The best outing excursions from Essentuki: choosing the best routes

Essentuki is the youngest of the Caucasian Mineral Waters resorts. The mineral water springs discovered on its territory by F. P. Haaz in 1811 did not at first interest doctors; these unique waters had to wait for recognition for more than ten years. The founding date of the city is 1825. Now Essentuki is a large drinking and balneological resort of federal significance, where diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver and metabolism are treated with mineral waters and healing mud of Lake Tambukan.

People rarely come to Essentuki for purely tourist purposes, and during the standard two-week period during the treatment process, holidaymakers get to know all the main attractions of the city without haste. As a rule, vacationers from neighboring resort towns come for one day during their free time from procedures. This is not difficult to do; the cities are connected by commuter rail.

Sights of Essentuki

Essentuki is a quiet provincial resort town in the southern territory of the Stavropol Territory, part of the Mineralnye Vody group in the Caucasus, located at an altitude of 640 m above sea level, in the valley of the Podkumok River.
The town is very popular among tourists from near and far abroad, which is why today we will take a detailed look at the sights of Essentuki and its surroundings. Every year, thousands of people come to the sanatoriums and health centers located on the resort’s territory. Recreational-balneological and mud health centers specialize in the treatment of diseases of the respiratory tract, liver, digestive tract, ENT organs, neurology, musculoskeletal system, endocrine pathology, gynecology, urology and skin.

What will the weather be like?

The weather forecast shows that August in 2022 will be the hottest month in Essentuki. The air temperature during the day is from +28 to +35°C, rains are rare, they are typical for the beginning of August. The city has many parks and green spaces, therefore, as both locals and tourists note, the heat in the city is not felt.

The nights are cold, especially at the end of August - the average temperature is +16°C. It's cool both in the morning and in the evening. Temperatures in the mountains are several degrees lower, and short-term rains are possible there. If you are planning an active excursion program and frequent walks around the city, take with you the following clothes:

• dresses, T-shirts, shorts - for walking during the day;
• hat, sunscreen, sunglasses;
• trousers, a thick sweater and a windbreaker for the morning and evening;
• a pair of comfortable shoes that can withstand hiking in the mountains.

Review of the trip from Anna, a teacher from Tambov:

“I thought that there was nowhere to swim in Essentuki - there was no sea, so I didn’t take a swimsuit. But in vain. I had to buy it. Firstly, my sanatorium had a good swimming pool. Some hotels also have swimming pools; entry there is not for guests - there is a fee. I also went to the beach near Lake Bolshoye, this is the White Coal station, not far from the center. There is nice sand, the lake is clean, there are sun loungers for rent. Nearby there are boat rentals and an excellent cafe with delicious food.”

Weather forecast in Essentuki for August 2022.

Flora and climate

In addition to the well-known mineral springs, the settlement is famous for the extraordinary nature of the Caucasus. From the central part of the city there is an immense panorama of the picturesque landscapes of Mount Beshtau, Mashuk and the peak of the city of Kislovodsk called the Big Saddle.

To the south of the area begin the foothills of the Rocky Range of the Greater Caucasus. Due to the abundance of mountainous terrain, the city is dominated by a mountain-steppe soft continental climate, which has a beneficial effect on the respiratory tract.

People who come here to improve their health will undoubtedly appreciate the attractions of Essentuki and the city’s surrounding areas. Among the interesting places of the famous resort are many architectural forms and buildings, a variety of styles that can evoke the most vivid emotions. Therefore, in between treatments, immediately go on an excursion.

Trout farm, ostrich farm, Ring Mountain

Travelers with children will be interested in a busy outing, which takes place on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. It is called “Trout farm, ostrich farm, Mount Ring” (700 rubles, 4 hours). You can go to a trout hatchery, explore the unique natural monument Mount Ring, and visit an ostrich breeding farm.

Trout farming.

During your walk, you will try original trout dishes, feed the birds, and take beautiful photos against the backdrop of the majestic mountain. It will be a rich program!

A healing park with magnificent nature

The city center is incredibly beautiful, there are historical and cultural sites and many public gardens. The main attractions are located in the Healing Park, as well as on the streets adjacent to it. The 60-hectare central park divides the city into 2 parts: resort and residential.

There is a mineral well here, as well as arches, gazebos, colonnades and various architectural structures that make the place look like a fairy-tale forest. That is why this forest park ensemble is a favorite place for most tourists.

The territory with picturesque virgin nature is divided into the upper Victory Park and the lower Medical Park. Both parts are connected by a staircase, which is built in a cascade with numerous vases, arches, terraces and fountains.

Royal Upper Baths

The mineral baths located in Victory Park are recommended for normalizing the activity of the nervous and musculoskeletal system.

