Kavkaz Mineralnye Vody Kislovodsk

Kislovodsk — Sour Waters in Russian — is the jewel of the Kavkaz Mineralnye Vody (Caucasian Mineral Waters) resort cluster in the North Caucasus, where naturally carbonated bicarbonate springs of extraordinary mineral richness have drawn Russia's nobility, intelligentsia, and cultural establishment since the early 19th century when Pushkin, Lermontov, and Tolstoy all described the spa here in celebrated literary works. The Narzan mineral spring, Kislovodsk's legendary carbonated bicarbonate water, is among Russia's most renowned natural mineral waters within a long thermal tradition, its name derived from the Kabardian for drink of heroes, and the elaborate Narzan Gallery colonnaded pump room is one of Russia's finest 19th-century spa architectural monuments. The Kurpark — one of the largest landscaped spa parks in Europe, spanning 970 hectares — offers a vast network of graded walking trails through forests and mountain meadows with panoramic views of the Elbruz massif and the snow-capped peaks of the Great Caucasus range. As the anchor of Russia's most celebrated spa region and a place of pilgrimage for generations of Russian visitors and literary figures, Kislovodsk continues to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors each year in its grand sanatorium tradition.