When I found out that the length of the Una-Koz ridge is more than a hundred kilometers, I did not believe it! After all, as it seemed to us, we covered a large and interesting part of it in a few hours, and this is clearly not a hundred kilometers. But having carefully studied the maps, I established myself in this information. It really does not end with the radial route that we passed, but goes further towards the Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia. But in order to get acquainted with its main beauties, it is not necessary to go through the entire length of the ridge, it is enough to master 7-8 km. The height of the Una-Koz ridge is on average from 800 to 1000 meters above sea level. Near the village of Kamennomostsky the ridge is limited, as well as the gorge of the same name and the Belaya River. And it is from Kamennomostsky that we keep our way. Our route turned out to be radial, that is, from where we start it there and return, but a slightly different way.

He took about 6 hours, and its length was 7.5 kilometers. Following this route, you can visit various grottoes, the Devil's Finger rock, Dakhovskaya, Pylnaya, Meandrovaya caves, as well as ride a cable car.

The Una-Koz ridge is a karst limestone and, therefore, is rich in caves and grottoes. Its name from ancient Greek means “go and be afraid”, which is associated with the fact that robbers hid in the caves and attacked trade caravans heading to the sea. And through Khadzhokh (waterfalls of Rufabgo, Adygea), as we remember, one of the threads of the Silk Road ran. And also in some caves were found the sites of primitive people.

How to get to the Una-Koz ridge

This popular day route can now be accessed from at least two sides. From the side of the village of Dakhovskaya, from the old Dakhovsky bridge across the Dakh river, there is a path to the ridge. She leads to the rock Iron. From the rock Iron, you can turn left and walk to the Dakhovskaya cave. And if you turn right, you can see the Pylnaya, Meandrovaya caves, and several more grottoes, climb the rocky section of the ridge and examine the Devil's Finger rock, and then take a walk towards the cable car and find the grotto and the site of an ancient man. The latter, by the way, we could not find, we turned off too early. And the second option: get to the cable car, which is located opposite the turn to Lago-Naki, climb it and walk along the ridge to the Devil's Finger rock, go down from the ridge and visit all the sights described above.

The second option seemed more logical to us. Firstly, it is always interesting to ride the cable car, and most importantly, if when you reach the Devil’s Finger rock, you don’t feel the strength to go down from the ridge and go all the way on foot, then you can return to the cable car again and go down with comfort and a beautiful view, because for You paid for the descent when you got up. And secondly, even if you don’t want to go down the cable car, then on foot your path will run mainly downhill, you will spend less effort, and eventually you will come to the same cable car if you left your car there.

Where to live on vacation?

Booking system Booking.com the oldest in the Russian market. Hundreds of thousands of accommodation options from apartments and hostels to hotels and hotels. You can find a suitable accommodation option, at a good price.

By not booking a hotel now, you risk overpaying later. Book your accommodation through Booking.com

Hiking route along the Una-Koz ridge

From the parking lot we head to the cable car and pass by the chapel erected in memory of the repressed Cossacks.

The cable car was built in 2015 and its length is 1265 m. The climb is about 450 m. But still, a ride on the cable car is like a small holiday every time, some kind of forgotten feeling from childhood, how to ride a big carousel!

This time this holiday cost 500 rubles per person for the ascent and descent. Not the cheapest holiday, but oh well. Already when climbing the cable car, a wonderful view of the Skala tract opens up, and you can also see the Lago-Naki plateau, in our case, everything is still covered in snow.

I also liked that the cable car goes below the level of tree crowns, and there is a feeling that you are moving in a tunnel of trees. In summer it will probably be a green tunnel.

We are arriving.

Immediately upon arrival, we are met by a waypost. Everything seems to be clear, but how we galloped past the site of an ancient man, I can’t imagine!

We start the path along the path, which leads to the first observation deck, and also, as I understand it, if you go down to the intermediate terrace, then to the grotto-parking of an ancient man.