St. Nicholas Church

A two-altar sanctuary in the style of wooden architecture, built by the Cossacks. Near the temple, a stone cross 4 meters high was erected, as well as a monument to the Cossacks (the founders of the village of Essentuki), who gave their lives for the fatherland during the years of genocide.

Drinking galleries

Healing springs mentioned above. Galleries No. 4 and 17 with mineral waters are located at the entrance to the lower park, in the form of stone buildings in the classical English style with the presence of Moorish and Byzantine elements.

Weeping Grottoes

One of the most beautiful ancient places among all the attractions of Essentuki. Here you can observe an extraordinary phenomenon: natural water seeps from the base of the grottoes, which turns into large drops. They flow down and form a lake. Then the water is absorbed into the soil and, passing through several layers of soil, turns into mineral water, known to us as “Narzan”.

Gazebo "Oreanda"

An interesting historical observation deck with majestic architectural columns, located at the foot of the hill in the upper park. The gazebo offers a magnificent view of the highest mountain peak in Russia and Europe, Elbrus. A telescope is located here so that guests can conveniently view the long Caucasus mountain range and the surrounding area of ​​the Black Sea coast.

Jeep trip to Bermamyt

Extreme sports enthusiasts, you are welcome to the “Jeep trip to Bermamyt”! This is an individual 7-hour tour costing 8,000 rubles for a company of up to 8 people. You will be invited to appreciate the beauty of the majestic Elbrus, the Monakhi rocks and the main Caucasian ridge.

Secret places await you on Bermamyt, which can only be reached by jeep.

The trip to the mountains is made in a jeep, which will take you to hard-to-reach but extremely picturesque places.

Notable places in the vicinity of Essentuki

Despite the young age of the city, in addition to the central park, there are other attractions of Essentuki. These are all kinds of architectural buildings and museums built in the traditions of the Russian Empire.

Mud bath named after Semashko

The physiotherapeutic outpatient clinic is located in the building of a former military hospital and is a historical and cultural value. The mud bath carries powerful energy inside and out and can truly be considered a temple of health.

The facade of the building is decorated with bas-relief, and in the area around it there are figures of the gods of ancient Greek and Roman mythology, and you might think that you are somewhere in Greece or Italy. The courtyard is decorated with stone lion statues in Roman style. The inside of the room is decorated with large windows and stained glass windows.

The treatment area and relaxation rooms are located on the ground floor. For treatment, unique sulfide needle mud is brought to the infirmary from Lake Tambukan, which is located in the protected environs of Essentuki. Heating of the mud is ensured by the operation of boiler rooms located in deep basements, because it will have a healing effect at a temperature of 40⁰.

As for organizing recreation for guests of Essentuki, the main motto of the hospital is relaxation of patients. For maximum comfort, the men's and women's areas are separated. And the windows overlook a spruce grove with the aroma of fresh pine needles, which is beneficial for the respiratory tract. There are also quiet alleys for walking.

Tsander Institute of Mechanotherapy

Another name is the Zander Institute of Medical Gymnastics, named after the Swedish doctor Gustav Zander. It is a small, architecturally interesting building with a wooden frame in the Art Nouveau style. Pink brick structures, corner towers and domes on the roof give the impression that you are next to a fairy tale tower.

In 1902, it was here that an apparatus for performing therapeutic machine gymnastics was invented. The health value of this equipment lies in a number of useful functions.

Using simulators, you can correct the curvature of the spine, stretch the spine, massage the legs and arms using powerful vibrations, and bend and straighten various joints. The device provides varying degrees of load, so both adults and children can do the exercises.

In addition to its beneficial effect on the musculoskeletal system, mechanotherapy has a positive effect on diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, joints, metabolic disorders, as well as the functioning of the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems.

Over the period of its hundred-year existence, the Tsander Institute of Mechanotherapy was visited by Prince Golitsin and his wife, Stanislavsky K.S., Shalyapin F.I., Komissarzhevskaya V.F., Taneyev S.I. and other famous personalities. Gymnastics machines to this day help improve people’s health and are still considered unique.

If you want a holiday

Summer is a favorite time for local musicians. They give free concerts in the evenings on Theater Square.

A poster for brass band performances is posted near the Rococo gazebo in the Resort Park.

August 31 is the city day in Essentuki, the celebration will begin on the previous weekend: August 28–29. Usually it includes performances by local creative groups, competitions and games for citizens, and in the evening there is a large gala concert on Theater Square with fireworks.

Concert in honor of the city day.

How to get to Essentuki?

In order to organize treatment and recreation in Essentuki, you first need to get to the administrative center of Mineralnye Vody. If you came here by train, a regular train runs daily from the railway station on the route “Mineralnye Vody - Kislovodsk”. You need to get off at Essentuki station; travel time is 50 minutes.

