Not far from Kislovodsk, at the foot of the Barguzan mountain range is an interesting natural monument - Ring-mountain. This is a large monolithic arch with a diameter of 8 meters, embedded in the rock. The mountain appeared because of the powerful wind, which for many centuries destroyed the sedimentary rocks of the ridge and created deep grottoes. One of them, the air flows, you can say, drilled through.

Ring-mountain about 100 million years old. The locals could not explain the nature of its appearance, and therefore considered the mountain sacred. In principle, this is a common occurrence for people who are used to seeing secrets and mysticism in everything incomprehensible.

There are many legends connected with the mountain. One of them tells about the life of Narth Araf. He had a wife, a son and a horse. One night the horse told his master that the evil genies had attacked his people. Araf took the weapon and was about to mount the horse, but he again spoke in a human voice and said that first you need to temper your heart and thrice through the Ring-mountain so as not to catch on.

Only after the third attempt Araf could fulfill the task, because only for the third time will I be able to think about the victory over the gins. The heart of the sledge became hardened, and he broke the genies.

The well-known Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov wrote about the Ring-mountain not tales, but quite real stories. By the way, a few years ago it was here that the series "Hero of Our Time" was shot based on the poet's work of the same name. The director of the painting complained that on the mountain the main problem was the grasshoppers, who now and then climbed under the hem to the girls.

Also there is a bus station for excursion groups. From a distance, the road to the grotto is like a gypsy camp - everything is worried, poured and loudly screams.

If you approach the mountain close, then through the formed ring you can see tall trees, surrounding mountains, surrounding villages, the road to Kislovodsk and the city itself. The ring is located on the edge of the ridge and closes the line of the grottoes and caves separated by columns, which are also caressed by the winds

Koltso-gora

Ring-mountain in winter