A panorama opens from the observation deck: the village of Dakhovskaya in the valley, a little to the right in the distance, a piece spotted with snow, then snow-covered, the white peaks of Mount Oshten and the rocky, also covered with snow, Stone Sea ridge. Well, what's next, to the left, it's hard for me to say. Precisely there is Mount Black Shikhan in the middle ground, and then a lot of ridges and mountains of the Main Caucasian Range.

From below, the beginning of the cable car and the bridge over the Belaya and the road to Lago-Naki and the Skala tract is visible.

View towards Kamennomostsky, and in the distance the village itself.

We continue our journey towards the Devil's Finger, the trail is marked, so it's hard to get lost.

While sitting at home and looking at maps, I noted the Dakhovskaya cave for myself and for some reason did not guess at all that it would be under a rocky section of the ridge. And now, when I began to approach it more or less closely in terms of coordinates, I was finally convinced of this. It must be down there somewhere.

You need to go to it from the rock Iron to the left, if you look at Una-Koz. Well, we, having realized this fact and at the same time being on top of the ridge, continued our way to the Devil's finger. Or maybe we'll find something interesting along the way.

Rope park Tetis

We reach the rope park Tetis. If you are in a hurry to the Devil's Finger, then follow the signs, but we decided to look into the park and see what they offer. And they offer a lot of trails: zip lines / zip line, via ferrata, rope trails, everything needs both time and money, of course. Honestly, I wanted to fly over the trees next to the rocks along the troll track, but time was limited, and we went further. At some other time.

From the territory of the park, we first saw the Iron stone.

It also offers an almost complete panorama from the ridge.

On the left, you can already see the mountains Big and Small Thach, which are part of the Big Thach Natural Park. I hope to visit it someday.

Stanitsa Dakhovskaya almost close-up and beautiful clouds.

Well, about the Iron stone a little later, when we get closer to it. We continue the path to the Devil's finger.

Rock Devil's Finger

We've arrived. The rock is shown among the trees. Yes, the height is decent! And you have to be careful when climbing it! And the views from it are gorgeous, like the Devil's Finger rock itself, it is irresistible against the background of the mountains. Although the finger, I would say, is clearly not in the singular, but rather it's damn fingers. Or a damn goat!

View from the cliff Devil's finger.

A little to the left of the Devil's Finger rock there is a descent from the top of the ridge under a rocky area, where the path to the Iron stone and the exit to the Dakhovskaya village runs.

Cave Meandrovaya

Moving away not far from the descent, we meet the first cave. The entrance to the cave is on a hill, so it can be skipped.

The cave is not very deep, but still with its winged guardians. It seemed to me that this is just the Meander cave, so be it! It's definitely not dusty! And the ceiling sparkles.

Next I find some kind of fault, and it seems that it has a through passage, but I didn’t want to climb there, there is no intrigue. We go further, I want to find the next cave.

Dusty Cave

And it looks like she is!
The entrance to it is quite rather big, as it may seem initially.

It is definitely impossible to confuse it with some other one, since there is really a lot of dust there. Climb into it and not get dirty, in my opinion, it just won't work!

The cave has a high ceiling. And you look at some of the stones at the top with caution.

The cave ends with a narrowing.

We leave.

Sometimes the path comes close to the rock, which makes it possible to appreciate even more how great the Una-Koz ridge is.

Fortune Stone

And here is the stone of Fortune. It is not known for certain why it is so named. Someone thinks because after passing under it, fortune awaits you. And the thought came to me, based on the size and its inclination, that the fortune lies in the fact that it will remain in place while I pass under it, and I, in turn, will remain intact.

Stone Iron

We approach the stone Iron.