If you are flying to Mineralnye Vody by plane to get to your holiday home in Essentuki, we recommend that you contact the taxi counter, which is located at the exit from the terminals. Due to the fact that the cities are located only forty kilometers from each other, ordering a car will cost a small amount of 600 to 800 rubles. Travel time by car will be about 40 minutes.

Museums in 1 day

In Essentuki there is only one museum so far - the Museum of History and Local Lore. V.P. Shpakovsky , located in an old mansion of the early 20th century near Teatralnaya Square. The museum was founded in 1963, now it bears the name of its creator - the director of the pedagogical school V.P. Shpakovsky. The main, permanent exhibition occupies six rooms on the second floor of the building. Among the exhibits are paleontological and archaeological collections telling about the distant past of the Pyatigorye region and the peoples who inhabited these places. The exhibits in the nature section reflect the peculiarities of the climate, flora and fauna; there are stands dedicated to the main wealth of the resort's mineral resources - mineral waters.

The museum exhibits many rare photographs, documents, and household items from resort souvenirs to furniture. In a separate room there is a furniture set from the 18th century, inlaid with bone, which is believed to have belonged to the daughter of Peter I, Elizaveta Petrovna. The ground floor hosts a variety of temporary exhibitions, as well as an art salon.

The building of the Essentuki Museum of History and Local Lore named after. V.P. Shpakovsky Photo: © svdun

Monuments

Essentuki (sights, photos with descriptions of which also depict them and sculptures) have several thematic monuments:

• Bird of Happiness, symbolizing peace on the planet;
• Victoria - victory stele;
• Rose of Love, located in the arboretum;
• the stela-monument Eternal Flame reminds of fallen soldiers;

• Cossacks monument dedicated to the city founders.

Where to eat

In the restaurant Shashlychny Dvorik with an attractive interior you can discover quite large portions. Meat lovers will definitely like it here. As a side dish, diners will be offered a huge amount of greens and salad. The prices are average, but not for the budget tourist.

In the cozy Express cafe, prices are more reasonable. The cuisine here is not as extensively meat-based as in the previous restaurant, but not the worst either. Everything is quite good and tasty. It is very pleasant to return to such a cafe again.

Fans of satsivi, Adjarian khachapuri and dolma will certainly enjoy the Georgian restaurant Gamarjoba. Regular visitors claim that lula kebab and shish kebab are very good here. You can take the dishes with you by asking the waiter to pack them. In the evenings the restaurant is always quite crowded.

A little about Essentuki

The young city of Essentuki is the Pearl of the Caucasus. It has a somewhat provincial charm with a Soviet spice. This quiet and cozy place amazes with its well-groomed and cleanliness. It is always calm here, and there is no Lermontov kitsch, which is inherent in other cities of the Caucasian Mineral Waters.

Essentuki is located in the south of the Stavropol region, in a river steppe valley. The continental climate of the resort is characterized by seasonal contrast. In the summer there is dry heat, in the cool winter it often snows, in the fall there is fog, and the warm spring flies by instantly, literally in a month.

Average monthly temperature chart:

Almost 109 thousand people live in Essentuki. Among them are mainly Russians (about 85%), but there are also plenty of Ukrainians, Armenians and Greeks. Hospitable Essentu residents are always respectful and wish well to their guests and visitors.

The resort town is surrounded on all sides by flower beds, gardens and parks with rich and extensive vegetation and diverse fauna. It’s hard to believe that all this didn’t exist in Essentuki before. All parks and gardens were planted, developed and populated by animals and birds precisely with the help of the people who lived in this city.

There are very few forest species in Essentuki. Deciduous trees and steppe plants are mainly found here. Representatives of the fauna at the resort include squirrels, gophers and hamsters.

Essentuki is also considered the habitat of such birds as:

• sparrows;
• swallows;
• swifts;
• woodpeckers;
• hoopoes;
• jays;
• song thrushes;
• Soloviev.

Winter tourism

During the frosty season, there are slightly fewer vacationers in Essentuki than in summer. People who are tired of the city like to take advantage of this circumstance. In warm weather, you can stroll along the streets and admire the winter landscapes.

And mud baths and museums are available even at this time of year. In winter in Essentuki it is also good and healthy to visit hot springs, nightclubs and cafes.

Walking around the city

If we talk about personal general impressions, then they are very contradictory. On the one hand, it’s a typical resort town with a nice park, on the other, you don’t even need to go a couple of blocks from the center to understand that life is like a zebra.

However, this looks like the sanatorium that recently had a fire.

If we ignore social rhetoric, then Essentuki is a city more for treatment than for recreation. The medical park is relatively small (unlike Kislovodsk), and the city itself is quite compact, but there are sanatoriums and boarding houses at every turn.