Gelendzhik in Krasnodar Krai is one of the most visited tourist places in Russia. And the ‘Parus’ Rock (‘Sail Rock’) is its “visiting card”. It is surrounded by pine forest and a stony beach. It was named, because of its unusual shape: it is high (30 meters), but rather thin (only about 1 meter thick) and most of it goes into the sea.
But, the main mystery is a round hole about 2 meters above the water. Tourists are told the legend that it is a hole from a cannonball from the times of the Caucasian War (1817-1864). But scientists still consider the hole to be a natural and climatic phenomenon.
Earlier, Parus Rock was a part of a big mountain massif, which collapsed due to seismic activity and the rest of it took such a bizarre shape because of constant strong winds.
Dear readers,
Our website and social media accounts are under threat of being restricted or banned, due to the current circumstances. So, to keep up with our latest content, simply do the following:
If using any of Russia Beyond's content, partly or in full, always provide an active hyperlink to the original material.
Subscribe
to our newsletter!
Get the week's best stories straight to your inbox
