Around 8km west of Kislovodsk is this rugged gorge. It's an attractive spot that trades on a legend about a boy who leapt from the nearby cliffs out of love for a local girl. The girl was supposed to leap too, but thought better of it. Those same craggy cliffs, shooting up from the gushing Alikonovka river, are now popular with rock climbers.
There's pleasant walking here, a natural spring where people also come to drink the water, a hotel and a couple of places to eat.