Predgorny District: Discover Cossack Culture and Mountains

The Old Cossack Farmstead in the stanitsa of Borgustanskaya offers insights into the everyday life, culture, customs and cuisine of the Terek Cossacks.

On Mount Piket in the stanitsa of Essentukskaya stands a church dedicated to the Holy Great Martyr Khristova Ekaterina; beside it is a metal cross about 25 meters high.

The Convent of Saint George stands on Mount Dubrovka. Nuns live there, and helpers and pilgrims visit regularly. Orthodox pilgrims are welcome.

Mount Verblyud is designated a natural monument and covers 390 hectares. A notice dated March 3, 2025, states that a 10.91-hectare protected zone has been established for Mount Sheludivaya.

At the Cossack farmstead in Borgustanskaya, visitors can take part in staged programs about the traditions and customs of the Terek Cossacks. These include “Kazachya yarmarka,” “Starinnye posidelki,” “Vstrecha kazakov iz pokhoda” and “Posvyashchenie v pripisnye kazaki.” The “Volnaya kazachka” folk group from the stanitsa of Borgustanskaya also welcomes visitors there.

The themes range from everyday life and cuisine to staged customs and folklore. If a particular program is central to your trip, ask about its date in advance.

Mount Piket got its name when the resorts of the Caucasian Mineral Waters region began to emerge. A Cossack observation post may also have been located there. The historical interpretation is therefore tentative; the church and the nearby cross are the mountain’s actual landmarks.

By contrast, the Convent of Saint George stands on Mount Dubrovka. Nuns live there, helpers and pilgrims visit regularly, and Orthodox pilgrims are welcome. Thus, Mount Piket is centered on a church and a cross, while Mount Dubrovka is associated with the convent and its community.

Mount Verblyud is designated a natural monument covering 390 hectares. A protected zone of 10.91 hectares is listed for Mount Sheludivaya. The area figures refer to different protection designations: for the first mountain, the designated natural monument; for the second, the protected zone.

The wider Stavropol region offers additional cultural and landscape attractions, for example in Kislovodsk and Pyatigorsk. These are regional additions, not features of Predgorny District. In Kislovodsk, Lermontov Rock lies on the southern edge of the city in the Olkhovka Gorge, near the settlement of Narzanny. Since 1961, it has been a natural monument of regional significance and has belonged to the State Mikhail Lermontov Museum-Reserve.

Also in Kislovodsk, the Narzan Gallery is in the city center at the entrance to the spa park. It is a 19th-century architectural monument and a cultural heritage site of federal significance. Visitors are offered three types of narzan to taste: general, dolomite and sulfate narzan. Before your visit, check whether tastings will be available on your chosen date. Kislovodsk National Park is divided into Lower, Middle and Upper parks; the Lower Park begins in the city center.

In Pyatigorsk, Mount Mashuk lies almost at the center of the city. The duel between Mikhail Lermontov and Nikolai Martynov took place at its western foot in 1841; in 1889, Russia’s first monument to Lermontov was unveiled in Pyatigorsk. Another landscape feature of the region is Mount Koltso: weathering and erosion created an opening measuring 8 by 10 meters through its rock. At Mount Strizhament, the ecological trail has a well-maintained path and information boards. Conditions on site may change, so check them before your visit.

Focus your accommodation search on the themes you want to explore on your trip: the Cossack programs, the district’s landmarks and protected features, or destinations elsewhere in the wider Stavropol region. You can also include Suvorovskaya as a specific destination in your search. Discover more destinations: Krasnogvardeysky District, Predgornyy rayon, Stavropol', Kislowodsk, Mineralnyje Wody, Jessentuki and Budennovskiy rayon.

What programs does the Old Cossack Farmstead offer?

Staged programs include “Kazachya yarmarka,” “Starinnye posidelki,” “Vstrecha kazakov iz pokhoda” and “Posvyashchenie v pripisnye kazaki.” Ask about the date if you would like to take part in a particular program.

What is distinctive about Mount Piket?

It is home to a church dedicated to the Holy Great Martyr Khristova Ekaterina and a metal cross about 25 meters high. The mountain got its name when the resorts of the Caucasian Mineral Waters region began to emerge; a Cossack observation post may have been located there.

What protected areas are listed for Verblyud and Sheludivaya?

Verblyud is designated a natural monument and covers 390 hectares. A notice dated March 3, 2025, states that a 10.91-hectare protected zone has been established for Sheludivaya.

For the wider travel overview: Stavropol Region.