historical essays in which Beshtau is mentioned is the book of Ibn Battuta. This Arab geographer and traveler visited here in the fourteenth century, after which he told about the healing springs of Pyatigorye. In addition, descriptions of the foothills were found in such Greek writers as Ptolemy and Agatamar. They talked about the fact that there are beautiful pastures and thoroughbred horses. And in Russian history Beshtau is mentioned. The mountain and its environs are described in chronicles and other historical documents. For example, in 1627 they were mentioned in the famous "Book of the Great Drawing". In the essays by N.M. Karamzin also repeatedly mentions Pyatigorye.

Natural monument - Beshtau

The mountain itself is an example of a failed volcano. The fact is that viscous and thick lava with a not very high temperature could not fully spill over the slopes. Therefore, Beshtau is a laccolith mountain with "stone bags" filled with magma that has flowed to the surface and solidified in the form of icicles. Travelers and geographers proposed to consider this high peak (1400.9 m above sea level) in 1915. Each peak of the mountain has its own name: Small and Big Beshtau, Goat Rocks, Two Brothers, Fox Nose. From the direction of Zheleznovodsk, the height of the rise is 760 meters. Around the mountain there is a ring road, built in 1927 at an altitude of 820 m above sea level. A little more than six kilometers is a winding path to the top of Beshtau. Zheleznovodsk, Lermontov and other surrounding settlements are visible from there in full view. The ascent itself takes an average of two to three hours.

Why is Beshtau famous?

The mountain in 1914 was surveyed by an expedition from Rostov-on-Don. She gave a description that presumably refers to the Scythian temple of the Sun, located on the crest of a spur. Back in 1851, the famous archaeologist Akritas made discoveries indicating the presence of traces of the ancient Scythians in the Caucasus. A majestic stone was described as confirmation

In the form of a "Scythian hat", which was installed on three pillars. In addition, a domed grotto was found.

Second Athos Monastery

At the foot of the mountain there is now a monastery, which was founded in 1904 near Beshtau. The mountain was not chosen by chance - it was marked with a cross on the photographs brought by John of Kronstadt, who blessed the creation of the monastery. At the beginning of the twentieth century, 9 monasteries were built. However, after the revolution, most of the buildings were destroyed by the Bolsheviks. Then a sanatorium for the disabled was located here, and before the war there was an orphanage. The building for its first purpose was restored not so long ago - in 1999-2001.

Mount Beshtau is unique. A deciduous forest grows at its foot, and some peaks are covered with subalpine grass.

Beshtau is a natural monument, the highest peak in the Caucasus Mineralnye Vody. Tourists from different countries dream of touching the miracle and seeing the famous five-domed laccolith (unformed volcano).

M.Yu. sang the beauty of the majestic mountain in his works. Lermontov. Beshtau, like a magnet, attracts travelers, naturalists and admirers of marvelous landscapes. A visit to the picturesque slopes will not leave anyone indifferent.

general information

Mount Beshtau is located in the central part of Pyatigorye. From the top, in clear weather, a magnificent panorama of the resort area is visible. From a height of 1400 m, the mountain ranges of the picturesque Caucasian ridge, Elbrus covered with legends.

"Five mountains" - this is how the name Beshtau sounds in translation from the Turkic language. It is no coincidence that the resort town lying at the foot of the famous laccolith is called Pyatigorsk.

The diameter of Beshtau is about eight kilometers! The ancient massif consists of mountains with original names:

1. Big Tau - main peak in the form of a four-sided pyramid.

2. Mount Fox Nose or two Brothers.

3. Small Tau.

4. Mount Shaggy.

5. Goat rocks.

Paleogeographers found out that active volcanic activity took place in the region of the Caucasian Mineral Waters millions of years ago. The result is the formation of unusual landscapes that have survived to this day.

The unique geological monument is formed by igneous rocks. The height of Beshtau above sea level is 1400 m.

