Mount Mashuk

Mount Mashuk, a state-protected 994-meter tall beauty, has been the main attraction of Pyatigorsk for many years. This natural giant rises in the north-east of the city and is rightly considered a mountain-reserve, a mountain-health resort and, of course, a mountain-attraction.

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Video: Mount Mashuk

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Highlights

Mashuk is distinguished by its cone-shape with a truncated top, the diameter of the cone is 4 km. It is surrounded by smaller “height”, but the same majestic neighbors – Goryachaya and Kazachka mountains, as well as Mikhailovsky spur. The 558-meter Goryachaya Mountain, being a spur of the southern slope of Mashuk, is a historically significant place, because it is the very place where the city of Pyatigorsk began. Also near it is Mount Britaya, which became famous thanks to Lake Proval.

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Mount Mashuk is an asset not only to Pyatigorsk, but to the whole of Russia. In the XIX century on its slopes found springs of mineral water of five types. After that, the people called it “the giver of healing waters”, and the aristocracy rushed to be treated with them. Numerous sanatoriums were opened at the foot of Mashuk, where everyone has the opportunity to improve their health. Vacationers and tourists enjoy walking in parks, also located along the foot of the mountain, getting a huge charge of energy and vigor.

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At one time Mashuk was also favored by fans of hiking, since then this hobby remains one of the most popular among tourists. There is much to see here: on the slopes, including satellite mountains, there are caves and grottos, places with found remains of prehistoric settlements and turned into stone ancient plants, not to mention churches, galleries, pavilions and cemeteries. You’ll need more than one day to take in all this natural, historical and cultural heritage.

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Flora and fauna

In Mashuksky forest park – it, as if embracing, girdles the foot of the mountain and connects with Beshtagorsky forest park – grow mainly ash and oak trees. On the northern side is located Perkal dendrological nursery, where a very large and valuable collection of rare plants from different parts of the world. There are over 80 species in the nursery, many of which are endangered plants. There are also such rare ones as Mashuk hawkweed, narrow-leaved snowdrop, pentagon hawkweed, dwarf birchbark and rock milkvetch. 25 plant species are considered to be reference plants, as they were first discovered here.

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Some 100 years ago, the slopes of Mount Mashuk were literally “overpopulated” – it was noisy with birdsong and animal cries. However, civilization has not had the best effect on the local fauna. Birds, animals and reptiles are becoming less and less. You will no longer see badgers and graceful wild forest cats, bats are on the verge of extinction. Hares, foxes and hedgehogs are rare.

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Recreation and Leisure

About the local cable car, which bears the name of the mountain itself – “Mashuk” – tourists are well known. However, this is not surprising, because it has existed since 1971. Its length is 964 meters, two carriages with a capacity of up to 20 people each move along it. They move at a speed of 8 meters per second, which is quite comfortable. It takes less than 3 minutes to get to the top of the mountain. The cable car operates according to the schedule: the movement starts from 10 am, the last boarding is at 17:30.

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For those who are fond of mountain biking – this is an independent type of mountain biking – there is a separate track on the slopes. Downhill riders and fans of freeride – descents from natural hills – hone their skills here every year.

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Sights of Mashuk Mountain

The Mashuk Mountain observation deck is one of the most popular places, it gives vacationers the opportunity to admire the city’s surroundings from a height and look at Beshtau. In clear weather, when the tops of the massifs are not hidden under a shroud of fog, you can see part of the plains of the Stavropol Territory, the Caucasus Range and even the famous Elbrus.

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A subject of pride of the citizens of Pyatigorsk is the TV tower. It can be safely put in the Guinness Book of Records as the highest of those located in Europe. If you look at it from afar, it resembles an arrow, giving the impression that the mountain, like a space rocket, rushes far into the sky. The TV tower itself is not high, its “height” is only 113 meters. But since it is not on the ground, but on the top of Mashuk, it de facto rises as much as 1069 meters above sea level. “Our Eiffel Tower” is what the locals call it. There is a resemblance to the Parisian celebrity, it is especially noticeable at the moment when the evening twilight begins to thicken over the TV tower.