He did not seem small from a distance, but even closer! Height about 20 meters, length about 50 meters. The stone broke off from the rock during the German shelling of the ridge from the village of Dakhovskaya in 1942. There were Russian partisans on the ridge, in fact, this was the reason for the shelling, apparently the Germans could not get them in any other way. Now the stone is also notable for its parallel lines, the appearance of which some associate with the landings of aliens. We also thought about how they could appear. Water obviously does not flow down in such smooth lines, it goes the way it is easier for her. Otherwise, there would be no proverb about the fact that water will always find a way. But the fact that this is an alternation of more and less durable geological layers, only on the scale of the ridge, and maybe even larger, is possible. And the grooves appeared in the less durable layers of the rock under the influence of erosion.

Further, our path runs along the slope through the forest to the Dakhovsky bridge.

And this gently purple flower turned out to be very unusual. This Zubyanka five-leaf belongs to the popular Cruciferous family. There is a popular name - Wild lilac. This plant is on the verge of extinction, so it is listed in the Red Book. It disappears due to trampling the soil by livestock and due to trampling and picking into bouquets by traveling people, as it grows on loose soils and reproduces only by seeds. An interesting feature: a new plant can bear fruit only 5 years after its birth, if during these five years no one tramples and picks it. But it turns out that it is also a rhizome, it can also multiply if it is not trampled.

We reached the Dakhovsky Bridge already at dusk and there was almost no strength left to get around it and take a picture normally. For orientation, perhaps a silhouette through the thickets.

Further along the Kamennomostsky-Guzeripl road, we reached the cable car, which by that time had already completed its work for today. Our car was waiting for us in the parking lot.
We liked the walk along the Una-Koz ridge for its contrasts. Grottoes and caves - expanses of mountains and numerous panoramic platforms. Forest with flowers and herbs - open glades.
The variety of views was pleasing to the eye and stoked interest in order to move further along the uncharted path.

Video: Adygea in spring

Granite Gorge, Una-Koz, Mishoko River Gorge, Khadzhokhskaya Gorge and Yavorova Polyana

From Moscow

By car.

On the highway M4, M159. Distance 1560 km. Travel time - 22.00 h.

By plane.

From the airports "Domodedovo", "Vnukovo" or "Sheremetyevo" flights to Krasnodar or Rostov-on-Don. The distance from Rostov-on-Don to Dakhovskaya is 380 km, from Krasnodar - 197 km. Then you can use the taxi service. Travel time - 2.28 hours (from Krasnodar) and 6.30 hours (from Rostov-on-Don). Or take a bus to Maikop.

On a long distance train.

From Kursk, Kazansky and Paveletsky stations by train to Krasnodar or Belorechensk. Travel time from 19.27 to 33.00 h. Then - by bus to Maikop. From Maykop to Kamennomostsky (railway station "Khadzhokh") - by suburban train or bus. And from Kamennomostsky to Dakhovskaya - by taxi (7 km). Travel time - 0.10 hours.

From Maikop

By car.

On the highway M4, M159. Distance 197 km. Travel time - 2.48 hours.

On a commuter train.

By train from Belorechensk to the station "Khadzhokh" in the village. Kamennomostsky (twice a day). Travel time - 1.30 hours. From Kamennomostsky to Dakhovskaya by taxi (7 km). Travel time - 0.10 hours.

By bus.

From Maikop there is one direct bus per day to Dakhovskaya and several to Kamennomostsky. Travel time 3.20-3.40 hours.

Walk around the village of Dakhovskaya and its environs

A walk along the old Cossack village and the picturesque foothills surrounding it can be started in the center of Dakhovskaya near the church George the Victorious(Klubnaya street, 2). The old temple was built in 1864, two years after the foundation of the Cossack fortification on the site of the former Circassian village. The village was the front line during the Caucasian War. The temple was built with the money of the Cossack army from an oak beam on a stone foundation. In the 30s, when the state fought against religion, this church was closed, turning it into a warehouse. Today, the Church of St. George the Victorious occupies a converted building of a former village shop.