Two roads lead to the main mountain peak:

1. From Zheleznovodsk.

2. From Lermontov.

Any of the peaks can be reached on foot. The scenery around is amazing!

Natural wealth of Beshtau

In the middle of the last century, uranium ores were developed in the region of magmatic mountains-laccoliths. Other minerals and minerals have been found in the area.

Mineral springs brought worldwide fame to the unique natural formation. In different parts of Mount Beshtau, deposits with rich reserves of healing waters have been developed.

Mineral springs in each area have certain characteristics:

1. East End. Inozemtsevo carbonic-sodium mineral waters of the Zheleznovodsk type.

2. Southwestern section. Beshtaugorsk deposit. Two types of mineral waters. Calcium-sodium springs with a small amount of carbon dioxide and hot springs with a high concentration of silicon and hydrogen sulfide.

3. Upper part of Beshtau. Cold radon waters with high calcium content.

A landscaped area has been created around many springs. Water with a unique composition is used by health resorts in Essentuki and Zheleznovodsk. Through special pipelines, radon waters from the upper part of the mountain enter the hospitals of Pyatigorsk.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of guests come to the picturesque resort region to relax and improve their health “on the waters”.

Flora and fauna

vegetable and animal world Beshtau characterizes species diversity. Relic forests with majestic oaks, beeches, hornbeams and ash trees spread on the slopes of the mountains. Yew berry grows on the rocks. In the subalpine zone, Caucasian mountain ash and hawthorn delight the eye with bright colors.

At the top of the famous mountain Beshtau there is a luxurious subalpine glade. Dozens of rare plant species listed in the Red Book have been found here. Some of them have survived only in this region.

In spring and summer, the glade is covered with a flowering carpet. Grow here:

1. Poppy bract with large petals.

2. Pretty primrose with beautiful purple flowers.

3. Luxurious yellow rhododendron with a marvelous aroma;

4. Wilhelm's mytnik with bright inflorescences.

It is easy to find champignons, chanterelles, milk mushrooms and other mushrooms in the forest area. At the hilly foot, in the direction from Pyatigorsk to Lermontov, there is a forest-steppe. In these places, old forest plantations have been preserved.

In protected areas there are enough pheasants, foxes and hares. But wandering with a gun will not work - hunting at the foot of the mountain is prohibited.

What is next to Mount Beshtau

Not far from the unique five-domed laccolith is the city of Pyatigorsk. One of the best resorts Caucasian Mineralnye Vody offers guests great vacation and quality treatment.

Advantages of the popular resort:

• wonderful landscapes;
• Fresh air;
• springs with healing mineral water;
• dozens of natural monuments;
• picturesque parks and squares;
• the famous "Lermontov's Places";
• developed infrastructure;
• pleasant climate;
• many sanatoriums, boarding houses, health centers;
• comfortable hotels.

Many sights near Mount Beshtau are associated with the names of famous personalities. Lake Proval is located in the Pyatigorsk region. It was here that the master of original combinations, the well-known Ostap Bender, tried to collect the entrance fee.

Tourists will have a fascinating excursion to the places visited by the great poet M.Yu. Lermontov. Make a strong impression:

• grotto of Diana;
• house-museum of M.Yu. Lermontov;
• Mount Mashuk;
• obelisk at the site of the fatal duel.

Note! It is convenient to explore the surroundings of Pyatigorsk from cable car. There is a ring road around Beshtau. Branches lead to the village of Inozemtsevo, the cities of Pyatigorsk, Lermontov, Zheleznovodsk.

Cultural and religious significance

On the picturesque slopes of Mount Beshtau, tourists will be interested in historical, cultural and natural monuments.

This corner North Caucasus attracts pilgrims from Russia and other countries. On one of the slopes, an ancient monastery has been preserved.

Temple of the Sun

Associated with the northeast slope amazing stories and legends. The rocky ledge, sharply protruding outwards, attracts many tourists. Travelers hope to feel the mystical influence of this place.

