Karamuruntau Ridge

This is the name of one of the most beautiful places in the southwestern Southern Urals - a chain of ridges and hills stretching along the plain of the Sakmara River from the village of Isyangulovo to Kondurovka. A couple of years ago, the ridge caught the lens of photographer Vasily Yakovlev, who captured Karamuruntau from a bird's-eye view. From this angle, the ridge looked like a sleeping dragon, the vertebrae of which bulge upward – since then, the ridge has not ceased to be compared with a winged fire-breathing snake.

"The name" of the ridge translates as "Black Nose Mountain", probably in honor of one of the peaks, which was nicknamed "The Nose" because of the external resemblance of one of the limestone strata to the human respiratory organ.

At the southern tip of this mountain there is a karst lake – Chertovo Lake. Once its depth reached eight meters, but over time, due to siltation, it began to dry up – today its depth has become much smaller. The lake area is also small. The mountain is also interesting for archaeologists – fossils of small mollusks and shells can still be found here.

The highest point of the ridge reaches 421 meters. It offers an amazing panorama of hills and valleys. It is especially interesting to visit here, and indeed in Orenburg region, during the flowering period, when the hillsides burst into purple inflorescences of dream grass, and numerous streams begin their way from the peaks.

Nearby is one of the many ennobled holy springs in the Saraktash district.

No special training or equipment is needed to visit the ridge, the route is quite simple and suitable even for children.