The best place to view the majestic snow-capped and amazingly beautiful peaks of Elbrus is a territory called Bermamyt. Here we will talk about this place created by nature itself - about the Bermamyt plateau: how to get there, about its surroundings, location.
Big and Small Bermamyt: height
These two huge boulders (massifs) - Big Bermamyt and Small - seem to lie at the very foot of the giant Elbrus, although in reality the distance from them to the peaks is almost 30 kilometers. This is due to the fact that the very transparent air of the mountains hides a little (visually) the distance.
Big Bermamyt is actually considered the main peak of the plateau. But this is also an optical illusion. The highest point of Bermamyt is 2592 meters, which is actually 50 meters lower than the Small one (2643 meters above sea level). It turns out that in fact Small Bermamyt is the highest point of the ridge. The Small got its name in connection with the smaller area it occupies. It is also the southern border of the Caucasian Mineral Waters region.
Bermamyt Plateau: photo, description, location, climate
Bermamyt is a beautiful, unique and amazing creation of the nature of the North Caucasus. Amazingly transparent and cold sunrises, bright and colorful sunsets - all this attracts an unimaginably large number of people to these wonderful romantic places.
The plateau itself is located in a place open to the winds. It is a kind of mirror and creator of the weather of all parts of this southern region. No wonder a weather station functioned here in Soviet times.
The Bermamyt Plateau is located southwest of Kislovodsk, about 40 kilometers away.
The most popular in terms of visiting is Big Bermamyt. Small is located just south.
Coordinates of the Bermamyt Plateau: 43° 42' 19.3788' N; 42° 26' 34.2456 E.
The weather in these places is quite unpredictable. Snow falling in June is not uncommon for these places. Night temperature even in summer can drop to +5. In the daytime, windless weather and heat are possible, instantly changing with the first breath of wind to coolness. Summer nights are usually quite clear here.
Landscapes
This place is great for landscape photography. Majestic rocks, slopes of lowlands covered with green grass, alpine flowers, lovely morning and evening fogs, magnificent mountains, bizarre clouds of various forms in the daytime and low cloudiness at night are loved by many travelers - lovers of a romantic getaway. Bermamyt Plateauvery fond of landscape painters. True, there are difficulties associated with the fact that it is difficult to get to it (more on that below).
What is remarkable about these amazing natural places?
1. Almost the entire western edge is suitable for viewing Elbrus.
2. Due to the high altitude and remoteness from cities, the sky here is very transparent, which is conducive to filming the Milky Way, meteorites, etc.
3. From the very center of the plateau there is a good view of the Caucasian Mineralnye Vody, easily recognizable by the contours of Mount Beshtau.
4. On this plateau is the city of Shatzhatmaz (altitude 2140 meters above sea level). It houses a weather station, a mining astronomical station and a scientific base of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
5. In the North-East of the Bermamyt Plateau is the Pasture Range, which is divided into two parts by the Podkumok River (Dzhinal Range and Darya Heights - 1300 and 1500 meters above sea level). Borgustan plateau descends from the Darya heights in the northeast direction.
How to get to the Bermamyt Plateau
Mostly the roads go only to Bolshoi Bermamyt. Of greatest interest is the southern part of the plateau. From it opens the very amazing view of Elbrus. There are also many interesting cliffs and picturesque "amphitheatres" on the western ridge. Visitors to the plateau have laid stone slides that fit perfectly into the landscape. In the northwest (walking along the cliff) you can see rocks with curious titles - "Two brothers" (or "Monks"). The Bermamyt plateau is very tempting. How to get there by car?
The gently sloping peak of Big Bermamyt (almost flat) is accessible even by car.
However, it should be borne in mind that getting to these places is not very easy and pleasant. The length of the entire road is approximately 40 kilometers. The road, one might say, is difficult, but quite passable for an SUV. It goes along the steep rocks of the Berezovsky gorge, and then through the subalpine meadows.
You have to drive along a dirt broken road that crosses a not very nice plateau. At the very beginning, if you drive from Kislovodsk, the road stretches over the Berezovka gorge. Usually the guides brighten up this monotonous path with stories and reports about interesting stories and interesting names of mountains and rocks encountered along this path. The last ones are quite curious: The Stone of Solitude, Alabaster Mountain, Guard Rock, Wolf's Gate.
Hiking
There is another road to the Great Bermamyt. It is more interesting because it passes through the famous Narzanov Valley. True, part of it has to be passed on foot, climbing a rather steep slope (to the top from the gorge of the Khasaut River). This slope is not suitable for vehicles.
The rocky cliffs of Lesser Bermamyt are difficult to climb, so it is rarely visited.
Dawn on the Plateau: Ghosts
The most interesting sight on the Bermamyt Plateau is the amazing sunrise. At the very first rays of the sun Elbruscovered with a light mist. As the sun rises, it thickens more and more on Elbrus, covering its snow-white peaks. Such a performance lasts for an hour, after which the top of the Caucasus Range looms recognizably against a blue sky background. At this moment, Elbrus shimmers with all the known colors of the rainbow.
Besides everything, occasionally on Bermamyt you can see the so-called Brocken Ghost. A rainbow circle appears in the clouds themselves, and inside it, figures of tourists (sightseeers) are visible in an enlarged form. And each of their movements is transmitted exactly. These circles often disappear quickly.
These "ghosts" are enlarged shadows of human figures against the background of clouds located on the opposite side of the sun rising over the horizon. All this happens in connection with the refraction and decomposition into a spectrum of light rays by ice crystals in cirrus clouds.
Due to the peculiarity of weather conditions, it is convenient to visit the Bermamyt plateau from mid-May to the end of November. At other times, a deep cover of snow can interfere, lingering for a long time in the hollows.