During the tour, be sure to visit this part of Beshtau. The Temple of the Sun is a large rocky area with buildings made of boulders of various sizes. The remains of unusual structures have been preserved since the time of the Scythians.

A huge stone on three pillars - the heart ancient temple. They say that there is a strong energy here.

Eagle rocks

The picturesque place on the southwestern slope is named so for a reason. Climb the Small Beshtau and look towards the Eagle Rocks. You will really see the profile of a proud bird.

Other rocks form a V-shaped opening. You can see Zheleznovodsk through it. A semi-grotto with a rounded vault is located near the stone "wing".

Eagle Rocks is a favorite place for climbers of different levels of training. Mount Kukla, located nearby, is suitable for rock climbing.

Dormition Second Athos Beshtaugorsk Monastery

The holy monastery is located in a picturesque place at an altitude of 850 m. Russian monks-monks settled in the mountains in the dark times when Ivan the Terrible ruled the state.

For several centuries hermit monks lived and prayed in the monastery. Gradually the monastery fell into disrepair. At the beginning of the 20th century, under the leadership of the monk Gerasim, a new monastery was founded at the foot of Beshtau.

The monks believed that these places are filled with fertile energy. Healing springs, azure sky, high mountain peaks create the right mood and bring you closer to God. The monastery is visited by many believers and tourists.

Do you know that:

1. The age of the five-domed laccolith mountain is almost 9 million years.

2. In the poems of M.Yu. Lermontov mentioned more than ten times majestic mountain. The height of Beshtau made it possible to survey Pyatigorye and experience the heady feeling of flying, standing on top.

3. Beech plantations in the Beshtaugor forest cover an area of ​​177 hectares.

4. In some parts of the forest there are trees that are 170 years old.

5. The first monks settled in the rock monastery during the reign of Ivan the Terrible.

6. Incomprehensible luminous balls sometimes appear near a unique geological monument.

7. locals claim: once in these places they saw a Bigfoot.

Mount Beshtau is a symbol of the greatness of nature. A visit to a wonderful corner of the North Caucasus will give a lot vivid impressions. The photo album will be replenished with hundreds of colorful pictures. Have a good trip!

Mount Beshtau in the Stavropol Territory is the most high point in the region of the Caucasian Mineralnye Vody. The diameter of the foot is about 8 km, the slopes are quite gentle. The mountain range includes several peaks, and many of them got their names:

• Big Tau
• Small Tau
• Fox nose (Two brothers)
• Mount Shaggy (Shaggy barrow, Green Cape)
• Goat rocks

In the Turkic language, "besh" means "five", and "tau" means "mountain", which led to the name of the city of Pyatigorsk.

The natural monument of the Stavropol Territory is one of the failed volcanoes, which geologists call laccoliths (for example, Ayu-Dag or Bear Mountain in Crimea has the same origin).

Millions of years ago, tectonic activity led to the formation of unusual landscapes that have survived to this day. Magma rising from the bowels of the earth lifted the overlying rocks without disturbing their layering. Viscous lava only seeped through the cracks, but failed to break out and spill over the slopes.

The majestic beauty of the mountain became a source of inspiration for Mikhail Lermontov, Beshtau is also mentioned in the works of Alexander Pushkin and Leo Tolstoy.

From the top of the central part of Pyatigorye, a view of Elbrus and the mountain range of the Caucasus Range opens up. Staying at an altitude of 1,400 m fascinates with the feeling of flying.

Two paths lead to Beshtau from opposite sides: from Zheleznovodsk and Lermontov. You can climb any of the peaks on foot, special training and equipment are not required for this.

The entire mountain at an altitude of 800 m is surrounded by a ring dirt road, which was built in the late 1920s with branches to Pyatigorsk, Zheleznovodsk, Lermontov and the village of Inozemtsevo.

Mineral water

The worldwide fame of Beshtau was brought by mineral springs with inexhaustible reserves of healing waters: Beshtaugorskoye and Inozemtsevo. Since the 19th century, the Russian nobility came here to be treated "on the water" in the summer. The purpose of the trip was not only the desire to improve health and enjoy the beauty of the Caucasus, rest in these picturesque places was an integral part of social life. At the same time, several hiking trails were laid to the top of the mountain, as well as a horse road.

