Honey Waterfalls

"Honey Waterfalls" are located in the vicinity of the Alikonovka river canyon. This valley is well known due to its picturesque and beautiful landscape. In the Alikonovka river valley just on the way to "Honey Waterfalls" there is one of the most popular excursion places of Kislovodsk region called "Rocky Castle" (or "Castle of perfidy and love") It is located in the deep stone dell. The whimsical looking rocks reminding castle with cogged walls are rising over valley here.

They've got this poetic name due to legend, which says that once upon a time there was rich prince Alikonov who had lived here. His heart seemed to be as a piece of rusty iron. He didn't know the feeling of love or pity. He had the only daughter who was growing as an alone flower among the wild rocks and gray stones. Her name was Dauta. He loved and took care of her. He loved but saved her from the neighbours' eyes and kept alone.

And the only one man she knew in her childhood games was the old shepherd's son. The quick running years turned both of them into beautiful and slim young people. The passionate love to each other appeared between them, but many troubles it gave them also. Prince Alikonov would never give his lovely daughter to old shepherd's son. The rich and noble fiance came to visit Dauta. The shepherd got paled. Dauta got paled too. Everything is coming to an end and they decided - to dye is better than to be separated. "There's no fear to die with your lover" cried the young man and jumped up to the precipice. But Dauta scared and went back to home. These rocks were named as "Castle of perfidy and love" since those times.

It's a wonderful place built by the nature itself. The dolomite walls are rising from one side and the rocky places in alternative with steep slopes full of grass and hazel are on the other one. The highest waterfall is about 13 meters and the second one is about 8 meters high. The noisy waterfalls are separated with a slope into two not large cascades in the pass between big granite rocks. There is one smaller waterfall which is located higher than the highest one. They say, that 100 years ago there were too many swarms of bees, which lived in the waterfalls' rocks, in the fissures, crevices and deepenings. The bee's hives were washed away by the summer downpours and the thick amber honey streams were coming down the rocks as in the tail after that. The bees had gone many years ago but the name "Honey Waterfalls" was saved. There is a tourist camp that is located next to "Honey Waterfalls" also.