Sugomak Cave

Sugomak Cave (Sugomakskaya peshchera) is a karst cave on the eastern slope of Mount Sugomak near the town of Kyshtym in Chelyabinsk Oblast. It is considered the only cave in the Urals carved by water in marble. The cave is protected as a geological natural monument and is part of a popular route together with Mount Sugomak and Lake Sugomak.

The grottoes of Sugomak Cave

The cave consists of three grottoes linked by narrow passages. The explored passages add up to 123 metres.

• Svetly (Light) Grotto is the first one from the entrance. A metal ladder leads down into it; it is partly lit by daylight and is accessible even to children. In winter its walls are covered with frost crystals and ice stalagmites grow on the floor.
• The Old Believers' Grotto is the second. The temperature here stays above freezing all year round and the air is very humid.
• Ozerny (Lake) Grotto is the third, reached through a vertical shaft about 6 metres deep. Part of it is taken up by a small lake of clear water. In summer the water level can drop, opening a few short side passages.

History and legends

The cave was first explored by speleologists from Sverdlovsk in 1963. The second grotto owes its name to a local story: Old Believers are said to have hidden in the cave in the old days. Another legend claims that underground passages lead from the cave all the way to Kyshtym; nothing confirms it.

Getting there

Kyshtym lies about 100 km from Chelyabinsk and 150 km from Yekaterinburg. From the town, take the road towards the village of Slyudorudnik as far as the information board by the trail. The cave entrance is a few minutes' walk from the road. The route is easy and often done with children, usually combined with a climb up Mount Sugomak (591 metres) and a visit to Lake Sugomak. The karst spring known as Maryiny Slyozki (Marya's Tears) is close to the cave.

Good to know

Sugomak Cave is very popular with tourists and cavers, and suffers for it: litter is left in the grottoes and graffiti appears on the walls. A grate in front of the second grotto is therefore being discussed, so that the cave beyond Svetly Grotto could only be visited with a guide.