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At the end of the XVIII century on the slope of Mashuk was discovered vertical 41-meter cave in the form of a funnel, at the bottom of which is a whole karst lake. It turned out to be quite large: 15 meters in diameter and 11 meters deep. Due to such an unusual location the lake was named Failure. In its water of bright blue color, the temperature of which varies within +26 … +41 ° C, hydrogen sulfide is found and bacteria live. In the middle of the XIX century Prince Golitsyn gave an order to break through there a 58-meter tunnel, the entrance to it was lined with stone and provided a descent down to the Proval. Then the tunnel was consecrated, and in a niche near the water placed an icon of the Mother of God, replaced decades later by an image of the Great Martyr Panteleimon.

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Another attraction of Mashuk – the sculpture “Eagle” – is considered a symbol of the Caucasian mineral waters. A visit to this huge stone bird holding in its claws a serpent symbolizing the ailments it overcomes is included in all excursion programs. This unusual sculptural composition was discovered back in 1901, and since then interest in it has not waned.

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The Legend of Mashuk

Did you know that a long time ago there were no Caucasus Mountains and the area below them was occupied by fertile plains? So, at least, says one of the local legends. In these lands lived the Narts – mighty bogatyrs, whose leader was Prince Elbrus. His son Beshtau fell in love with a beautiful girl named Mashuko and decided to marry her. But the prince himself was in love with her and decided to prevent the wedding by sending his son on a campaign. In order to bring Mashuko to the wedding, he started a rumor about the death of Beshtau. The girl grieved very much, but Elbrus married her by force and decided to imprison her in the tower. However, the son returned from the campaign alive and unharmed and, having stolen his chosen one, escaped with her. The prince and his retinue set out in pursuit and soon caught up with the fugitives.

The young prince and his companions resisted as best they could, but the prince’s retinue were stronger. As a result, all but Elbrus and Beshtau perished. And so they met in a duel. Beshtau swung his sword and cut his father’s head in half. Before he lost his breath, the prince found the strength to swing his sword and cut his son’s head into five pieces. Weeping Mashuko, who saw her beloved die, grabbed his dagger, plunged it into her chest and then threw it away. The grief of the dead girl was so great and deep that everything around her was petrified. The warriors who died in battle and Mashuko herself turned into mountains…

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Interesting facts

Those who have watched the comedy “The Twelve Chairs” or read the novel by Ilf and Petrov, probably remember the episode in which Ostap Bender tried to collect money allegedly for the repair of the Piatigorsk Proval. Subsequently, it was decided to immortalize the image of the Great Combinator here – the sculpture of the Turkish subject, who was embodied on the screen at different times by such outstanding actors as Andrei Mironov, Archil Gomiashvili and Sergei Yursky, was installed right at the entrance to the Proval. Every visitor can take a picture with Ostap and even sit on one of the chairs from Kisa Vorobyaninov’s set.

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Mount Mashuk is closely associated with the name of Mikhail Lermontov. It was at its foot on July 15, 1841, there was a duel between the 26-year-old poet and Major Martynov, fatally wounded him. There, where the tragic duel took place, there is a monument to which admirers of Lermontov’s immortal work come. By the way, Mikhail Yurievich was first buried in Pyatigorsk not far from the place where he was shot. But a year later he was reburied next to his mother’s grave in the ancestral village of Tarkhanovo.

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How to get there

Mount Mashuk is the symbol of Pyatigorsk, and to see it in all its glory, you need to come to this wonderful city in the Stavropol region.

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There is no airport in Pyatigorsk itself, the nearest air harbor is 25 km away, in Mineralnye Vody. It accepts aircraft from Aeroflot, Ural Airlines, Rossiya, Taimyr, Donavia, Sibiri, Red Wings, Nordstar and UTair.

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The cost of a ticket from Moscow to Mineralnye Vody is about 4 thousand rubles. Flights to Mineralnye Vody are operated from all airports of the Russian capital.

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