Inside the Church of George the Victorious

From the church you need to walk about 0.7 km along the main highway (A159) to the north, towards Maikop. Here across the river Dah is laid Dakhovsky bridge. The name of the river in Circassian sounds "dahe" and means "beautiful" in translation. The stone bridge was built in 1906 by the Cossacks and local residents. Its strength and durability is explained by the fact that egg white was added to the solution with which the masonry was fastened. You can still cross the river on the old bridge. But to preserve the historical monument, a modern concrete bridge was built nearby.

Dakhovsky bridge

Below the village, above the left side of the valley of the Belaya River rises Azish-Tau ridge, which stretches for 25 km. It has many karst funnels and caves, the formation of which is caused by the rocks that make up the ridge - dolomites and limestones.

Azish-Tau Ridge

Approximately 2.5 km northeast of the mouth of the Dah River is the famous Dakhovskaya cave. Before entering it from the observation deck, you can see the houses of the village, the spacious valley of the Belaya River, the top of the Trident and the spurs of the Azish-Tau ridge. The entrance to the cave is low - only 0.7 m. After a 20 m corridor, two large halls open up, the vaults of which are covered with lime growths. During the study of the cave, which was carried out in the middle of the last century under the guidance of archaeologist A.A. Formozov, a site of primitive man was found here. People lived in these places in the early Paleolithic era. In the cultural layer, scientists found bones of ancient animals, as well as flint tools and arrowheads.

Cave Dakhovskaya

Approximately 0.7 km south of the cave is Stone Iron, so named for its shape. This huge piece of rock, about 50 m long and as high as a three-story house, broke off during the German artillery shelling in 1942.

From the southwest of it, it is clearly visible, towering over the valley Rock Devil's Finger located in the Una-Koz mountain range. The route to this natural monument starts near the old Dakhovsky bridge. First you need to follow the path up the Daha valley, and then, at the fork, turn towards the Devil's Finger.

Rock Devil's Finger

And you can complete your walk around the surroundings of Dakhovskaya by driving along the Maykop-Guzeripl highway a little more than 10 km south of the village. Here, in the valley of the Belaya River, there is a picturesque monument of nature - granite canyon. It stretched for 4 km. And the gorge formed in the rocks has a depth of up to 0.2 km. The gorge compresses the river, forming raging rapids on it. In the south of the Granite Canyon, visible from afar Mount Trident crowned with high towers.

Mount Trident

Cave Dakhovskaya.
Cave Dakhovskaya, also known as Dirty, is located in the vicinity of the village of Dakhovskaya, two and a half kilometers from the mouth of the Dakh River, at the base of the kuest ledge. It is one of the so-called Unakozovsky caves - faults located in the rocks of the Una-Koz ridge: Meander, Dusty and a number of shallow grottoes. Almost all caves are located in the area of ​​the Devil's finger rock. Dakhovskaya cave is located separately, on the western slope of the Unakoz ridge.

A wide entrance leads to the cave, which is located at a height of about two meters from the path. The entrance to the Dakhovskaya cave is 70 centimeters high. Almost immediately after the entrance, the ceiling of the cave begins to drop sharply, then you can go a little bending down a 20-meter corridor, the height of which increases and forms the first hall, about 50 meters long, ending with a narrow manhole. The first leaks appear in it. It is followed by the second hall, where stalactites grow on the vaults of the cave.

In the first hall, a site of a man from the Mousterian era was discovered. In 1957, the site in the Dakhovskaya cave was studied by the archaeologist Alexander Alexandrovich Formozov, the most prominent specialist in archeology of the primitive era. The site of primitive people found in the cave dates back to the early Paleolithic. The cave site of the village of Dakhovskaya is the first Paleolithic cave monument discovered in the Trans-Kuban region. The cultural layer (50-70 cm) found in the cave contained flint tools: a stone ax, axes and arrowheads. Also in the Dakhovskaya cave, animal bones were found (bison, mammoth, giant and red deer, mountain goat and cave bear, hamster, hare, wolf, cave hyena, forest cat, tiger and badger).

