Glade of Stone Mushrooms on Elbrus
The Glade of Stone Mushrooms is located at an altitude of 3200 meters on the northern slope of Elbrus. It is located on the route where climbers climb to the top, however, this place can also be considered as a goal for a mountain hike. The Glade of Stone Mushrooms attracts followers of various mystical teachings no less than the German Airfield, which is located a little lower down the slope of Elbrus.
The Stone Mushrooms of Elbrus are formations of various layers of rock. The upper part consists of hard rock, and the lower part is made of soft silicon tuff. As a result of weathering, as well as under the influence of water flows from the glaciers of Elbrus, the soft rock was washed away, but part of the soft rock under the hard caps was preserved. This is how the Mushrooms were formed. Stone Mushrooms of Altay in the valley of the Chulyshman River were formed in the same way. And the most famous place in the world where you can see stone mushrooms is Cappadocia in Turkey.
The height of Stone Mushrooms on Elbrus varies from 2 to 5 meters. Altay’s «mushrooms» are higher, but there they are large stones on thin legs. Elbrus mushrooms look much more beautiful. One of them looks like a monkey`s head, the other clearly shows the profile of a man, the third looks like a chimney, the fourth looks like a clown in a hat. There are huge flat plates on thin legs here.
The size of the Stone Mushroom Glade is approximately 250 by 100 meters. On both sides of the Glade, sloping slopes go down, like a dome. Mushrooms stand on top of the dome. From the edge, the Glade under the Mushrooms is clearly visible, with its giant lava fields. From the south, the huge double-headed Elbrus with its glaciers rises above the Glade. Directly above the Glade of Stone Mushrooms, the edge of the glacier is 300 meters away, but on the east side the tongue of the glacier descends to the level of the glade (3200 m).
Various esotericists and followers of bioenergetic teachings call the Glade of Stone Mushrooms a "Place of Power". They believe that this place has esoteric healing powers; moreover, it is not only about spiritual purification, but also about healing from diseases. Some come here for meditation, like the Tibetan lamas that the Germans brought to the German Airfield in 1942. Some believe that here, and not at the German Airfield, the entrance to Shambhala is located.
The German Airfield is located below the Glade of Stone Mushrooms. It is an absolutely flat plateau at an altitude of 2850 meters. There are legends that German military planes landed on it in 1942. Allegedly, the German military brought swarthy people in white clothes on one plane. These were Tibetan lamas who were taken to Elbrus to meditate and search for the entrance to Shambhala. There is a version that these lamas were later shot because they predicted the outcome of the war not in favor of Germany.