Medical tourism is flourishing even now, local sanatoriums help people get rid of various ailments. Through pipelines, radon waters with a high calcium content flow from the upper part of Beshtau to the health resorts of Pyatigorsk, water with a unique chemical composition is also used by health resorts in Essentuki and Zheleznovodsk.

Radon is the result of the decay of radium contained in granite. The gas dissolves well in water, saturating it with its ions. Stimulation of human organs by weak alpha radiation has a healing and rejuvenating effect. Radon is quite rare in nature, therefore such resort places as Baden-Baden in Germany or the Russian KavMinVody are known all over the world.

After the Great Patriotic War, uranium deposits were searched in the USSR for the production of the first nuclear bombs, and reserves of uranium ores were discovered in the bowels of Beshtau. Prisoners were brought in to extract radioactive material. Now the adits are walled up, there are signs with warning inscriptions around. The radiation level does not exceed the natural background values.

Nature

The flora and fauna of Beshtau surprises with its species diversity. The slopes are covered with relict forests: oaks, beeches, hornbeams and ash trees grow here. At the top of the mountain there is a subalpine glade with dozens of rare plant species, many of which are listed in the Red Book. For example, the Beshtaugorsky poppy is not found anywhere else in the world. Scarlet flowers the size of a saucer sway on stems 1-1.5 m high. Birds of prey, wild boars, pheasants, foxes and hares are found in protected areas at the foot. Hunting and collecting plants is prohibited.

Attractions Beshtau

The mountain holds many mysteries to be unraveled. For centuries, people have found shelter here from enemy raids and secluded places for religious rites.

Temple of the Sun

On the northeastern slope there is a rocky ledge with boulders, where seekers of anomalous zones and "places of power" with special energy seek. Above the platform at the cliff hangs a giant stone with a spherical hole at the bottom, created either by nature or by people. The monolith rests on 3 points of support, like other ancient megalithic structures. According to one version, these are the preserved ruins of the Scythian temple of the Sun. According to another, a block is a natural geological formation: magma, saturated with gases, squeezed out to the surface, took a bizarre shape during solidification.

Tourists try to get to this place in order to feel the mystical effect of the mysterious structure. Many stories and legends are associated with the northeastern slope, including those about meetings with aliens and Bigfoot. Locals claim that flying fireballs can be seen here.

Dormition Second Athos Beshtaugorsk Monastery

Since the time of Ivan the Terrible, hermit monks have settled on the southwestern slope of Mount Beshtau. At the beginning of the 20th century, Orthodox ascetics who arrived from Mount Athos founded a holy monastery here. Thanks to them, a lake appeared here with amazing pink lilies, nicknamed “Pyatigorsk lotuses”. In 1927, the Beshtaugorsky monastery was closed and gradually collapsed to the ground. Currently, the monastery has been restored and is open for visiting by pilgrims and guests. Divine services in the temple are performed daily.

How to get to Mount Beshtau

Before the beginning hiking trails Climbing the mountain can be reached by car from Pyatigorsk along the Beshtaugorsky ring. Suitable for this purpose public transport, plying between Pyatigorsk and Lermontov: you need to get off at the turn of Dachnaya Street (stop "Cemetery"), the distance from it to the monastery is about 3 km, then the path to the top lies. On Sunday morning, a bus leaves for the Beshtaugorsky Monastery from the music school in Pyatigorsk. Another way to get to the foot or ring road around the mountain is to use mobile application to call a taxi Uber, Yandex.Taxi, Maxim, Real-KMV, TaxSee.

The route can also be started from Zheleznovodsk railway station. At the Slavyanovsky spring in the Kurortny Park, guides gather groups for hiking. The ascent and descent takes about 5-7 hours.

Panorama "View from Mount Beshtau"

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