The cave is damp. The floor, walls and ceiling of Dakhovskaya are covered with a thick layer of clay, so you need to take a change of clothes. At the entrance to the cave there is a large observation deck, which offers a view of the Dakhovskaya village, Deguak glades, the Trident and Gut mountains, the Azish-Tau ridge, the Belaya River.

In addition to Dakhovskaya, the Unakozovsky caves include:

Cave Tunnel I, Cave Tunnel II are through cracks or passages in the rock. So the entrance to Tunnel I is opposite the entrance to the Grotto cave, and the exit is opposite the entrance to the cave Tunnel II.

Cave Grotto located to the left of the rock ledge Devil's finger, a little further from the main path. The cave has a ceiling height of up to 5 meters, a length of about 30 meters. At the end of the main passage there is a hole in a small hall.

Cave Dusty or Unakozovsky located right along the trail at a distance of about 500 meters from the Devil's finger in a north-westerly direction. Cave entrance in the form of a huge triangular crack with stone blockages after the entrance. The cave is absolutely dry, as a result of which it is very dusty - everything is covered in dust, and the floor is covered with a very thick layer of it. The length of the cave is 30 meters, but there is evidence that its length is longer, since the existing manhole leads to another hall.

Cave Balcony is located between Pylnaya and Grotto caves above the path at a height of about 10 meters. The cave has an entrance in the form of a rectangle and two passages to the left and right, which quickly end in small halls. Right move at the end
has access to lower levels.

How to get to Dakhovskaya Cave. The path to the Dakhovskaya cave begins along a marked path that starts to the right of the Dakhovskaya bridge in the village of Dakhovskaya. Follow the mountain to the rocky massif, and then move on - past the wall, to the cave itself. To view the Unakozovskie caves, you can get under the side of the ridge from Khadzhokh on foot or from the side of the Vesely farm by car to the outskirts of the forest behind the quarry and then on foot along a flat landscape.

Coordinates:
Latitude: 44.239167
Longitude: 40.219167

Regulatory framework for the functioning of a geological object: not in the list of protected areas
List of main objects of protection: classic corridor type cave

Brief description of the geological monument of nature Dakhovskaya cave:
Karst cavity of classical corridor type. Its entrance is a cavity 60-70 cm high and 1.5 m wide on the slope of a rocky cuesta. The cave cavity has no branches and goes in one direction. The length of the corridor is about 50 m with a slight rise in depth, the width is about 15 m, the height in some places reaches 10 m. Numerous finds were made in the cave in the cultural layer of the Paleolithic era. The area of ​​the cave is about 22 thousand square meters. m.

Geographical position:
at the confluence of the river Dah in the river. White

Latitude:44.25 Longitude:40.2 (degrees)

Informational resources:
>
Authors: Karpunin A.M., Mamonov S.V., Mironenko O.A., Sokolov A.R.
Editor-in-Chief - Orlov V.P.
> M., 1997
Information and analytical system "Specially Protected Natural Territories of Russia" (IAS "PA RF") http://oopt.aari.ru/

Additional information on protected areas:

The territorial location of the Dakhovskaya village makes it possible to develop the tourism industry. Specialists from Germany are actively assisting the Maykop region in the development of specially protected areas, sightseeing, rural and small hotel tourism. In April 2004, a joint Russian-German conference on the development of tourism in the mountainous settlements of the Maykop region was held, with the invitation of all interested government agencies, heads of administrations and entrepreneurs, in which, along with German specialists, a deputy of the Bundestag took part. At the expense of investment funds from Germany, the museum of the Caucasian State Biosphere Nature Reserve was equipped. Germany allocated investment funds for the creation of tourist photo albums, guides and advertising booklets aimed at enhancing and stimulating the development of rural tourism in the region. So, at present, in order to increase the flow of German tourists to the Maikop region, a tourist guide in three languages ​​is being prepared at the expense of Germany. With the help of Germany, a small hotel chain in the field of tourism began to be actively created, tourist and multiplicative services were provided. In this regard, additional jobs appeared in mountain villages. In addition, tourist companies of the Stavropol and Krasnodar Territories, the Rostov Region and regions of Central Russia operate on the natural base of the Maikop District. In 2003-2006, new tourist bases and sightseeing facilities began to operate actively in the Maykop region,

In 1957–1959 in the Dakhovskaya cave, a site of a primitive man who lived here in the early Paleolithic era was discovered. And finds from another cultural layer confirm that people lived in this cave in the Middle Ages.

