Red Stones of Kislovodsk

The Red Stones are one of the most famous attractions of the Kislovodsky National Park. They are located on the eastern side of the Middle Park. Terrainkur No. 2 leads from the Lower Park to the Red Stones (the distance is almost 1 kilometer). You can also go from the city to the park from the north side through a Cascade Staircase. It is located right next to the Red Stones. 

The Red Stones in Kislovodsk are remnants of a red-brown color. They were formed millions of years ago when this place was covered by the waters of the prehistoric Tethys Ocean. In this place, the sandstone is stained with iron oxide, so the stones have a bright red color. Just 500 meters away there are Gray stones. They are saturated with other minerals and have a completely different color. 

At the beginning of the 20th century, the area near the Red Stones was deserted. Throughout the century, gardeners have been actively planting trees here, so now there is a dense forest growing both in the Middle Park and in the Mountain Park. If at the beginning of the 20th century there was a viewing point on the Red Stones, now trees rise tens of meters above it. 

An eagle sculpture was installed on one of the Red Stones in 1959. An eagle pecking a snake is a symbol of the Mineral Waters region. The figure of an eagle can be seen from the bottom of the cliff. You can climb the Red Rocks and approach the eagle almost closely.  

Baku students Ingal and Shkhiyan carved a high relief of Lenin on one of the Red Stones in the Kislovodsk Resort Park. They made it in 1924, the year of Lenin`s death. Their high relief has not survived to this day. The sandstone is very fragile and was badly damaged during the earthquake.  

In 1927, the damaged high relief was replaced with a metal high relief of Lenin by the sculptor V. Andreev. It was placed inside a carved red star, and in 1969 a staircase and a marble pedestal were made at the foot of the stone. The monument to Lenin has been preserved in this form to this day.