Another surprise from the "Discovery of America" ​​series was presented to us by mother nature in the form of the Una-Koz ridge. How many times have we dangled past it on the way to Lago-Naki, Khamyshki, Guzeripl, Tkhach, looking at its characteristic rocky ridge from the car window, and only now we got to know each other better. This is probably one of the peculiar features of the human character: something that is nearby, at hand, is transferred to later, or even completely unreasonably considered insignificant and not paid much attention. I can't say that until now I had no idea about this ridge at all. The first living local tangential contact occurred about 5 years ago in a rocky fault in the Mishoko gorge. Then on the Internet regularly slipped infa about Dakhovskaya cave, Devil's finger rock, etc. But stereotyped thinking was in no hurry to seriously focus on this topic and every now and then threw it somewhere into the buffer zone: and then, sometime next time. Now, in practice, I saw with my own eyes that I was wrong: Una-Koz gave us a few hours of impressions "above the roof." In my memory, this is one of the best one-day radials. Once again, I made a conclusion for myself: in the field of tourism, everything must be tasted by touch personally.

The Una-Koz Ridge (Go and be afraid - from the old Greek.) Stretching along the highway for many kilometers, it accompanies everyone passing along the way from Khadzhokh to Guzeripl for a very long time, attracting attention to itself with a belt of yellow steep rocks crowned in the upper part. Linearly stretching along the wooded body of the ridge in approximately the same strip, reminiscent of a fortress wall, they are the highlight and decoration of Una-Koza.

Opposite Una-Koza, on the opposite bank of the Belaya, his twin brother, the Azish-Tau ridge, sprawled ( Guiding) with a similar rocky belt at the top. Between these ridges stretched into the distance, the Belaya River continuously sharpens its rocky banks, harmoniously completing the landscape of a beautiful spacious valley.
At first, I assumed that the translation of "Go and be afraid" was due to the insecurity of the place, the possibility of accidentally crashing down a cliff, or buzzing into some kind of crack, failure, of which there are in abundance. But the history of the name is more intriguing. It turns out that from ancient times the slopes of the ridge served as a convenient training ground for organizing predatory raids on merchants and travelers heading along the Belaya Valley through the mountains to the sea. Apparently, some Circassians in Khadzhokh in the slave market sold the Turks into slavery the captives abducted the day before, while others at that time were preparing a raid and liberation, without losing the benefit from the realized deals with the Turks (perhaps the most utopian version). However, Una-Koz gained fame not so much because of his legendary past, but because of his size. This is the longest ridge of Adygea, spreading the territory of its distribution right up to Karachay-Cherkessia. It must be assumed that he still keeps a lot of unexplored secrets in himself. However, I got carried away again...

Behind the old bridge across the Dah River ( Beautiful- from Adyg.) in the mountain Cossack village of Dakhovskaya, we immediately get on a clearly packed path.

During the construction of the bridge, the Cossacks added egg white to the lime-sand mortar. Eggs were collected by the whole Dakhov world. Therefore, he stands on the eggs quite confidently so far.

The trail immediately takes you up and winds through a clean forest without undergrowth, with many fat oaks, which makes it a pleasure to stomp along it. However, this segment of the route is by no means a walking one and will take an hour of stable ascent. Along the way, a never-drying spring exudes clean and tasty water in any weather. Finally, an exit from the forest to the rocks at a huge stone called Iron, which broke away from the main wall, or Dakhov collapse.

Iron on the left, in the middle. Above it, in perspective, is the rocky ridge of the Azish-Tau ridge. Above, on the horizon, are the spurs of the Lagonaki Range. And just below the rocky ridge, you can clearly see the road winding up towards the Lago-Naki Camp site, the plateau and into the upper reaches of the Kurdzhips River valley.

Only approaching the belt of rocks, you observe their real scale. From below, from the road, they naturally look more miniature.

That's right, Luda. Film me. There is only one hope for you.

If you turn left at the wall, then after a while you can get to the Dakhovskaya cave. I planned to turn right, inspect several corridor-type caves along the way, not to mention the countless number of various grottoes, then climb up the ridge near the Devil's Finger rock. After lunch, head overhead towards the recently launched Una Kose Savran cable car(the first and so far the only one in Adygea), jump on a couple of upper viewing platforms and, having looped the route, fall back to the highway either on a cable car or on foot.

Soon, right under the wall, another spring met. So there is no need to bring water with you.

Looking at this mossy gap, unambiguous associations will arise involuntarily

I liked absolutely everything about this active walk. But the grotto family made the most indelible impression. Moreover, not so much their quantity, but the quality of some members of the family. Such exotic formations, and even collected territorially in one place, I probably have not yet seen.

So, turning to the right, we walked almost already along a horizontal path along a rocky wall that went somewhere in the distance. To the right we were accompanied by a sleeping forest. Confused by anomalous weather fluctuations, now he again looked forward to awakening and the onset of spring, giving sacral signs with bird singing uncharacteristic for winter and primroses awakening in some places.

I was afraid that the complete absence of snow would paint us a gray-depressive dull landscape. But the bright sun miraculously transformed everything around and painted it in unusual interesting colors of some Martian shades. On the way we meet the stone of Fortune, under which, following the tradition, you should definitely take a picture. Otherwise, Fortune cannot be seen.

Wait, how can I...?

After a rather long procession, we approach a large cone-shaped crack in the wall. This is Dusty Cave.

The front part of the cavity at the entrance, the so-called. "waiting room" is voluminous and impressive.

But this promising start was followed by a sharp narrowing of the corridor, which led to several small extensions-rooms. There are no leaks, respectively. Everything is pretty uniform. There is a lot of dust on the floor.

In general, with "beer" will go. You can look. Literally after 70 meters, just above the main path, we were immediately met by three more caves located next to each other. One of them - Meander, resembled Dusty, with the difference that the walls of her back room sparkled with some kind of pearl-like sequins. And on the ceiling, hanging upside down, the mistress of the cave was dozing.

Entrance to it

You can't see the glitter in the photo, but you can see it if you look closely.

But the other two caves Tunnel-1 and Tunnel-2 seemed more interesting to me. One of them was a long through gap-corridor with access to the opposite side of the rock.

At the exit from the through to the outside there is a small gap and then again a gap with a corridor.

This crack is characterized by the fact that it is illuminated by daylight from somewhere above, which is why you can rummage through it without lanterns as in your own closet.

Where have you dragged me, cursed...?!

Literally 100-150 meters from the caves, following these beautiful rocks

we are approaching another interesting object - the Ring grotto (aka Arch, aka Window).

The entrance to the grotto is really in the form of an arch formed by the complete absence of a ceiling (or roof). It looks original, as if part of a destroyed ancient structure

The back wall of the grotto, poorly illuminated by the sun, is plastered with icicles.

Immediately behind the Ring on the left is a break in the rocks with a smooth exit to the top of the ridge

On the right on the horizon, after another bend, there is a promising continuation of the Una-Koz ridge, with the same rocks in the upper part.

to the rock Devil's finger (the second name is Belfry, the third is Heavi Metall - mine).

Rock side photo

The three caves described above are exactly under the finger.

Side view of the finger taken from this shoe

Well, we will finally have lunch sometime today, or not...?!

View of the Dakhovskaya village and the Azish-Tau ridge.

"Now I'm ready to even stay and live here," Vovchik exclaimed enthusiastically after the completion of the meal.

Filled with inspiration, we lingered: "Kuban, you are our homeland ..."

Taking a breath, we headed along the ridge along a dirty road that had become sour after the morning frost. Then from rope way"Tethys" to the cable car again walked along the marked path, next to the cliff. Along the way, we regularly turned onto seductive branches to observation platforms.

Lapota...!

Viewpoints alternated with through column-winged grottoes of unrealistically fantastic shapes and views.

And this hole, polished by many onlookers, leads to the edge of the abyss. That is why it is slippery and not entirely safe on the edge.

Grotto of Desires by fate, it managed to find itself in the 21st century right next to the cable car, and therefore it naturally suffered the sad fate of turning into a civilized excursion object. At present, some kind of worthless observation balcony is being cooked here from metal structures over a cliff.

We were refused a ride on the cable car, as tickets are sold only round trip at the box office down by the highway. Half service is not provided here. No problem! Peshkodralom burst down the slope right under the cable car.

After mixing about 40 minutes of mud, they taxied out of the forest onto the highway near the Dakhovskaya chapel.

I was shocked by the scale of the terror locally arranged here a hundred years ago by red-bellied communist fanatics.

Like a fly in the ointment at the end of such a positive event.

P E S E R A D A K H O V S K A Y

Exactly a year later, in January 2017, returning from Guzeripl, with almost the same train, we again visited Una-Koz and this time slipped from the Iron to the left to the Dakhovskaya cave. The second, and perhaps the most appropriate name Dirty. What to say? Alas, the impressions are diametrically opposed compared to last year's walk. In other words, if you want to get frustrated, get covered in mud up to your ears and ask yourself the question: what am I doing here, then you are here.
By itself, the path under the rocks from Utyug to the cave turned out to be wilder and more unpleasant than towards the Dusty and Finger caves. True, there is another, more well-founded option: from the top of the cable car, on the opposite side, a well-marked and clearly packed trail approaches. Most likely, this route is a priority than the one that we trampled on.

"Where are you taking us, Susanin-hero? Go to hell, I'm here for the first time ...!" A real hotbed of evergreen wild wattle

As if the trunks of a real tree of this lasher and its all-penetrating countless branches spread in an invasive way, digging into the rocks and creating a single organism with them. An amazing sight.

I named this stone Ichthyander's Gills.

Well, here she is, finally, darling ...

A long and very low corridor leads to the cave, forcing you to climb to the first hall on all fours, all fours, or goose step, whatever you like. The corridor itself is moderately dry and, in principle, did not cause excessive psychological rejection.

Having made your way into the first hall, you can straighten up to your full height and look around. Moisture drips from the walls and ceiling, which accordingly accumulates on the floor. Hence the ubiquitous filth. Humidity is very high. That is why my camera immediately fogged up and instead of pictures it gave out a solid haze. Yes, and there is nothing to shoot here. Natekov Gulkin nose.

The first hall is followed by a narrow, 70 cm and rather long manhole, which leads to the second large hall. The length of the latter is allegedly 50 m. According to the descriptions, the main beauty of the cave is concentrated in it. However, this is the whole intrigue. Units get there. After all, it is necessary to crawl this hole on the belly through the vile, unpleasant slurry. Expensive payment for dubious pleasures. But it is guaranteed that you can become like Schwarzenegger in the movie Predator, who made himself a mud camouflage before the fight with the monster. But he had more motivation. Do we need it?
In general, it turned out like in a bad fairy tale, when a good fellow was hunting for a beauty, overtook her, but suddenly, under the veil, it was not an angelic face, but a grimace of a pitiful old woman. Well, it happens. A bad result is also a result.

This is not Rio De Janeiro...!

I love you, Adygea, the more, the more I know ...